Clan Mothers- Iakoia:ne

Submitted by Native North American Traveling College

In the Mohawk Nation there are nine Kontiianehson. They are the head women of a large extended family within each clan. They are the women who are referred to as Clan Mothers. The Kontiianehson are responsible for the process of selecting a Roia:ne (man leader) or deposing a Roia:ne, if he fails to perform his duties.

For each principal Roia:ne title there are four assistants:

Iakoia:ne – clan mother

Roia:ne – principal man leader

Raterontanonha – man sub leader (“He takes care of the tree” is the literal translation)

Kaie:ri niioriwake Iakoterihonton – Woman Faithkeeper (Four Sacred Rituals she is in charge of)

Kaie:ri niioriwake Roterihonton – Man Faithkeeper (Four Sacred Rituals he is in charge of)

The man Faithkeeper and woman Faithkeeper are the niece and nephew of the Roia:ne clan family. The niece and nephew have specific duties and can be considered the assistants of the Roia:ne. Since there are nine principal Roia:ne titles and five positions of responsibility for each title, that means that there are forty-five leader positions for the entire Mohawk Nation.

The clan Mother is the leader of an entire extended family in a clan. The Clan Mother has specific duties.

When the Clan Mother’s Roia:ne passes away, she will be ready to put another man up within three days after the funeral; if not possible, then no later than ten days.

The Clan Mother will call a meeting with her immediate extended family. She may choose to meet only with the female relatives or she may choose to combine the men relatives as well. At the meeting she will inform the extended family as to who is her candidate and seek approval of all members of her extended family.

The second step will be to announce her candidate to the entire Rotiianehson Council. She must receive approval of the entire Council. The Council will then dispatch runners to the younger brothers of the Confederacy (Oneidas and Cayugas) and it will be their duty to gather the whole Confederacy to set a date when they will conduct the condolence and the raising of the new Roia:ne.

The third step is when The Clan Mother presents her candidate before the assembled Confederacy for all to see. The candidate will at that time have to be approved by the younger brother nations as well as the older brother nations.

The fourth step is when the people are asked if they know any reason why the candidate should not be made a leader. If no objections are made, the Clan Mothers candidate becomes a confirmed Roia:ne.

Listed are some of the criteria a Clan Mother must use for selecting a leader:

A leader must be married, supportive and respectful of his wife for all of his life until his death

A leader must be a good father to his children

A leader must be a member of his Clan Mother’s clan. He also must have a clan from his mother that is different than his fathers clan

A leader must be fluent in our language

A leader must be knowledgeable of our beliefs and political structure

A leader must be an honest and truthful person

A leader must be kind, patient, and a caring person

A leader has to carry a mature mind at all times

A leader must be a righteous person

The above is also true of the Clan Mothers. If a Roia:ne commits one of or all the three major crimes he is automatically removed.

The three crimes are

1) Murder 2) Rape 3) Stealing