Who Were the Iroquois’ Enemies?
The Iroquois’ enemies were the Algonkin tribe and the settlers of the United States; however, before the 1500s the Iroquois were also enemies to one another, according to the Independence Hall Association. This is because the Iroquois were made up of five different tribes and they spent much of their time fighting against one another.
These five tribes were the Cayuga, Oneida, Seneca, Mohawk and Onondaga tribes. These tribes would not stop fighting one another until Dekanawida, a holy Iroquois man, asked all of the Iroquois people to unite themselves and stand together. The Iroquois people decided to accept this challenge and responsibility by making peace with one another.
The Algonkins were an Indian tribe that was located closest to the five tribes of the Iroquois, and the two groups were at war with one another over land. Both groups hunted near their homes and therefore the hunting land surrounding them was valuable.
The Iroquois would also fight with the American settlers when they attempted to settle on the Iroquois tribe’s land. The Iroquois decided to create an alliance with the British in order to protect themselves from the French and then, later, the new Americans. Sadly, the Iroquois still lost most of their land through military threats from settlers.
