The Economy of the Iroquois originally focused on communal production and combined elements of both agricultural and hunter-gatherer systems. The Iroquois peoples were predominately agricultural, harvesting the Three Sisters commonly grown by American Indian groups: maize, beans, and squash. The Iroquois developed a system of economics very different from the now dominant Western variety. This system consisted of several unique components including communal land ownership, division of labor by gender, and trade based on gift giving. Contact with Europeans in the early 1600s had a profound impact on the economy of the Iroquois. At first they became important trading partners, but the expansion of European settlement upset the balance of the Iroquois economy. By 1800 the Iroquois had been confined to reservations, and they had to adapt their traditional economic system. In the 20th century, some of the Iroquois groups took advantage of their independent status on the reservation and started Indian casinos. Other Iroquois have incorporated themselves directly into the outside economies off of the reservation.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Iroquois

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

304: Thirteen-year-old Saint Agnes, the patron saint of young girls, was executed for refusing a marriage proposal. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Agnes)

1525: The first Anabaptists in Switzerland re-baptized each other. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabaptist)

1793: French Revolution: After being found guilty of treason by the National Convention, King Louis XVI was guillotined in front of a cheering crowd. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI_of_France)

1915: The first Kiwanis service club was founded in Detroit, Michigan. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwanis)

1976: The Concorde supersonic transports began commercial flights to London, Paris, Bahrain, and Rio de Janeiro. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"If we would acquire useful knowledge, we must first divest ourselves of those impediments and sincerely endeavor to search out the truth: and draw our conclusions from reason and just argument, which will never conform to our inclination, interest or fancy but we must conform to that if we would judge rightly." -- Ethan Allen (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ethan_Allen)