Iroquois Constitution

From ri089778 Mon Mar 25 20:42:52 1996

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From: CASTRO G ALEJANDRO <ri089778@udlapvms>

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Subject: Doc of US History.Iroquois Constitution

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ABOUT THE IROQUOIS CONSTITUTION:

During the bi-centennial year of The Constitution of the

United States, a number of books were written concerning the

origin of that long-revered document. One of these, The Genius

of the People, alleged that after the many weeks of debate a

committee sat to combine the many agreements into one formal

document. The chairman of the committee was John Rutledge of

South Carolina. He had served in an earlier time, along with

Ben Franklin and others, at the Stamp Act Congress, held in

Albany, New York. This Committee of Detail was having trouble

deciding just how to formalize the many items of discussion

into one document that would satisfy one and all. Rutledge

proposed they model the new government they were forming into

something along the lines of the Iroquois League of Nations,

which had been functioning as a democratic government for

hundreds of years, and which he had observed in Albany. While

there were many desirable, as well as undesirable, models

from ancient and modern histories in Europe and what we know

now as the Middle East, only the Iroquois had a system that

seemed to meet most of the demands espoused by the many parties

to the debates. The Genius of the People alleged that the

Iroquois had a Constitution which began: "We the people,

to form a union. . ."

That one sentence was enough to light a fire under me,

and cause me to do some deep research into ancient Iroquoian

lore. I never did find that one sentence backed up in what

writings there are concerning the ancient Iroquois. But I DID

find sufficient data and evidence to convince me that the

Iroquois most certainly did have a considerable influence on

the drafting of our own Constitution, and we present-day

Americans owe them a very large debt. At the time of the

founding of the Iroquois League of Nations, no written language

existed; we have only the early stories which were passed down

from generation to generation, until such time as there was a

written language, and interpreters available, to record that

early history. One such document is listed below.

There are several other documents now available in various

places which refer to the original founding of the Iroquois,

and they seem to substantiate this document as probably

truthful and accurate. This version was prepared by Arthur

C. Parker, Archeologist of the State Museum in New York in

1915, and published by the University of the State of New York

as Bulletin 184 on April 1, 1916. It is entitled: The

Constitution of the Five Nations - or - The Iroquois Book of

the Great Law. In it, you will find close parallels to our

Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches of government

as originally described in our U. S. Constitution.

You will find it very difficult to keep in mind that it

survives after some 500 or 600 years, and was originated by

people that our ancestors mistakenly considered as "savages".

Some sources place the origin of the Five Nation Confederacy as

early as 1390 AD, but others insist it was prepared about

1450-1500 AD; in any case, it was well before any possible

contamination by European invaders. Early explorers and

colonists found the Iroquois well established, as they had been

for many generations: with a democratic government; with a form

of religion that acknowledged a Creator in heaven; with a

strong sense of family which was based on, and controlled by,

their women; and many other surprises you will soon discover.

It must also be pointed out that this document refers to

to the "Five" Nations, while other references to the Confederacy

speak of the "Six" nations. From the inception, there were the

Five Nations discussed in this Constitution. In about 1715,

the Tuscarora Nation, once part of the Iroquois peoples in a

much earlier period of their history, moved up from North

Carolina to avoid warfare with the invading white settlers,

and were adopted into the Confederacy. At this point in time,

the Iroquois controlled many parts of our now eastern states

from their homelands in what is now New York state. The

original Five Nations were:

Mohawk: People Possessors of the Flint

Onondaga: People on the Hills

Seneca: Great Hill People

Oneida: Granite People

Cayuga: People at the Mucky Land

Tuscarora: Shirt Wearing People became the Sixth Nation.

The founder of the Confederacy of the Five Nations is

generally acknowledged to be Dekanawida, born near the Bay of

Quinte, in southeastern Ontario, Canada. During his travels,

he associated himself with a Mohawk tribal lord in what is now

New York, and named him Hahyonhwatha (Hiawatha) (He who has

misplaced something, but knows where to find it). Hiawatha

left his family and friends, and joined Dekanawida in his

travels, becoming his chief spokesman. One legend has it

that Dekanawida, while brilliant, had a speech impediment,

and depended on Hiawatha to do his public speaking for him.

Together, they traveled the length and breadth of the lands

on the south shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario, as well as the

river to the sea, now known as the St. Lawrence. These were

the homelands of tribes with a common heritage, but who had

been warring with one another for many years. Dekanawida

united them into a League of Nations that we now call the

Iroquois League. Centuries later, Longfellow "borrowed" the

name of Hiawatha to be his hero in a fictional legend; there

is no other connection between the two Hiawathas nor their

stories.

Here is their original Constitution, as best it can be

recontructed from legend and spoken history. Read it and be

amazed...keep in mind it is over 500 years old!

------------------------------------

Prepared by Gerald Murphy (The Cleveland Free-Net - aa300)

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