Student Writing Sample 1

Onondaga Indian Tribe

Onondaga is pronounced au-nun-DAG-uh, means "people of the hills " after the hilly lands that surround their village. The Onondaga's were also the center tribe, so they got the important role of "Keepers of the Council Fire".

The Onondaga Indian tribe had many shelters or dwellings. They lived in wigwams and longhouses, and not in teepees like the plains Indians did.   Wigwam means "bark dwelling" and was made of a frame of wood poles covered by bark and rush mattings. They slept on spruce boughs covered with deerskins and blankets. Woodland Indians used cornhusks, quillwork, feathers, beads and paint to decorate deer skin clothing, baskets and other ornaments.

The Onondagas ate many different kinds of foods. Onondaga subsistence activities, which included the growing of maize, beans, and squash as well as the gathering of wild plant foods by women and hunting of men. Maize, beans and squash "the three sisters" were food staples, augmented by hunting in the forest and maple sugaring each year in the spring. The women also harvested sunflower seeds, as well as harvesting the crops and cooking soup, cornbread, and trail mix. The men did most of the hunting, shooting deer, moose, turkeys, and small game.

Onondagas wore many different clothing styles, which includes: beaded headbands with a feather or two in it. Both men and women wore their hair in two long braids most of the time. The women wore skirts with leggings, and the men wore breechcloths with leather pant legs tied on. Both genders wore moccasins. Jewelry was used to show connection with a particular group. Beads validated treaties and were used to remember oral tradition as well as for exchange and currency.

The Onondagas had many rituals and religions. Among many northeastern tribes, individuals acquired a spiritual totem at adolescence, often a mammal, snake, bird, claw, tooth or other animal part, which was carried with that individual. Totems were also used in divination and to ensure opportunity. A fathom of white beads was worth 10 shillings and double that for purple beads. Native Americans in New England integrated beads and pendants into many of their ceremonies. Dance ceremonies celebrated the change in seasons, harvest, births, marriages, or commemorated less fortunate events, and were often accompanied by chanting. Native Americans took great pains in the preparation of their appearance and accessories. Dances were often accompanied by throwing out wampum to onlookers. Beads were often distributed and redistributed during Native American dance ceremonies. Beads were also used in marriage rituals.

The Onondagas were one of the first Indian tribes in North America and New York State. The Onondagas later joined with the Iroquois tribes and are still active today.

Student  Writing Sample 2
Iroquois

Iroquois Indians were a five part tribe including the Cayuga, Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, and the Onondaga. The Iroquois dressed fine, had sturdy and warm shelters, ate well, and lived according to there culture.

The Iroquois had many clothes made from deerskin. The women for instance wore vest, skirts, and moccasins all made from deerskin. The women also decorated themselves with quills, beads, and they sometimes dyed their hair. In the winter the women wore leggings and rabbit fur shawls. The men wore deerskin breechcloths in the hot summer. In the winter they wore leggings made of leather, tunics, and cornhusk or deerskin moccasins.

The Iroquois had nice warm shelters called longhouses. There were usually two or more longhouses in a village. They were built on hills and guarded by watch towers for protection. Every ten or fifteen years the village would be moved because the crops would not grow anymore. The longhouses definitely lived up to there name. They were twenty-five to one hundred fifty feet long and could hold thirty to sixty people. Outside the longhouse they left an animal skin door and had holes in the roof so smoke would funnel out. Inside the longhouse people had a personal area about nine by six feet. They had a seat attached to the wall. The seat was also used as a bed and they would stow there tools and all items there. The bed had a corn husk mattress and animal skin blankets.

For food the Iroquois hunted deer and other game, but their primary source of foods were from the farm. As Itold you before the Iroquois move because
farming was down. There three most important crops also called the "Three Sisters" were corn, beans, and squash, One of there favorite foods were corn cakes which made by squishing corn together and baking it.

The Iroquois had a great culture they had wonderful entertainment, made art, and crafted and used tools. The Iroquois had plenty of good entertainment like there six festivals each year. The New Year Festival in the winter, the Maple Festival in the spring the Corn Planting Festival, the Strawberry Festival, the Green Corn Festival, and the Harvest of Thanksgiving Festival. These festivities were to give thanks to the spirits for good health, clothes, food, and shelter and the music piayed there was played by drums and rattles. They also played a game with six half black half white seeds on a plate and you would flip them up and try to make five out of six the same color. The men made canoes, houses, and hunting tools like snowshoes. The Iroquois also made amazing cornhusk mask which they decorated and wore to scare evil spirits away.

So you see the Iroquois were a tribe worthy of recognition.