Known to history as the Five Nations, the Iroquoian tribes were comprised of the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca. As a political body they called themselves Ongwanonsionni "we are of the extended lodge."

The Iroquois as a linguistic family that contained:

The Huron (the Bear People)
The Attigneenongnahac (the Cord People)
The Arendahronon (Rock people)
The Tohontaenrat (Atahontaenrat or Tohontaenrat, White-eared or Deer people)
The Wenrohronon
The Ataronchronon, and the Atonthrataronon (Otter people, an Algonquian tribe)
The Tionontati or Tobacco people or nation;
The confederation of the Attiwendaronk or Neutrals, composed of the Neutrals proper, the Aondironon, the Ongniarahronon, and the Atirageiiratka (Atiraguenrek)
The Conkhandeenrhonon;
The Iroquois Confederation composed of the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, and the Seneca, and the Tuscarora in 1722
Later there were rements of;
The Tutelo, the Saponi, The Naticoke, The Conoy, and the Muskwaki or Fox, The Conestoga or Susquehanna, The Akhrakouaehronon or Atrakouaehjronon, The Erie or Cat nation, The Nottaway, The Meherrin, and the Cherokee.

Each tribe was an independent political unit, except those which formed leagues in which the constituent tribes, while enjoying local self-government, acted jointly in common affairs. For this reason there was no general name for themselves common to all the tribes.

As political body they called themselves Ongwanosionm "we are of the extended lodge." Among the Iroquoian tribes, kinship is traced through the blood of the woman only; kinship means membership in a family, and this in turn constitutes citizenship in the tribe, conferring certain social, political, and religious privileges, duties, and rights which are denied to persons of alien blood; but, by a legal fiction embodied in the right of adoption, the blood of the alien may be figuratively changed into one of the strains of the Iroquoian blood, and thus citizenship may be conferred on a person of alien lineage.

In an Iroquoian tribe the legislative, judicial, and executive functions are usually exercised by one and the same class of persons, commonly called chiefs in English, who are organized into councils. There are three grades of chiefs. The chiefship is hereditary in certain of the simplest political units in the government of the tribe; a chief is nominated by the suffrages of the matrons of this unit, and the nomination is confirmed by the tribal and the federal councils. The functions of the three grades of chiefs are defined in the rules of procedure. When the five Iroquoian tribes were organized into a confederation, its government was only a development of that of the separate tribes, just as the government of each of the constituent tribes was a development of that of the several clans of which it was composed. The government of the clan was a development of that of the several brood families of which it was composed, and the brood family, strictly speaking, was composed of the progeny of a woman and her female descendants, counting through the female line only; hence the clan may be described as a permanent body of kindred, socially and politically organized, who trace actual and theoretical descent through the female line only. The simpler units surrendered part of their autonomy to the next higher units in such wise that the whole was closely interdependent and cohesive. The establishment of the higher unit created new rights, privileges, and duties. This was the principle of organization of the confederation of the five Iroquoian tribes.

Among the Iroquoian tribes kinship is traced through the blood of the woman only; kinship means membership in a family, and this in turn constitutes citizenship in the tribe, conferring certain social, political, and religious privileges, duties, and rights which are denied to persons of alien blood; but, by a legal fiction embodied in the right of adoption, the blood of the alien may be figuratively changed into one of the strains of the Iroquoian blood, and thus citizenship may be conferred on a person of alien lineage. In an Iroquoian tribe the legislative, judicial, and executive functions are usually exercised by one and the same class of persons, commonly called chiefs in English, who are organized into councils. There are three grades of chiefs. The chiefship is hereditary in certain of the simplest political units in the government of the tribe; a chief is nominated by the suffrages of the matrons of this unit, and the nomination is confirmed by the tribal and the federal councils. The functions of the three grades of chiefs are defined in the rules of procedure. When the five Iroquoian tribes were organized into a confederation, its government was only a development of that of the separate tribes, just as the government of each of the constituent tribes was a development of that of the several clans of which it was composed. The government of the clan was a development of that of the several brood families of which it was composed, and the brood family, strictly speaking, was composed of the progeny of a woman and her female descendants, counting through the female line only; hence the clan may be described as a permanent body of kindred, socially and politically organized, who trace actual and theoretical descent through the female line only.

The date of the formation of this confederation (probably not the first, but the last of a series of attempts to unite the several tribes in a federal union) was not earlier than about the year 1570, which is some 50 years preceding that of the Huron tribes. The Delawares gave them the name Mingwe. The northern and western Algonquians called them Nadowa, 'adders'. The Powhatan called them Massawomekes. The English knew them as the Confederation of the Five Nations, and after the admission of the Tuscarora in 1722, as the Six Nations .As mentioned above the League of the Iroquois, when first known to Europeans, was composed of the five tribes, and occupied the territory extending from the east watershed of Lake Champlain to the west watershed of Genesee River, and from the Adirondacks southward to the territory of the Conestoga. With the formation of the league the Five Nation began immediately to make their power known.

