The Great Law

The Haudenosaunee and The Great Law of Peace

Hello! This is a short post about the Great Law of Peace, and how that, even today, it still impacts the Haudenosaunee people. If you are not familiar with the Haudenosaunee, here are a few resources to look at.

https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/who-we-are/

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/iroquois

https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2023/09/the-haudenosaunee-confederacy-and-the-constitution/

As as shown in the picture to the above, the Haudenosaunee was composed of five main nations. There is the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, and the Seneca.

The Great Law of Peace

The great law of peace is mainly 117 dos and don’ts that the Haudenosaunee follow. The great law of peace was made a long time ago, most likely around a millennia ago, and as such, we don’t know much about who wrote it. 

So, what happened?

We do know about a few of the founders, and one of their names was Hiawatha. Hiawatha was one of the many chiefs of the Oneida nation, and had recently lost the majority of his family, partially due to the violent and war-loving nature one of the other chiefs, Tadodaho.

 He decided that he and his nation had had enough of Tadodaho‘s act, and called all of the chiefs to a meeting, to talk about stoping fighting. He talked about the ways of the Mohawk, and how they were peaceful, and did not fight.

 He spoke of how they could join forces, and stop fighting. Tadodaho Did not like this, and took this to be a personal attack, as he felt that war and fighting was a big part of who he was, his identity.

 The rest of the chief, scared by Tadodaho, didn’t disagree. So, Hiawatha left so that he could talk to the Peacemaker, who welcomed Hiawatha into his long house. As Hiawatha talked to the peacemaker, it quickly became apparent that the peacemaker wanted peace not just among the nations, but the entire world. 

They both went to a woman named Jigonsaseh, who would help them to forage long lasting bonds between all the nations. Woman would be essential to this group of nation’s structure and hierarchy. They all went on to go to all of the nations, proposing the first ever true democracy.

 They said that they would only know true power when they put down their weapons and stop fighting. Four of the nations had already agreed, but they had not yet convinced Tadodaho. 

Hiawatha had a darling plan: he would give all control of the group of nations to Tadodaho. He realized that peace could grant more power then war. At last, the five nations knew peace.

 

Why does this matter today?

The United States and its constitution was most heavily influenced by the great law of peace. In fact, the symbol of America, the eagle, is portrayed holding 13 arrows, which represents the, at the time, 13 colonies that came together to make up America. Today, the five nations of the Haudenosaunee, also called the Iroquois, still live harmoniously together. 

What can we learn?

I think that this shows the power that can be tapped when we stand together and unite for the common good, and that the very things that can divide us, can also bring us together. When asked what is most important for the evolution of humans, and their society and culture, some will say the hammer, wheel, ax, or fire. Personally, I now believe it is the belief, the idea, the understanding that we are better as a whole then individuals, and that we can be more then the sum of our parts.