Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2019 i Cobblestone American History and Current Events for Kids and Children

The Great Law of Peace, or Gayanesshagowa, is the oral constitution for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. It provides the process for how the confederacy works. The confederacy’s Grand Council has 50 hoyaneh, or chiefs. It meets to discuss issues that impact the entire confederacy. It makes decisions by consensus. That means that all the members must agree. The hoyaneh are selected by the leaders of each nation’s clans, known as clan mothers. The clan mothers listen to and are advised by the men and women in their clans. The clan mothers then counsel their respective chiefs. In this way, all the members of the nations have a say in their governance. The Mohawks and Senecas—the Elder Brothers—begin the process. They discuss an issue until they reach consensus. The Cayugas and the…

Native people around the world struggle to keep alive their culture and identity. Here’s a look at how a few indigenous groups are coping in the modern world. AWAS Survival International is a group that defends indigenous people. It has called the Awas “Earth’s most threatened tribe.” The Awas live in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. These nomadic hunter-gatherers once got everything they needed from the land around them. But the illegal logging industry in the 19th century changed that. Deforestation forced the Awas into smaller and smaller areas. Over the decades, illegal loggers have chased, enslaved, and murdered Awa people. Today, fewer than 400 of the Awas survive. Most of them have left the forest to live in villages. But between 60 and 100 native people remain deep in…

Food Inventions The 19th Amendment Turns 100! It’s Tax History Time Draw a picture or write a poem or short essay that connects to one of the above COBBLESTONE themes on which we currently are working. All contributions must be your original work. Include a note from a parent or legal guardian clearly stating: “This is my child’s original work, and COBBLESTONE has permission to publish it with my child’s name, age, and hometown, in print and online.” We will include as many as we can in the upcoming issue to which your work relates. Mail it to the address shown here, or email it to cobblestone@cricketmedia.com.…

Haudenosaunee is the preferred term used by the Haudenosaunee to refer to themselves. Five Nations refers to the original five tribal nations that joined together: the Mohawks, the Senecas, the Cayugas, the Oneidas, and the Onondagas. Some sources date the start of the confederacy to the 1000s, others date it to the 1400s. Six Nations refers to the addition of the Tuscaroras to the Five Nations, which took place in 1722. Iroquois Confederacy has been used interchangeably with Five Nations or Six Nations to reflect the political unit formed by the nations joining together. The origins of the word Iroquois are not certain. It is an uncomplimentary term meaning “black snakes.” In the past, it was used by native groups and their French allies to refer to the Haudenosaunee, who…

The Song of Hiawatha is a long poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It tells about a peacemaker who had great adventures and united multiple tribes. Yet, its stories did not come from the Haudenosaunee. Longfellow claimed its tales came “From the forests and the prairies/From the great lakes of the Northland.” He had read tales written down by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. Schoolcraft was a government agent for Indian affairs. He drew upon tales recorded by his wife, Jane Johnston Schoolcraft. Her mother was a member of the Ojibwa tribe. They live in the United States’ Upper Midwest and in Canada. Longfellow published his poem in 1855. As many as 50,000 copies sold within six months. Some critics claimed Longfellow had borrowed heavily from a Finnish epic with a…

The “People of the Longhouse.” That is how the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca people collectively refer to themselves. The Colonel, the squirrels, and I wanted to learn more, so we explored their website at www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com. We learned about their history, culture, clan system, symbols, and ceremonies. We also read about some mistaken concepts. For example, the Colonel was surprised to read that all native people did not live in tepees. The Haudenosaunee lived in bark-covered longhouses. I learned that the Haudenosaunee initially helped the early settlers overcome the hardships of their new life in a new land. The squirrels liked to read about their clan-based society. More information about the confederacy, including newsletters and a list of upcoming events, is available on the site.…

Most historians say that the Haudenosaunee Confederacy came together during the 15th century. But it may have happened earlier, and it didn’t happen overnight. The pact for peace demanded skillful negotiations among distinct nations. And all the member nations had to agree to details for the confederacy’s structure and its Great Law of Peace. It took many years to achieve. The Haudenosaunee people commemorate those achievements with their Peacemaker story. The epic tells how the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations joined together for righteousness, justice, and health. The story begins with a wise man, or prophet, called the Peacemaker. It was during a time of conflict and violence. He hated to see the nations at war with one another. No matter who “won,” all sides suffered losses. War…

The Haudenosaunee proudly retain their culture and identity today. That’s true whether they live on reservations or in other parts of New York State, Ontario (Canada) or elsewhere. Mike Tarbell (ABOVE) is a member of the Turtle Clan of the Mohawk people. He’s a cultural interpreter at the Iroquois Indian Museum at Howes Cave, New York. He also teaches Iroquois history and Native American studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cobleskill. Tarbell talked with COBBLESTONE about his work and the Haudenosaunee people today. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR JOB AS A CULTURAL INTERPRETER? I’m a messenger. I’m an ambassador also for my ancestors to this contemporary moment. I’m carrying the message of the culture and trying to correct some of the misunderstandings that people have had…

During the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), native groups in the eastern United States had to make a choice: fight with Great Britain, remain neutral, or ally with the American Colonies. Here is a look at a few of the tribes that sided with the colonists. Ambassador to the Americans Koquethagechton was a leader of the Lenape people from the Pennsylvania-Ohio region. The colonists called him White Eyes. He promoted peace between the colonists and native peoples. On behalf of the Lenapes, he traveled to Philadelphia to speak to the Continental Congress in 1776. He asked the colonists to recognize a Lenape state. In return, he promised to encourage the Lenapes to ally with them. In 1778, Koquethagechton was guiding an American military party on the frontier. The group reported that the…

The Haudenosaunee people observe festivals throughout the year. The festivals bring people together and provide an opportunity to give thanks for nature’s gifts. Those gifts range from maple sap to spring rains and ripe strawberries. Celebrated in late August or early September, the Green Corn Festival marks the time of the year when the corn is ripe and ready for harvesting. The three main crops of the Haudenosaunee—corn, squash, and beans—were known as the Three Sisters. Grown together, the crops flourished.…

Maybe you or someone you know is part of a family business, like this month’s mystery hero. He inspired his son and his grandchildren to keep alive the work he started. They continue to run the business he started—the Six Nations Indian Museum. Born in 1910, our hero had a fascinating childhood. He went to school, but he also learned from his natural surroundings, New York’s Adirondack Mountains. He eagerly learned about the plants and animals around his home. The connections he made with nature stayed with him his entire life—and he lived to be 98! He understood that an important part of his Native American heritage was tied to the land, as it was for his ancestors. In addition to spending time in the countryside, our hero traveled to…

We’re looking for a funny caption for this photo. Send your idea, name, and address to: Just for Fun, COBBLESTONE, Cricket Media, 70 East Lake Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60601, or email it to cobblestone@cricketmedia.com. Include a note from a parent or legal guardian clearly stating: “This is my child’s original work, and COBBLESTONE has permission to publish it with my child’s name, age, and hometown, in print and online.” If your caption is chosen, we’ll mail you a copy of the issue in which it appears. July/August Winners!…