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7th grade · Social Studies · Unit 9 of 18

Native Nations of New York

The Haudenosaunee, Lenape and their neighbors

What your child practices

How geography shaped the Native nations of New York, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and its Great Law of Peace, the Lenape, Mohican, Shinnecock and Unkechaug homelands, and the effects of European contact. Light, in the present tense, with nations as living communities today.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 7.1; 7.1a; 7.2b · how geography shaped Native American nations in New York and how European contact affected them

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy first united five nations under the Great Law of Peace; the Tuscarora joined in the early 1700s, making Six Nations.
  2. The Seneca are the Keeper of the Western Door because their lands are farthest west.
  3. The Lenape, Mohican, Shinnecock and Unkechaug also have homelands in New York. Several nations have their own governments and lands today.

Example: How many nations first united in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy? The Tuscarora joined later, making six. So at first there were five. Answer: five

Native Nations of New York in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 9 of 18 in 7th grade Social Studies, after Factories & Reformers and before New Netherland to New York.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The Great Law of Peace united the Haudenosaunee nations so they could…

    • settle disputes peacefully and decide shared matters in a Grand Council
    • choose a single king
    • trade only with Europe
    • stop farming

  2. Question 2

    Native nations in different parts of North America developed different ways of life mainly because…

    • Europeans told them how to live
    • they adapted to different climates, landforms and resources
    • they all lived in one region
    • they had no contact with the land

  3. Question 3

    The Tuscarora joined the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in the early 1700s, so it is often called the…

    • Six Nations
    • Twelve Tribes
    • Thirteen Colonies
    • Five Boroughs

  4. Question 4

    "Haudenosaunee" is usually translated as…

    • People of the Desert
    • People of the Longhouse
    • People of the Plains
    • People of the Sea Ice

  5. Question 5

    The Onondaga Nation's role in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy is often described as…

    • keeping the central council fire, where the Grand Council meets
    • guarding the Pacific coast
    • ruling the other nations
    • trading with China

  6. Question 6

    Some historians and members of Congress have said the Haudenosaunee Confederacy influenced…

    • the Roman Senate
    • the Spanish missions
    • the British monarchy
    • ideas about uniting separate states under one government

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