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 the “grand settlement” of 1701, the disillusioned Five Nations negotiated treaties with the French and English alike, enacting a policy of wary neutrality that kept them out of subsequent Anglo-French conflicts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The Five Nations of the Iroquois allied with several English colonies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

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

Scotland's campaign was bookended by losses to Italy and Ireland, but superb wins over Wales, England and France gave Gregor Townsend's side hope of a first title since the final Five Nations in 1999.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026

In the same way, Deganawidah prophesied, the Five Nations, each weak on its own, would fall into darkness unless they all banded together.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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