Questions for Class Discussion

1. It is sometimes suggested that the Iroquois Confederacy may have provided a model for the union of states into the United States of America. What similarities and differences are there between the two confederations?
   
   
2. What role did the Iroquois play in the politics and warfare of British North America? Was the decision of most Iroquois to side with the British in the Revolutionary War the most decisive moment in their history? Why or why not?
   
   

Suggested Student Exercises

• Use a map of upstate New York to locate the traditional Iroquois lands as well as present-day areas of settlement. Examine materials on the efforts of todays Iroquois to recover lands and obtain governmental recognition in both New York state and Canada.
  
  
• Look at the conflict between Britain and the American colonies from an Iroquois perspective. Ask students to consider how subsequent history might have been different had the British defeated the Americans in the Revolution.