Open Guide
Haudenosaunee Guide for Educators
This educator guide provides a deeper and more integrated understanding of Haudenosaunee culture and life—past and present. The guide was created in consultation with scholars and community members representing the six nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora.
How to Use
Download, print, or project this guide to support student research and activities. This guide provides primary source information to support understanding Native cultures of the upper New York or northeast region.
In this Resource
- Who are the Haudenosaunee?
- Peacemaker Story
- Haudenosaunee Clan System
- Longhouses and Village Life
- Wampum
- Hiawatha Belt
- Two Row Wampum
- The European Encounter: The Fur Trade
- From Longhouses to Log Houses
- Haudenosaunee Games
- Relationship to the Natural World
- The Importance of Deer
- The Introduction of New Materials
- Life Today
- Back in the Classroom
- Discussion Questions
- Haudenosaunee Territory Through Time Maps
- Corn Husk Dolls
- Wampum
Resources from the National Museum of American Indian
Consider these online resources from the National Museum of the American Indian to enrich your learning experience around this topic:
For related teaching resources, explore these Native Knowledge 360° Resources.
For Classroom Use
Type: Online Resource
Format: Educator Guide
Grade: Pre-K, K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Subject: English Language Arts, History/Social Studies
Related Native Knowledge 360° Resources
American Revolution: Haudenosaunee Perseverance
Examine the challenges faced by the Haudenosaunee resulting from the American Revolution and their acts of perseverance in response.
For Classroom Use
Type: Online Resource
Format: Digital Book
Grade: 6, 7, 8
Subject: English Language Arts, History/Social Studies
Native Women Leading the Way: From Revolution to the Future
Learn about three Native women whose actions were historically significant during the American Revolution.
For Classroom Use
Type: Online Resource
Format: Teaching Poster
Grade: 6, 7, 8
Subject: History/Social Studies
Early Encounters in Native New York: Did Native People Really Sell Manhattan?
Examine how the 17th-century fur trade brought together Native and Dutch cultures, each with different values and ideas about exchange.
For Classroom Use
Type: Online Resource
Format: Inquiry Design Model (IDM)
Grade: 4, 5
Subject: History/Social Studies
American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges
Learn how Indigenous knowledge, traditional culture, and values inform the environmental work of contemporary Native nations.
For Classroom Use
Type: Online Resource
Format: Website
Grade: 6, 7, 8, 9
Subject: English Language Arts, History/Social Studies, Science
