Culture:
Art-Traditional Iroquois culture was filled with art. They decorated clothing with porcupine quills or shell beads that were beautifully arranged. They also liked to woven grasses into baskets and used fine clay pots for cooking, and serving food.
Dance and music-Iroquois people enjoyed traditional dancing and music. Medicine rituals often involved singing and dancing. Both men and women danced. They will play drums and rattles. Smokes dance is a competitive dance that challenges participants to perform fast and precise steps. Dancers moved in a counter-clockwise circle, stomping or shuffling their feet. 10 singers will sit in the centre of a circle.They used water drums and rattles accompanied their singing. When the rhythm changed, the dancers changed direction.
Games- Iroquois enjoyed playing games using a bowl filled with six peach stones.They also enjoyed lacrosse and stick ball. Snow Snake, in this game, players competed to see who could slide a long stick farthest across the snow.
Beliefs and Ceremonies- Thanksgiving ceremonies were held to show gratitude for the natural blessings that were a part of life. They gave thanks to their ancestors, for all living creatures, for the earth, sun, moon, stars, wind, thunder, water, trees and fire. Iroquois believed that everything around them had a spirit. Most of them believed in a powerful creator named the "Great Spirit". They.had special rituals to heal the sick and bring well-being to the nation. There were Harvest festival, Mid-winter festival and Green Corn ceremony. Six days festival was celebrated at the beginning of the new year to give thanks to the "Great Spirit".
Burial Practices-Bodies were buried in shallow graves and then later exhumed. The bones were preserved and brought by relatives to a central burial following a mourning feast.The bodies were accompanied by presents for the spirits.