People of the Five Nations members of a certain clan shall recognize every other member of that clan, irrespective of the Nation, as relatives. "For the Great Creator has spoken and the cause of Peace shall not become old. The truth is that the U.S. Constitution is modeled in both principle and form on the Great Law of Peace of the Native American tribe known as the Iroquois.This is absolutely, unequivocally historical fact. The Haudenosaunee constitution, the Great Law of Peace, is a composition of social wisdom and practical civic instructions that formulate the Haudenosaunees exemplar governing structure. If the choice is unanimous the name is referred to the men relatives of the clan. The Tree represents, The Great Law of Peace of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy of Five Nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga & Seneca (Tuscarora joined 18C). No Lord shall ask a question of the body of Confederate. "For the Great Creator has spoken and the cause of Peace shall not become old. We trust that you, our mothers, will always guard it, and that you will warn your Lord always to be dutiful and to advise his people to ever live in love, peace and harmony that a great calamity may never happen again."21. The heart or the tree in the middle of the Hiawatha belt represents the Onondaga Nation. Create. Search. "The cause of peace shall not die if you remember the Great Creator.". Lords when they are discussing a case, question or proposition. When the runner comes within hailing distance of the locality he shall utter a sad wail, thus: "Kwa-ah, Kwa-ah, Kwa-ah!" Such will constitute the evidence of his pledge to the Confederate Lords that he will live according to the constitution of the Great Peace and exercise justice in all affairs. The Great Law of Peace (Gayanashagowa) is the oral constitution that binds the Six Nations. If the conditions which shall arise at any future time call for an addition to or change of this law, the case shall be carefully considered and if a new beam seems necessary or beneficial, the proposed change shall be voted upon and if adopted it shall be called, "Added to the Rafters". Log in Sign up. These clans distributed through their respective Nations, shall be the sole owners and holders of the soil of the country and in them is it vested as a birthright. The same process shall obtain when a question is brought before the council by an individual or a War Chief.10. Men and women shall follow the status of the mother.45. If he sees in the distance any evil approaching or any danger threatening he will at once warn the people of the Confederacy.3. "Always listen to the words of the Great Creator, for he has spoken. Ayonwaehs, War Chief under Lord Takarihoken (Mohawk), Kahonwahdironh, War Chief under Lord Odatshedeh (Oneida), Ayendes, War Chief under Lord Adodarhoh (Onondaga), Wenenhs, War Chief under Lord Dekaenyonh (Cayuga), Shoneradowaneh, War Chief under Lord Skanyadariyo (Seneca). The women heirs of each head Lord's title shall be the heirs of the War Chief's title of their respective Lord. If the men and the women agree to a candidate his name shall be referred to the sister clans for confirmation. PLAY. Atop the tree sits an eagle to see far and wide and warn of danger. Then shall the War Chief address himself to the Lords of the Nation to which the deposed Lord belongs and say: "Know you, my Lords, that I have taken the deer's antlers from the brow of ___________, the emblem of his position and token of his greatness.". The Lords of the Confederacy may confer the Lordship title upon a candidate whenever the Great Law is recited, if there be a candidate, for the Great Law speaks all the rules.31. Our logo depicts the Great Law of Peace. "Hearken, that peace may continue unto future days! It now becomes the duty of the Lords of the locality to send runners to other localities and each locality shall send other messengers until all Lords are notified. The Lords of the Confederacy may dispossess a dead Lord of his title even at the grave. The Mohawk Lords will then report the standing of the case to the Firekeepers, who shall render a decision as they see fit in case of a disagreement by the two bodies, or confirm the decisions of the two bodies if they are identical. With endless patience they shall carry out their duty and their firmness shall be tempered with a tenderness for their people. They shall decide which candidate shall be named. Page 2 of 4. When the Chiefs decide that the people need to be reminded of the Great Law of Peace, the Hiawatha Belt is taken to the Longhouse and a reading of the belt takes place. An essential value which forms the foundation for much of the Haudenosaunee ways is the duty of preparing for the seventh generation. Any of the people of the Five Nations may use shells (or wampum) as the record of a pledge, contract or an agreement entered into and the same shall be binding as soon as shell strings shall have been exchanged by both parties.24. For the plants and animals that provide food to fuel your body, medicines to heal, and guidance for how to live upon the Earth? The Great Creator has sent three main spiritual messages to the Haudenosaunee after the Creation. 16. The name of these roots is The Great White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength. Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground ─ the unborn of the future Nation."29. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and the Great Law of Peace. Some historians, including Donald Grinde of the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, have claimed that the democratic ideals of the Kaianere’kó:wa provided a significant inspiration to Benjamin Franklin, James Madison and other framers of the U.S. Constitution. It shall be a serious wrong for anyone to lead a Lord into trivial affairs, for the people must ever hold their Lords high in estimation out of respect to their honorable positions.28. The War Chief shall now address the women of the deposed. Felt thankful for the cool, clean water that quenches your thirst? As the Creator has nothing to do with wrong so he will not come to rescue you from the precipice of destruction in which you have cast yourself. Start studying Haudenosaunee (iroquois confederacy). When a unanimous decision shall have been reached by the two bodies of Fire Keepers, Adodarho shall notify Hononwiretonh of the fact when he shall confirm it. Key Concepts: Terms in this set (18) Seneca. I hereby transfer to you an ancient Lordship title for a great calamity has befallen it in the hands of the family of a former Lord. Oral history compared to eclipse data indicates that the treaty was reached in 1142, when a solar eclipse occurred. When the pledge is furnished the Speaker of the Council must hold the shell strings in his hand and address the opposite side of the Council Fire and he shall commence his address saying: "Now behold him. In the 14th or 15th c., the Five Nations–the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga and Seneca–were separate tribes at war with each other, despite sharing language and ancestry. An address may then follow. He shall then announce to the opposite cousinhood the names of the father and the mother of the child together with the clan of the mother. All the business of the Five Nations Confederate Council shall be conducted by the two combined bodies of Confederate Lords. The second square represents the Oneida Nation. Flashcards. We therefore lay them aside in the room. When the Chiefs decide that the people need to be reminded of the Great Law of Peace, the Hiawatha Belt is taken to the Longhouse and a reading of the belt takes place. (c) 2018 Skä•noñh - Great Law of Peace Center | Liverpool, NY, Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace CenterÂ, Without A Whisper: Konnón:Kwe – A Virtual Screening, Revisiting George Washington’s assault on the Haudenosaunee 240 Years Later. The War Chief shall now address the women of the deposed Lord and say: "Mothers, as I have now deposed your Lord, I now return to you the emblem and the title of Lordship, therefore repossess them.". If a Lord of the Confederacy should seek to establish any authority independent of the jurisdiction of the Confederacy of the Great Peace, which is the Five Nations, he shall be warned three times in open council, first by the women relatives, second by the men relatives and finally by the Lords of the Confederacy of the Nation to which he belongs. If the Creator spares him and he rises from his bed of sickness he may rise with the antlers on his brow. If a Lord of the Confederacy of the Five Nations should commit murder the other Lords of the Nation shall assemble at the place where the corpse lies and prepare to depose the criminal Lord. We remove for a time the deer's antlers from your brow, we remove the emblem of your Lordship title. Recorded through oral tradition, its messages and teachings were written into the symbols and pictographs of wampum belts. There shall you sit and watch the Council Fire of the Confederacy of the Five Nations, and all the affairs of the Five Nations shall be transacted at this place before you, Adodarhoh, and your cousin Lords, by the Confederate Lords of the Five Nations. 315-453-6767 The Great Law of Peace itself was built into it freedom of religion which is respected by all its followers. If the Three Brothers (the Mohawk, the Onondaga and the Seneca) should lose one of their Lords by death, the Younger Brothers (the Oneida and the Cayuga) shall come to the surviving Lords of the Three Brothers on the tenth day and console them. It promises that the Haudenosaunee people and non-Indigenous North Americans will respect each other's differences even when their cultures and behaviors differ greatly. Whenever the Confederate Lords shall assemble for the purpose of holding a council, the Onondaga Lords shall open it by expressing their gratitude to their cousin Lords and greeting them, and they shall make an address and offer thanks to the earth where men dwell, to the streams of water, the pools, the springs and the lakes, to the maize and the fruits, to the medicinal herbs and trees, to the forest trees for their usefulness, to the animals that serve as food and give their pelts for clothing, to the great winds and the lesser winds, to the Thunderers, to the Sun, the mighty warrior, to the moon, to the messengers of the Creator who reveal his wishes and to the Great Creator who dwells in the heavens above, who gives all the things useful to men, and who is the source and the ruler of health and life. Their decisions shall then be referred to the Onondaga Lords, (Fire Keepers) for final judgement. "United people, let not evil find lodging in your minds. I, Dekanawidah, appoint the Mohawk Lords the heads and the leaders of the Five Nations Confederacy. The Thanksgiving Address is not a prayer, but rather an offering of greetings and thanks to the natural world. Again addressing himself to the deposed Lord he shall say: "As I have now deposed and discharged you so you are now no longer Lord. "United people, let not evil find lodging in your minds. The front shows Sacagawea looking towards the right. $375.00 + shipping . This Great Law provided a complex structure allowing for the separation of powers, checks and balances, ratification, public opinion, and equality of all peoples. Cast not over your shoulder behind you the warnings of the nephews and nieces should they chide you for any error or wrong you may do, but return to the way of the Great Law which is just and right. The small white lines that lead away from the Seneca and Mohawk Nations represent paths that welcome others to join the Confederacy. Confederate Lords, from time to time as occasion demands, to act as mentors and spiritual guides of their people and remind them of their Creator's will and words. To you Adodarhoh, the Onondaga cousin Lords, I and the other Confederate Lords have entrusted the caretaking and the watching of the Five Nations Council Fire. Roots have spread out from the Tree of the Great Peace, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. If it is impossible to meet at the scene of the crime the Lords shall discuss the matter at the next Council of their Nation and request their War Chief to depose the Lord guilty of crime, to "bury" his women relatives and to transfer the Lordship title to a sister family. When they established Kayanerenkó:wa, the Great Law of Peace, they not only resolved intractable coinflicts, but also shaped a system of law and government that would maintain peace for generations to come. 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