When the Dutch arrived the The Five Nations procured arms from these new visitors an were able to extend their conquests from the Ottawa River to the Tennessee and from the Kennebec to the Illinois River and to Lake Michigan. To the south the power of the Chippewa and the Cherokee checked their advance there as did the French in Canada.

Champlain on one of his early expeditions joined a party of Canadian Indians against the Iroquois. From this point on the French were their bitter enemies,which proved fortuitous for the English settlers in Western Pennsylvania. The French made many attempts through missionaries to win over the Iroquois. Their attempts proved successful with only a few such as the Mohawk and the Onondaga. The tribes of the league repeatedly tried, but without success, to induce them to return, and finally, in 1684, declared them to be traitors. In later wars these departed tribes known as the Catholic Iroquois took part with the French against their former brethren. On the breaking out of the American Revolution the League of the Iroquois decided not to take part in the conflict, but to allow each tribe to decide for itself what action to take. All the tribes, with the exception of the Oneida and about half of the Tugcarora, joined the English. After the revolution the Mohawk and Cayuga, with other Iroquoian tribes that were in the English interest, after several temporary alignments, were finally settled by the Canadian government on a reservation on Grand River, Ontario, where they still reside, although a few individuals emigrated to Gibson, Bay of Quinte, Caughnawaga, and St Thomas, Ontario.

By 1900 all the Iroquois in the United States were on reservations in New York with the exception of the Oneida, who are settled near Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Seneca of Oklahoma were composed of the remnants of many tribes, among which may be mentioned the Conestoga and Hurons. and of emigrants from all the tribes of the Iroquoian confederation. It is very probable that the nucleus of these Seneca was the remnant of the ancient Erie. The Catholic Iroquois of Caughnawaga, St Regis, and Oklahoma, although having no connection with the confederation, supplied many recruits to the fur trade, and a large number of them have become permanently resident among the northwestern tribes of the United States and Canada. The number of the Iroquois villages varied greatly at different periods and from decade to decade. In 1657 there were about 24, but after the conquest of the Erie the entire country from the Genesee to the west watershed of Lake Erie came into possession of the Iroquoian tribes, which afterward settled colonies on the upper waters of the Allegheny and Susquehanna and on the north shore of lake Ontario, so that by 1750 their villages may have numbered about 50. The population of the Iroquois also varied much at different periods. Their constant wars greatly weakened them. In 1689 it was estimated that they had 2,250 warriors, who were reduced by war, disease, and defections to Canada, to 1,230 in 1098. Their losses were largely made up by their system of wholesale adoption, which was carried on to such an extent that at one time their adopted aliens were reported to equal or exceed the number of native Iroquois. Disregarding the extraordinary estimates of some early writers, it is evident that the modern Iroquois, instead of decreasing in population, have increased, and number more at present than at any former period. On account of the defection of the Catholic, Iroquois and the omission of the Tuscarora from the estimates it was impossible to get a statement of the full strength of the Iroquois until within recent times. About tlie middle of the 17th century the Five Nations were supposed to have reached their highest point, and in 1677 and 1685 they were estimated at about 16,000. In 1689 they were estimated at about 12,850, but in the next 9 years they lost more than half by war and by desertions to Canada. The most accurate estimates for the 18th century gave to the Six Nations and their colonies about 10,000 or 12,000 souls.

The Catholic Iroquois of Caughnawaga, St Regis, and Oklahoma although having no connection with the confederation, supplied many recruits to the fur trade, and a large number of them have become permanently resident among the northwestern tribes of the United States and Canada. The number of the Iroquois villages varied greatly at different periods and from decade to decade. In 1657 there were about 24, but after the conquest of the Erie the entire country from the Genesee to the west watershed of Lake Erie came into possession of the Iroquoian tribes, which afterward settled colonies on the upper waters of the Allegheny and Susquehanna and on the north shore of lake. Ontario, so that by 1750 their villages may have numbered about 50. The population of the Iroquois also varied much at different periods. Their constant wars greatly weakened them. In 1689 it was estimated that they had 2,250 warriors, who were reduced by war, disease, and defections to Canada, to 1,230 in 1098. Their losses were largely made up by their system of wholesale adoption, which was carried on to such an extent that at one time their adopted aliens were reported to equal or exceed the number of native Iroquois. Disregarding the extraordinary estimates of some early writers, it is evident that the modern Iroquois, instead of decreasing in population, have increased, and number more at present than at any former period. On account of the defection of the Catholic, Iroquois and the omission of the Tuscarora from the estimates it was impossible to get a statement of the full strength of the Iroquois until within recent times. About the middle of the 17th century the Five Nations were supposed to have reached their highest point, and in 1677 and 1685 they were estimated at about 16,000. In 1689 they were estimated at about 12,850, but in the next 9 years they lost more than half by war and by desertions to Canada. The most accurate estimates for the 18th century gave to the Six Nations and their colonies about 10,000 or 12,000 souls.

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