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The clan is the basic unit of social
organization among the Iroquois, with the women holding primary
responsibility for the function of the clans. . This system is still
in place at Tonawanda, Tuscarora, Onondaga as the primary form of
governance, and at Akwesasne and Oneida there are both a traditional
council of chiefs which operate independently from the elected tribal
council. At Cattaraugus and Allegheny, and the clans still exist,
but the chiefs function in a religious way only, not as a form of
government. At those to communities the form of government is called
the Seneca Nation of Indians.
A clan is a group of families that share a common female ancestry.
Members of one clan are considered relatives and intermarriage in
the same clan is forbidden. Clans are named after animals that have
special assistance to the people - water (turtle, eel, beaver);
land (bear, deer, wolf), sky (snipe, heron, hawk). Clanship identity
is very important to the Haudenosaunee.
Children inherit the clan of their mother. If a Mohawk woman of
the Wolf Clan marries a Tuscarora man of the Beaver Clan, their
children will be Mohawks of the Wolf Clan. If a Tuscarora woman
marries a Tuscarora of he beaver clan, their children will be Tuscaroras
of the Beaver clan. If a Indian man marries a non-Indian, their
children will not have a Haudenosaunee nationality nor a clan. Identity
can be seen as a series of concentric circles. In the center is
the fireside family (your mother an father and sisters and brothers);
next is the extended family (your clan); next is you nationality
(the nation); then is union of nations (Haudenosaunee).
Each nation has a different number of clans, with all having the
turtle, bear and wolf clans. Each clan may have more than one Hoyaneh.
As an example, among the Mohawk, there are three turtle Hoyaneh,
three wolf Hoyaneh, and three bear Hoyaneh, making nine chiefs altogether
that make up their national council of chiefs, who serve as the
Mohawk delegates to the Grand Council of Chiefs. The Onondaga have
14 hoyaneh; the Seneca have 8; the Cayuga have 10; the Oneida have
9; and the Tuscarora have 6.
RIGHTS The rights and privileges of the clan were described by J.N.B.
Hewitt, a Tuscarora scholar in 1918:
1) The right to a distinctive name of the clan, named after guardian
animal spirits.
2) Representation by one of more chiefs in tribal council.
3) An equitable share in community property of the tribe.
4) The right and obligation to have its nominations for chief and
subchief of the clan confirmed and installed by officers of the
tribal council, and by officers of the Grand Council.
5) The right of the protection of the tribe of which it is a constitute
member.
6) The right of the titles of the chieftainships and sub-chieftainships
hereditary in its ohwachira (extended family).
7) The right to certain songs, chants, dances, and religious observances.
8) The right of its men and women, or both together, to meet in
council.
9) The right to use certain names of persons, which are given to
its members.
10) The right to adopt aliens through the action of a constituent
ohwachira (extended family)
11) The right of its members to a common burial ground.
12) The right of the mothers of constituent ohwachira (s), in which
the official titles are inherent, to nominate candidates for chief
and subchief; some clans have more than one of each class of chiefs.
13) The right of these same mothers to take the prescribed steps
for impeaching and deposing their chiefs and subchiefs.
14) The right to share in the religious rites, ceremonies, and public
festivals of the tribe.
DUTIES
Hewitt also defined the duties associated with clan membership:
1) The obligation not to marry within a clan, previously not even
within the sisterhood of clans to which one belonged.
2) The joint obligation to purchase the life of a member of the
clan which has been forfeited by homicide or the murder of a member
of the tribe or an allied tribe.
3) The duty and obligation to aid and to defend its members in supplying
their wants, redressing wrongs and injuries through diplomacy or
by force of arms, and in avenging death.
4) The joint obligation to replace with prisoners or other persons
other members who have been lost or killed, belonging to any ohwachira
of a clan to which they may be related as father's brothers or father's
clansmen, the matron of such ohwachira having the right to ask that
this obligation be fulfilled
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