East Islip High Schoolers Explore Iroquois Influence On The Constitution

Photos courtesy of East Islip School District

East Islip High School students in Greg Kguloian’s class recently researched the influence on the U.S. Constitution by the Iroquois. Officially known the Haudenosaunee, this confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America consisted of the Five Nations of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca, later joined by a sixth, the Tuscarora.

Students explored evidence that the Constitutional Convention delegates studied Native American governments, including descriptions in the three-volume handbook John Adams wrote for the convention, surveying different types of governments and ideas about government, including the Iroquois Confederacy.

“My inspiration for this English/social studies crossover lesson was Detective Jeff Hackett, who brought the facts of the Iroquois to my attention,” Kguloian said. “When my class gave their reports after their deep dive into academically respected sources, including Discovery.com, History.com and Britannia.com, they shared and compared to help each other gain more insight into the factual history of the impetus of the civil rights that we all have, but not everyone understands.”