Early History.

The League of the Iroquois was a confederacy of native peoples living in present-day western New York. Originally made up of five nations, the Senecas, Cayugas, Onandagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks, the Iroquois were united in the 1400s by Hiawatha. Along with his mentor, Deganawidah, Hiawatha helped the Iroquois to negotiate a peace that ended many generations of war among them. According to Iroquois tradition Hiawatha was deeply depressed and grief stricken by the deaths of all his daughters in quick succession. Wandering in the forest, eventually he met Deganawidah, the Peacemaker, who showed him new religious rituals that eased his mind and restored his sanity. Hiawatha believed that this new religion could unite the Iroquois and asked Deganawidah to share it. But Deganawidah was unable to speak in public, so the task of spreading the word fell to Hiawatha, who used Deganawidah's rituals...