Economy of The Iroquois - Division of Labor: Agriculture and Forestry

Division of Labor: Agriculture and Forestry

The division of labor reflected the dualistic split common in Iroquois culture: The twin gods Sapling (East) and Flint (West) embodied the dualistic notion of two complementary halves. Dualism was applied to labor with each gender taking a clearly defined role that complemented the work of the other. Women did all work involving the field while men did all work involving the forest including the manufacture of anything involving wood. The Iroquois men were responsible for hunting, trading, and fighting, while the women took care of farming, food gathering, and housekeeping. This gendered division of labor was the predominant means of dividing work in Iroquois society. At the time of contact with Europeans, Iroquois women produced about 65% of the goods and the men 35%. The combined production of food made famine and hunger extremely rare—early Europeans settlers often envied the success of Iroquois food production.

The Iroquois system of work matched their system of land ownership. Since the Iroquois owned property together, they worked together as well. The women performed difficult work in large groups, going from field to field helping one another work each others' land. Together they would sow the fields as a "mistress of the field" distributed a set amount of seeds to each of the women. The Iroquois women of each agricultural group would select an old but active member of their group to act as their leader for that year and agree to follow her directions. The women performed other work cooperatively as well. The women would cut their own wood, but their leader would oversee the collective carrying of the wood back to the village. The women's clans performed other work, and according to Mary Jemison, a white woman assimilated as an Indian, the collective effort averted "every jealousy of one having done more or less work than another."

The Iroquois men also organized themselves in a cooperative fashion. Of course, the men acted collectively during military actions, as there is little sense in a single individual fighting entirely alone in battle. The other jobs of men, such as hunting and fishing, also involved cooperative elements similar to women's cooperation. However, the men differed from the women in that they more often organized as a whole village rather than as a clan. The men organized hunting parties where they used extensive cooperation to kill a large amount of game. One first hand account told of a large hunting party that built a large brush fence in a forest forming a V. The hunters burned the forest from the open side of the V, forcing the animals to run towards the point where the village's hunters waited in an opening. A hundred deer could be killed at a time under such a plan.

The men also fished in large groups. Extensive fishing expeditions often took place where men in canoes with weirs and nets covered entire streams to reap large amounts of fish, sometimes a thousand in half of a day. A hunting or fishing party's takings were considered common property and would be divided among the party by the leader or taken to the village for a feast. Hunting and fishing were not always cooperative efforts, but the Iroquois generally did better in parties than as individuals.