About Myself
My name is Dichali , which means, like me, talks a
lot.
I am part of the Iroquois Confederacy, which
consists of 5 tribes, and is located in the Eastern
Woodlands.
I am a Mohawk Indian in the Iroquois
Confederacy.
THIS IS MY WONDERFUL LIFE…
Journal Entry 1- Clothing
I had to get dressed to go to Kwahu’s (my friend) section
in my home. I put on my leggings and my breechcloth,
made of animal skin. This is the same thing my father
wore. We left our shirt off, like men. My mother wore
her short leggings and wraparound skirt, as well as her
overdress. I put on my gustoweh, or feathered cap, with
an insignia of three eagle feathers to show I am a
Mohawk. Then I put on my moccasins and walked to
Kwahu’s section in search of fun.
Journal Entry 1- Housing (Summer)
After I got dressed, I went straight to Kwahu’s family’s
section of the longhouse. My clan, containing 60
people, lives in the longhouse, and my friend, Kwahu,
has his section next to mine. His family was having
breakfast near their fireplace. I sat with them and
looked out the window, to see several hundred
people in the village, walking out of many different
longhouses.
Journal Entry 1-Food
Kwahu and I went with my father to go hunting today.
We saw my mother harvest corn, bean, and squash
near our house. Kwahu, my Dad and I went in search of
anything we could eat, such as fox, moose, or deer. I
spotted a deer, and we went in pursuit of it. Kwahu
and I had a bow and many arrows, and my Dad had a
spear. I fired several shots, and three of them
showered the deer, and made it burst in blood. I’ll have
to clean it. That is what we will eat with squash
tonight.
Journal Entry 1:Characteristics
Today, many things happened. First, my tribe and the other tribes
in the Iroquois Confederacy sent their matriarchs to vote for our
leaders. My Mohawk council also made some decisions about
hunting today, but my dad refused to tell me what. After we went
hunting today, my dad did become strict, making me do many
chores, as usual, but he is in a bad mood. After I did my chores, I
played a game I invented with my friends called lacrosse. My
father watched for a little, then fought in the war against the
Huron with his war club. We are all tired.
Journal Entry 2: Terrain (or not terrain)
Today, we hunted once again, but today we went near
the big river in the huge forest. We all had bows and
arrows, and my dad also had a spear. We were looking
for a bird lurking in a spruce tree. We saw a ferocious
bear glare at us from the big flowery area near the huge
cedar tree and river. I sniped the bear from a long
distance, only using up three arrows (each one hit). The
bear fell dead. I just grinned.
Journal Entry 2: Ecosystem
While we were hunting, I took some mental pictures. I
will describe them as good as I can. Though I killed a
bear, I saw some wild nut bushes and fruits, which we
picked. In a nearby ash tree, a fox was in pursuit of a
bird, and I spared its life because it was so satisfied. A
deer grazed near another cedar tree. I gazed at it in
awe, then my dad yelled at me to shoot the bear,
which I did. But that deer was really cool.
Journal Entry 2: Plants
I noticed the beautiful plants, too. The ash wood,
birch, spruce, and cedar trees’ height was amazing.
The nut and fruit bushes fit in the forest so well, it
was like my mothers beautiful paintings. I love the
plants here. They are so amazing.
Journal Entry 2: Animals
Foxes and birds quarreled today, all over the place.
The bear I slaughtered had a family, which chased
me near a moose family, where the bears settled
happily, though I heard something scream a
deafening scream and other noises. Wolves were in
pursuit of extremely fast deer, which dove in to a
lake and confused the wolves. Today included lots
of running. It was also very tiring.
Diary Entry 3: Weather
Today started off as a little chilly, trying to imply the fact
fall is coming. I was freezing my chest off, though,
because I wasn’t wearing a shirt. I didn’t regret, because
as the day continued it got gradually more warm, until I
felt the urge to rip off my skin. The clouds were clear, and
I felt super exposed to heat. I dove in to a nearby lake to
cool off. I wished it weren’t so hot. Then I remembered
the freezing winter was approaching, so I dropped the
wish. But I do wish the weather here would stay the
same!!!
Journal Entry 3: Weather Impact
As you know, I don’t wear a shirt in summer. I don’t
because of the immense heat. We, men, barely ever
wear a shirt. In winter, we put on these robes my mom
made for us. I took it out to look at and know, how
diverse the weather here is. Most animal skin goes in to
art or winter clothes. The animals here have full-time
winter coats. I would hate to be one in the summer.
Journal Entry 3: Survival Strategies
I grabbed a scroll written by my ancestors, the kind about
how they live. I read about how they were nomadic. That
idea seemed so silly. Building a longhouse and moving
every 3 days? No way. Our decision making process is
much better than our ancestors, the kind were our
matriarchs vote on numerous leaders, rather than a
monarchy for leaders. Growing food didn’t exist then, and
that was shocking. No fruits or vegetables or farms? I
would die so quickly. Moving all the time is crazy. My
ancestors hunted strange animals I have never heard of.
Either I am so different, or my ancestors are weird.
Reflection 1
My summer has been awesome, but now horrific
occurrences might appear. When my father fought the
Huron 3 days ago, he wouldn’t tell me why he was
upset. Now I know why. It is because the Algonquin are
on the brim of war with us, and even though the
Huron are almost defeated, some other strange, pale
men are invading the area with weird shiny
thingymabobs are long rock-shooting rod thingys. On
top of that, winter is approaching, and no crops will
grow. Though my clan had lots of food, our tribe
doesn’t, which is why the hunting ban till winter is
being enforced tomorrow. Don’t get too comfortable in
summer, or you will suffer in winter.
Reflection 2: How Awesome am I
I would give myself a 96.3 (with a line on top of
the 3) because I didn’t do very great in general. I
should make this more first person, which I
attempted to do, but I had so much information
that I couldn’t do a very good job. I do think I did
good with the amount of information I had,
though. I just want to so, I’m kind of modest. I did
enjoy doing this project because I love to write,
and the story unfurled as I needed it; I didn’t
have a set storyline. I think this went well,
regardless, because I had a lot of time to revise
and improve my work. This was an amazing
experience. Thank ya – thank ya very much.
Bibliography
• Historycentral.com/Indian/Before.html
• School.eb.com/comptons/article9599889?query=Iroquois&ct=ebi
• Bigorrin.org/iroquois_kids.htm
• WORLD BOOK I
• www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/noamernewoodlands.html
• http://s269.beta.photobucket.com/user/RumealSmit
h/media/nuke.jpg.html
• http://express.howstuffworks.com/exp-rainbow.htm
ALSO REMEMBER…
CLOSE YOUR PARENTHESIS!!!
(OR THIS WILL HAPPEN NEAR
YOU)
End of slide show, click to exit
Gotcha!
But
Seriously..