GRE Reading Comprehension

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Source: BOOST

Writing of the Iroquois nation, Smith has argued that through the chiefs council, tribal chiefs traditionally maintained complete control over the political affairs of both the Iroquois tribal league and the individual tribes belonging to the league, whereas the sole jurisdiction over religious affairs resided with the shamans. According to Smith, this division was maintained until the late nineteenth century, when the dissolution of the chiefs' council and the consequent diminishment of the chiefs' political power fostered their increasing involvement in religious affairs.

However, Smith fails to recognize that this division of power between .the tribal chiefs and shamans was not actually rooted iri Iroquois tradition; rather, it resulted from the Iroquois' resettlement on reservations early in the nineteenth century. Prior to resettlement, the chiefs' council controlled only the broad policy of the tribal league; individual tribes had institutions-most important, the longhouse-to govern their own affairs. In the longhouse, the tribe's chief influenced both political and religious affairs.

Question List: 1 2 3 4

The author of the passage implies that which of the following occurred after the Iroquois were resettled on reservations early in the nineteenth century?

  • A Chiefs became more involved in their tribes' religious affairs.
  • B The authority of the chiefs' council over the affairs of individual tribes increased.
  • C The political influence of the Iroquois shamans was diminished.
  • D individual tribes coalesced into the Iroquois tribal league.
  • E The longhouse became a political rather than a religious institution.

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