Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)

This was a great unit, and we all really enjoyed it.  We ate Mohawk three sisters soup, baked fry bread (because I just cannot with the grease from frying), and enjoyed strawberry drink (basically agua fresca, and delicious).  We went to a local restaurant for fry bread tacos.  We watched a lot of videos and enjoyed Crooked Arrows for family movie night.  We played a Mohawk seed game (with pits from the peaches that grew on our trees) and sang a lullaby and a song from Mama Lisa's site.  We ended up having our celebration meal on Indigenous People's Day, and it was awesome.  We didn't talk about Columbus at all, but we did celebrate a living and joyous people.

I haven't finished my giant playlist - it is huge and a tad daunting.  I will update once I finish it!

Books we read with stories or myths:

• Barefoot Book of Princesses by Caitlin Matthews - the story "the Horned Snake's Wife" offers a girl who learns a big lesson, saves herself, and becomes a supernatural assassin.  My kids really liked it.  There is a lot of death and a presentation of a group of people who are different as being monsters, but that is sadly true of just about every monster story, and my kids were completely unphased.  Maybe I overthink these things.
• Bear Knife by Ruth-Inge Heinze - the creation story in this volume is completely different from the Sky Woman and Turtle story, and there are several other Iroquois myths that are fascinating.  These are all designed to be stories that can be told around the fire.  Of particular interest to my oldest were the modern day stories.  From what I could find, the author is not of native descent.
• The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet by Joseph Bruchac - There are several beautiful short poems/stories in this book about stars, fireflies, the sky, etc.  There is a Mohawk story about the Great Bear.  This story is told in more detail in the Hunting of Great Bear by Ann Malaspina.
• Four Ancestors by Joseph Bruchac - Stories and illustrations from a variety of tribes, including the Mohawk and Seneca.  The stories are fantastic and completely different from the ones you may know from the Western canon. 
• Giving Thanks by Chief Jake Swamp - This book details the Thanksgiving Address, which has nothing to do with turkey or American/Canadian holidays.  It has lovely illustrations and is pretty short.  We enjoyed this one.  Bonus: it's also a Reading Rainbow episode!
• Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson - The vibrant pictures and exciting song on the enclosed cd set this one apart.  Both of my kids liked it, especially the song.  Robbie Robertson is a member of the musical group the Band, and is of Mohawk and Cayuga descent.
• How Chipmunk Got His Stripes by Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac - Very funny story in which everyone comes out ok and the chipmunk learns that it is best to not tease the bear.  The authors are from the Abenaki tribe, but I believe the story is also told by the Haudenosaunee people.
• Keepers of the Earth by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac - There are science and literature extensions for all of the stories in "Native American Stories," including the stories themselves.  This is a great option for enhancing and enjoying this unit more, and I highly recommend it.  
• Maiden of the Mist by Veronika Martenova Charles - This story is about a Seneca girl who saves her people from a sickness by sacrificing herself.  The illustrations are beautiful, and no one asks her to marry the son of the thunder god.  My seven year old liked it quite a bit.  It wasn't my favorite, but it was a nice addition to the unit, and the strong female figure was nice.  It also features the great horned snake, so if your kiddo loved that story in the Barefoot Book of Princesses, this would be a welcome addition.  The author is not of indigenous descent.
• Mother and Daughter Tales by Josephine Evetts-Secker - We loved "Old Mother Swan and Great Mother Earthquake."  Three girls learn about listening to their mother, trusting their instincts, and building a happy life.  I love seeing which values are important to different cultures.  This story suggests that obeying your elders is more important than compassion, as the young can be tricked through their tender instincts.  Just a side note - it is not explicitly mentioned, but it is pretty clear that the girls are heading off for a sororate polygamous marriage (sisters marrying one husband).  That is, two sisters head off to get married, but there is only one groom.  There's nothing detailed about it, and your kids might not notice it at all.  (Mine didn't.)  
• Native American Stories told by Joseph Bruchac - there are stories from the Onondaga and Seneca people in this very readable and interesting volume.  We really liked this one.  
• Native American Animal Stories told by Joseph Bruchac -  There are stories from the Mohawk and Seneca people in this volume.  We liked it quite a bit.
• Rabbit's Snow Dance by James and Joseph Bruchac - We read this one with a drum in hand and drummed out Rabbit's snow chant.  Rabbit is selfish and completely disregards the safety and needs of all the other animals in his desire to play in deep snow in mid-summer.  In the end, no one is hurt, and Rabbit experiences some natural consequences that result in the loss of his tail.  His chant to call down snow is really fun to read.  The authors are of Iroquois descent, and this is a great adaptation of a traditional tale.  This one is also awesome as it isn't designed to teach anything explicit (beyond "don't be selfish"), and that's a nice change of pace in a unit study.  Honestly, it was hard to find books both by and for the Iroquois people, so a lot of the books this time around were purely entertaining, and my boys loved this.
• Seasons of the Circle by Joseph Bruchac - This book has lovely illustrations and is written by an author of Abenaki descent.  The Mohawk are featured on the February page.
• They Dance in the Sky by Ray Williamson - The stories in this book are interesting and different from any other constellation stories you've likely read.  There's a great story from the Onondaga tribe about the Pleiades. 

