Iroquois

The Haudenosaunee, historically called Iroquois, are a confederacy of Indigenous nations in northeastern North America. The original Five Nations became Six when the Tuscarora joined in the eighteenth century.

Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca communities combined shared government with their own local authority. Trade, warfare and diplomacy connected them with neighbours and European colonists.

Early accounts describe animal tattoos and other markings on warriors' bodies. Some observers read them as records of achievements in war. These descriptions concern particular people and periods, rather than one tattoo code used by every nation.

Neighbours such as the Neutral and Tionontati, called the Tobacco Nation, were also described with extensive animal designs. Snakes, lizards and other creatures covered the skin. Alongside clothing and ornaments, the markings could give a person's body an impressive, recognisable appearance.