[Antoninus]

And it should be pointed out that enslavement was NOT something the Iroquois were known for. Instead, they practiced "mass adoptions" of captured enemies (which led to the other policy, the "Great Pursuit policy that would eliminate the threat of rebellion internally by those adopted) which meant that while other indian populations were dwindling, the Iroquois population was booming...

That's true. But the Iroquois were hardly unique in this. This practice was common to most of the eastern woodland tribes. Just as often, however, the adoptions were rejected and the unfortunate captive was sentenced to death by fire. But the Iroquois did have a form of enslavement, also. There was a common practice of chewing off the fingers of a captive which, it is thought, was done to make sure the individual in question could never again wield a weapon or draw a bow. Often, such disfigured individuals were put to death straight away, but on occasion, they were adopted by families who had lost loved ones to previous raids. Such individuals lived at the whim of their adoptive parents and could be killed with impunity for little or no reason. Sts. Rene Goupil and Isaac Jogues were in such a condition after they was captured by the Mohawks in 1641.

The practice of outright adoption of women and children without torture or disfigurement was much more common.

[Chad Fairbanks]

During the Beaver War periods, the mass adoption policy was in order to increase the number of warriors within the ranks - hard to do that when one is disfigured. ;0)

I don't think the disfigurement was all that common among those who chose adoption ("Join us, or die"? Hmmm... let me think... LOL) - and I think based on the alternative, most probably jumped at the chance to not only stay alive, but be on the winning side ;)