Mohawk Way of Life by Tate

Did you know there was a tribe that became so obsessed with beaver fur that they ambushed other tribes for it? That tribe is called Mohawk. 

They lived in present day New York State.  But now they live in a reservation in Canada. They still live in long houses.  Each long house can hold up to 60 people. A long house is a bark covered house.

Next the Mohawk were known for trading. They traded beaver fur for steel goods and weapons. They also traded with Dutch for weapons to fight the French. All the wars over beaver fur are now called “The Beaver Wars.”

The Mohawk also farmed. A few of the things they farmed were corn, squash, and cranberries. The women planted and harvested everything. The corn was used for as food or for crafting. The squash was used as food. The cranberries were used as food or to make juice.

Mohawk people also played games. They played Lacrosse, a game played with polished poles with nets and a deer skin ball. They also played a game called Snow Snake played with polished spear-like poles slid on packed snow.  Who could throw the farthest spear won this game.

The Mohawk people lived like us. They farmed, lived in houses, and played games. As you read the Mohawk played games, ambushed others for fur, and farmed on most days.

Longhouse

References

Bonvillain, Nancy. The Mohawk. New York: Chelsea House Publishers 1992

Brown, Janet. The Mohawk Indians. New York: Chelsea House Publishers 1993

Dunn, Mary. The Mohawk. New York: Lucent Books 2003

Kessel, William B. and Wooster, Robert. Eds Mohawk and warfare.  Encyclopedia of Native American wars and warfare. New York: facts on file, inc. 2005. American Indian history online. Facts on file inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2. asp? Item id=we43&ipin=enawo351&single record=true caccessed October 30, 2008

Redish, Laura. Native Languages of the Americas. http://www.bigorrin.org/mohawk_kids.htm 1998

Sheehan, Bernard.Mohawk. Encyclopedia Americana 200

Last updated 12/14/08