Five Nations

American  

plural noun

1. a confederacy of Iroquoian Indians: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca, and, after the 18th century, the Tuscarora.

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Five Nations British  

plural noun

1. Also called: Iroquois.  (formerly) a confederacy of North American Indian peoples living mainly in and around present-day New York state, consisting of the Cayugas, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Senecas See also Six Nations

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Five Nations

In “Empire and Frontier,” Samuel Marquis focuses on the conflict’s tumultuous consequences for England’s colony of New York, and for its northern neighbors, the Five Nations of the Iroquois, or Haudenosaunee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The role of the Five Nations as English allies was complicated because some Mohawks had already gravitated to Catholic missions in New France and supported the French.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

While now eschewing the imperial strife of European colonists, the Five Nations waged their own “mourning wars” against the Catawbas and Cherokees of the south.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Hastings, alongside his brother Gavin, was part of the last Scotland side to win a Grand Slam when they triumphed in the 1990 Five Nations.

From BBC ● May 17, 2026

The Five Nations recorded the succession of council members with a combination of pegs and carved images on long wooden cylinders called Condolence Canes.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann