Longhouse Religion

Longhouse Religion is a religious movement of the Iroquois people. It is also called The Code of Handsome Lake or  Gaihwi:io ("Good Message"). The Seneca prophet Handsome Lake (Sganyodaiyoˀ) founded the movement. The movement combines traditional Iroquois religion and Christianity. There are ceremonies in Longhouses. Handsome Lake claims that spirits visited him. He recovered from an illness and stopped drinking alcohol. In the movement, he told Natives not to be drunk, be lazy or cheat on their spouses. Handsome Lake preached moral conduct. Natives supported the movement. They liked that the movement kept traditional Native values. Some opposed the new movement. They thought it went against traditional Native values and was too Christian.