The Iroquois League, or Five Nations of the Iroquois, was the most powerful Indian military alliance in the eastern part of North America and probably the most successful alliance of any kind between so many important tribes. There were three principal clans - deer, turtle and wolf - existing within the five nations, and this was probably an important unifying factor in the league. The league was formed in the late sixteenth century when the five nations had a combined population of approximately 7,000.