Nonfiction books we read:

• The Iroquois A Proud People by Ann Malaspina - This is my absolute favorite info book for this unit for all ages. Each section (housing, family life, history, clothing, etc.) has info about the historical Iroquois as well as the Iroquois today.  I really love it.  From what I could find out, the author is not of indigenous descent, but I think she did a fantastic job.
• the Iroquois by Raymond Bial - this is a thick and detailed book about almost anything you might want to know about the Iroquois.  The modern day section is pretty thin, but the rest of it has great photos, paintings, and illustrations, and is very readable. 
• The Iroquois the Six Nations Confederacy by Mary Englar - There's a recipe for strawberry drink in here that was really delicious.  We liked this one.  It's more appropriate for a 3rd or 4th grader because of the length, but the info is fine for any age.
• the Iroquois by Michelle Lomberg - Short, great pictures, interesting layout, and a quick two-page rundown of most of the things you might want your kid to learn about the Iroquois.  If your child is a reluctant reader or has a short attention span, this is the one for you.  I couldn't find any information about the background of the author.
• Iroquois by Sarah Tieck - This is aimed at a younger audience, maybe first or second grade.  The pictures are big and engaging, the font is big, and the information is clear but simply stated.  It was one of the better "learn about" books I've read for younger readers - it hit pretty much all the important points without too much detail.  My second grader liked this one.
• The Iroquois by Charlotte Wilcox - There's a recipe for succotash in this one, and interesting pictures and drawings.  I'd say this one is more of a second-third grade level.
• Life in a Longhouse Village by Bonnie Kalman - Lots of great illustrations and information about ancient Iroquois life, but only one small paragraph about modern Iroquois people.  It's still a great option for a reluctant reader.
• Mohawk by Sierra Adare -  Probably for a fourth-sixth grader, this was a fascinating option, with a detailed section on famous Mohawks today and an interesting section on the code of Handsome Lake.
• Native American Games and Stories by James Bruchac and Joseph Bruchac - Games and stories from the Mohawk and Onondaga, as well as several other (non-Iroquois) tribes.  My kids loved this one, especially the Mohawk one with the Chickadees.
• Unstoppable by Art Coulson - This fascinating book is about Jim Thorpe, who is of the Sauk tribe.  It talks about what life was like for the children in the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (an Indian boarding school).  While Thorpe was not Haudenosaunee, three of the players on his winning team were, and they have small biographies in the back of the book.  My boys loved this one.  It's about football and features an underdog team; how could it go wrong? 

Extensions for older kids:

• If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth - My older guy gobbled this one up and begged for the sequel.  Eric Gansworth is a Haudenosaunee author, and he's written a great novel about a Tuskarora boy in the 1970s.  He loves music, he wants to have friends, he's figuring out who he is in life, etc.  It's a great novel and is also great for the "still here" part of this unit that I keep hammering home for my kids.  Definitely for upper elementary-middle school readers. 
• Peace Walker by C.J. Taylor - My fifth grader enjoyed this one.  This is a retelling of the legend of Hiawatha and Tekanawita by an author of Mohawk heritage.  As with many myths, there are elements that younger kids might find disturbing, including a seer who can curse people to death and the attempted drowning of a baby.  (This sounds pretty awful, and it is, but it is more along the lines of, "they chopped a hole in the ice and put the baby in it.  In the morning, he was sleeping safely next to his mother."  It's up to you if you think your child would be upset by that.  My middle kid would flip, but my oldest is fine with it.) 

• Tea: I used this website as a guide, and we enjoyed blackberry infused water, strawberry drink, and raspberry leaf tea
• Bread: We liked this one for Seneca Ghost Bread.  We also ordered cornmeal from the Iroquois White Corn Project and made the cornbread recipe from the back of their package.  (We also ordered their dried corn, and found it to be a really unique and tasty soup addition.)  There is also a boiled cornbread option that we didn't end up making.  I liked the menu from Conflict Kitchen as a guideline. 
• Cookie: we ordered the roasted cornmeal and used the cornmeal cookie recipe from the Iroquois White Corn project.
• Sandwich: we ate beans with baked fry bread and felt pretty happy about it.
• Fruit: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, pawpaw, gooseberries, apples, cherries, peaches, pears.
• Veggies: corn, beans, squash, cucumbers, leeks, artichokes, turnips, pumpkins, wild growing salad greens
• Kid TV show: There are a few clips on CBC Canada of Haudenosaunee kids and their art projects, and there is a Sesame Street style show called Tóta tánon Ohkwá:ri that is fun to watch.  It is not in English (as it is intended to reintroduce and teach Haudenosaunee languages to children) and is generally not subtitled, so my kids had a limited attention span for the show, but I liked it.  Not for kids - Mohawk Girls is fun, but absolutely not intended for children.
• Minecraft: build a bark longhouse, absolutely.
• Constellations: We found this one about the Great Bear, and this one about the Pleiades.  There are several more here.
• Lullabies/songs/games: As always, Mama Lisa's site is great.  Ho, Ho, Watanay has several versions on YouTube.