HAUDENOSAUNEE CLOTHING

Haudenosaunee people today dress just like you and me. Girls and boys wear jeans and running shoes and t-shirts and baseball caps. Traditional styles of clothing are worn on special occasions such as festivals, ceremonies, or powwows. During special occasions Iroquois people might wear older styles of clothing made from leather or cloth. Boys might wear ribbon shirts and breechcloths and girls might wear an overdress, skirt and leggings.They might also wear leather moccasins. Accessories such as turquoise and silver jewelry, bead jewelry, barrettes, wampum, bolo ties, belt buckles or earrings made of beads or bone might also be worn. Accessories can be worn for these special occasions, but many times you will see someone wearing a necklace along with their jeans and t-shirt. This necklace might have the image of a turtle or bear which represents that person’s Haudenosaunee clan.

 

Traditional Haudenosaunee clothes can be made of either leather or cloth. Cloth was brought over to North America by the early European traders. Haudenosaunee  used the cloth to make their own style of clothing. By the eighteenth century (1700s), the use of calico and flannel cloth was well established among Haudenosaunee  women and men. Deer, moose, and elk hides and furs such as beaver, bear or wolf were the materials used to make clothing for men and women, before the introduction of cloth.  The basic pieces of clothing were moccasins, leggings, a skirt for women, a breechcloth for men, some type of wrap to cover the upper part of the body in cool or cold weather and a robe of fur.  Accessories to the outfit were made of shell, bone, antler, clay, feathers, and other natural materials. 

When cloth was brought over by the early traders, it was sought after and became an important trade item. Certain types of finished clothing such as coats and shirts were also desired by the Iroquois as well as glass beads and silver jewelry pieces. While the basic components of the dress remained the same, perhaps the biggest change was the introduction of the shirt with sleeves for both the men and the women. Linen shirts and military coats were traded to the Haudenosaunee throughout the 1700s. Peter Kalm described women at about the same time as wearing short blue knee length petticoats, edged with ribbons, a blouse over the petticoat, and wampum for jewelry. In 1765 (Parker, 1926:117) a report on the Seneca details women wearing broadcloth skirts, flannel underskirts and leggings, and an overdress of flannel or turkey cloth (calico) in green, red. or blue and nicely beaded rows of silver brooches and ribbons on the collar and bottom of the overdress. Men wore flannel and broadcloth hunting shirts, but interestingly their leggings were still made of leather. For special occasions, they wore military coats. Ruffled shirts are also often mentioned. These descriptions of Haudenosaunee  clothing continue throughout the 1700s and into the 1800s. In 1834, the Reverend John Douse at Six Nations reports, "The men ...wear moccasins. and no trousers but have long leggings and the shirt overall loose and on the outside - as to the women; - they wore cloth chiefly,-a petticoat-leggings of It and a bed gown of print... A good black stiff hat, such as men wear in England and a large square of broadcloth often very good complete their dress..." (Johnston, 1964:261). It is at this time that more and more mention is made of the Haudenosaunee  dressing in "English fashion" with only the elderly retaining the traditional dress. In 1851, Henry Morgan Lewis made a distinction between the clothing of men and women by stating that women continued to wear traditional dress; however, not necessarily "richly embroidered" with beadwork. The men he noted, wore the traditional clothing only for "the dance".

 

By the 20th century, many Haudenosaunee  reserved their traditional clothing for special occasions. A show style of dress was also adopted at that time which combined elements of other Native clothing with the Iroquois style. Plains Indian clothing along with accessories and design elements became popular. Outfits were also made to resemble leather. They were often made of tan and brown cloth, which was fringed at the shoulders and sleeves. Pant legs and skirt bottoms were also fringed. The Plains style feather bonnet also became very popular. Today, many Haudenosaunee prefer to dress in their own traditional style clothing when participating in ceremonies, powwows, and other special events.

 

DRESS THE CORNHUSK DOLLS IN THE CLOTHING THEY WOULD HAVE WORN IN EACH TIME PERIOD!

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