The Iroquois were a branch of North American Indians who belonged to the Hokan-Siouan linguistic family. They were the initiators of the Iroquois Confederacy, or Iroquois League, a North American Indian confederation consisting of five nations joined together for greater strength, commerce and survival: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca (founded 1570). Around 1722, the Tuscarora joined the League, and these people inhabited what is now the north and west sides of New York's Hudson River. These Indians numbered 5,500, and materially, politically and militarily their culture was the most advanced in the Eastern Woodlands.
The Iroquois conceived of themselves as living in a metaphorical "longhouse" in which each nation had a role. For example, the Mohawks guarded the eastern door. By allowing neighboring tribes to be absorbed into the group from territorial wars, the League came to number 16,000 by the end of the 17th century. Their leaders were Cornplanter, Red Jacket and Joseph Bryant, and all the nations but the Oneida sided with the British during the American Revolution.
The Iroquois could be particularly ferocious if the need arose. Different types of warfare included the small war party out for revenge or a claim to the all-out invasion of enemy lands by the warriors of one or more of the tribes acting together. Men found their occupation in the hunt and in war:
Skill in hunting, oratory, and warlike courage were the ideals of Iroquois manhood. From his earliest years, the Iroquois male had been trained in these skills. Young boys would spend their time practicing with the toy bows and arrows, throwing hatchets, and playing at war and hunting. The men of the village frequently occupied their leisure hours with athletics, hatchet throwing, and other amusements that would sharpen the eye, harden the muscle, and preserve the skill of the warrior and hunter. Cruel upon the warpath, he himself expected ...