*Includes pictures
*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.
From the "Trail of Tears" to Wounded Knee and Little Bighorn, the narrative of American history is incomplete without the inclusion of the Native Americans that lived on the continent before European settlers arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the first contact between natives and settlers, tribes like the Sioux, Cherokee, and Navajo have both fascinated and perplexed outsiders with their history, language, and culture. In Charles River Editors' Native American Tribes series, readers can get caught up to speed on the history and culture of North America's most famous native tribes in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Among all the Native American tribes, the Iroquois peoples are some of the most well documented Native Americans in history. Indigenous to the northeast region of what is now the United States and parts of Canada, they were among some of the earliest contacts Europeans had with the native tribes. And yet they have remained a constant source of mystery. At the same time, the Iroquois are a confederation of several different tribal nations that include the Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk, Cayuga and the Tuscarora.
Among these groups, the most famous is the Mohawk, who refer to themselves as Kanien'kehá ka ("People of the Place of Flint"), but pop culture has a very different image in mind when it comes to the Mohawk (and the Iroquois as a whole). Those unfamiliar with the group associate them with the conspicuous Mohawk haircut, and images of a warlike people who scalp their enemies are still constantly evoked. The Mohawk were mentioned in James Fenimore Cooper's classic 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans, an entertaining novel that led to many misconceptions about the Mokawk and continues to do so.
That said, European settlers who came into contact with the Mohawks in the Northeast certainly learned to respect their combat skills, to the point that there were literally bounties on the Mohawks' heads, with scalps fetching money for colonists who succeeded in slaying them and carrying away the "battle prize". Both the British and Americans encountered some of their military leaders, who subsequently became well known as portraits were made of them and word of their actions traveled. The Mohawk leader known by the British and Americans as Joseph Brant fought in the Revolution for the British and met men like George Washington and King George III. Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Mohawk comprehensively covers the culture and history of the famous group, profiling their origins, their history, and their lasting legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Mohawk like you never have before, in no time at all.