The Iroquois Museum is an educational institution dedicated to fostering understanding of Iroquois culture using Iroquois art as a window to that culture. The Museum is a venue for promoting Iroquois art and artists, and a meeting place for all peoples to celebrate Iroquois culture and diversity. As an anthropological institution, it is informed by research on archaeology, history, and the common creative spirit of modern artists and craftspeople.
The Iroquois Museum opened in 1981 in the historic homeland of the
Mohawk Indians, one of the original Five Nations of the
Iroquois Confederacy.
About
The Iroquois Museum, which opened in its Howes Cave location in 1992, is built in the form of a traditional
longhouse
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from timber and often rep ...
, important to Iroquois culture. These were used by extended families for their residences. Some longhouses were reserved for tribal councils and community meetings or ceremonies.
Once based in New York, most members of the Iroquois tribes now live on
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
reserves in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada; others live in New York,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and
Oklahoma.
The museum was built at a cost of $1.3 million. It holds the largest collection of Iroquois art in the United States, and is designed to teach and interpret the culture of the Six Tribes of the Iroquois.
Also located in the museum is the Iroquois Performing Arts Amphitheater, used for music and dance works based on traditional practices related to the Iroquois culture. Ancestors were in their territory for 10,000 years.
The museum's exhibits also embrace modern culture, such as one in 2008 that featured
Native American baseball players.
Partners
The Iroquois Museum has partnered with a number of other museums throughout the United States including:
*
Mashantucket Pequot Museum
The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center is a museum of Native American culture in Mashantucket, Connecticut, owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
Overview
The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, l ...
*
Mystic Aquarium
*
Institute for American Indian Studies
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes can ...
*
Heritage Museum & Gardens
*
Old Sturbridge Village
Old Sturbridge Village is a living museum located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts which recreates life in rural New England during the 1790s through 1830s. It is the largest living museum in New England, covering more than 200 acres (81 hectares). T ...
*
Shinnecock Museum
*
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art
References
External links
Iroquois Indian Museum Official website
nearby Boy Scout facility
1981 establishments in New York (state)
Art museums and galleries in New York (state)
History museums in New York (state)
Iroquois culture
Museums in Schoharie County, New York
Native American museums in New York (state)
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