Answer:
The Iroquois tribes were a matrilineal culture that tracked kinship and lineage via the mother's line. Men and women played varied roles in their social system, but both were held in great regard.
Women were essential members of Iroquois culture since they were in charge of agricultural output and resource distribution. They owned and controlled land, had a role in political decisions, and held positions of tremendous authority in their communities. Women were also in charge of choosing and deposing clan rulers.
Males, on the other hand, were in charge of hunting, fishing, and fighting. They were also active in political decision-making and occupied positions of leadership in their communities. Males played complimentary duties to women, and they collaborated to secure the survival and prosperity of their societies.
Generally, Iroquois society was organized on the ideas of balance and harmony, with both men and women playing major roles and working together to keep their communities healthy.
Sources
- Fenton, William N. The Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois Confederacy. University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.
- Johansen, Bruce E. The Native Peoples of North America: A History. Rutgers University Press, 2006.
- Miller, Jay. "Women and Power in Native North America." Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 17, Smithsonian Institution, 1996, pp. 324-334.
- Richter, Daniel K. The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization. University of North Carolina Press, 1992.
- Snow, Dean R. The Iroquois. Blackwell Publishers, 1994.
- Tooker, Elisabeth. An Ethnography of the Huron Indians, 1615-1649. Syracuse University Press, 1991.
- Trigger, Bruce G. Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 15: Northeast. Smithsonian Institution, 1978.
- Weaver, Sally M. "Iroquois Women: An Ethnohistorical Note." Ethnohistory, vol. 23, no. 2, 1976, pp. 153-164.
- White, Bruce M. "Iroquoian Women: The Gantowisas." Ethnohistory, vol. 31, no. 1, 1984, pp. 1-29.
- Witgen, Michael J. An Infinity of Nations: How the Native New World Shaped Early North America. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012.