Unit 4
Mi’kmaq and Iroquois Indians of the Eastern Woodlands

In contrast to the Subarctic, the Eastern Woodlands region had abundant resources to support human life. Villages developed in some areas, supporting complex cultural traditions and reflecting an emerging sedentary lifestyle. Unit 4 introduces the maritime Mi’kmaq¹ and the inland Iroquois and provides insight into the different diplomatic traditions of the Woodland Indians and the British newcomers.

Objectives

When you have completed Unit 4, you should be able to

1. describe the geographic and environmental characteristics of the Eastern Woodlands.
2. identify the geographical location of the cultural groups that historically occupied the Eastern Woodlands.
3. compare Iroquois and Mi’kmaq societies with regard to
   • economy (resources, technology, division of labour, seasonal mobility);
   • social organization (group membership, marriage rules, non-kin relations);
   • political systems (leadership, social control, warfare); and
   • ideological systems (rituals, beliefs, taboos, worldview).
4. describe the evolution of the Iroquois League into the Iroquois Confederacy.
5. compare Mi’kmaq and Iroquois involvement in warfare in the post-European contact period.
6. contrast French and British colonial policy toward Woodlands Indians.
7. describe the tension between hereditary and elected chiefs and councils on the Six Nations Reserve.
8. outline continuity and change in religion as reflected by the Iroquois New Religion.
9. explain the causes of Mi’kmaq population decline.
10. discuss the recent advances in recognition of Aboriginal rights for the Mi’kmaq.
11. outline the differences in the European and Amerindian diplomatic traditions.

¹Anthropological literature uses both Mi’kmaq and Micmac spellings for this Aboriginal group. Mi’kmaq is currently considered more acceptable, so we will use Mi’kmaq in this course.