The United States commemorates Constitution Day on September 17, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. Celebrations usually include readings and discussions of the history of the document and its writing and influences. Many say that the United States, one of the oldest continuous democracies in the world drew influence for its constitution and governmental structure from an even older democracy, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
The Senate recognized the influence of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy on the construction of the Constitution in a resolution read on September 16, 1987, that noted, “the original framers of the Constitution, including most notably, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, are known to have greatly admired the concepts, principles and governmental practices of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Whereas the confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into one republic was explicitly modeled upon the Iroquois Confederacy as were many of the democratic principles which were incorporated into the Constitution itself (3-4).”
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy established Gayanesshagowa, the Great Law of Peace, as its governing principle in 1142. The Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Onondaga joined in the Great Law of Peace to form a confederacy; the Tuscarora joined them later. The Law of Peace includes its Chiefs, Clan Mothers, and Faith Keepers, the delegates that form the regulatory bodies of the confederacy. “Within Grand Council meet the Chiefs of each nation which then divide into sections of Elder Brothers and Younger Brothers”; the bicameral Congress is similar. The Clan Mothers have been compared to a high court; they serve for life, have been selected by consensus, and have the authority to remove council members.
The symbols of the union include the long house, the Tree of Peace, the eagle, and a cluster of arrows. The symbols represent a determination of peace and alliance for the group and the power of a unified front. Similarly, the U.S. adopted an eagle as its protector, and one of its symbols is thirteen arrows bound together. The tradition is that the chiefs maintained the council fire and met to discuss confederacy issues beneath the tree; the eagle that flew over the tree guarded the confederacy looking out for enemies, and a bunch of five arrows, one representing each nation, were bound together, with the observation that it is much harder to break a bundle of five arrows than just one arrow.
Constitutional convention members such as Benjamin Franklin were very familiar with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy nations and their founding principles. He reviewed Cadwallader’s The history of the five Indian nations depending on the province of New-York in America, and he wrote the article, “Short Hints Towards a Scheme for Uniting the Northern Colonies.” Franklin wrote to his printing partner, James Parker, “It would be a very strange Thing, if [the] Six Nations… should be capable of forming a Scheme for such an Union, and be able to execute it in such a Manner, as that it has subsisted Ages, and appears indissoluble; and yet that a like Union should be impracticable for ten or a Dozen English Colonies, to whom it is more necessary, and must be more advantageous.” He worked on the Albany Plan of Union and members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy attended the Albany Congress, where members of northern colonies discussed forming a general council for their common defense.
Each of the Six Nations rule themselves while enjoying the peace and support brought to them by the Confederacy today. They have adapted as necessary over time; for example, an elective system was established in 1924. The world’s oldest democracy still thrives. The Onondaga Faithkeeper, Oren Lyons said, “What Indians are about, I think, first of all is community. They’re about mutual support, they’re about sharing, they’re about understanding what’s common land, common air, common water, common and for all. They’re about freedom.”
Sources
KF26.5.I4 1987r United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Indian Affairs. Iroquois Confederacy of Nations: hearing before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundredth Congress, first session, on S. Con. Res. 76 … December 2, 1987, Washington, DC.
E99.I7 C6 2017 Colden, Cadwallader. The History of the Five Indian nations depending on the province of New-York in America.
Oren, Lyons, and Moyers Bill. “Oren Lyons the Faithkeeper.” BillMoyers.Com, 14 Sept. 2015. Accessed September 10, 2023.
Subscribe to In Custodia Legis – it’s free! – to receive interesting posts drawn from the Law Library of Congress’s vast collections and our staff’s expertise in U.S., foreign, and international law.
Comments (13)
I was lucky enough to learn a great deal about New York State native American tribes in 7th grade. It was a detailed and lengthy unit of 7th grade social studies. Unfortunately, this information is now taught in a different grade, 4 th grade. I believe that this rich history should be taught in high school. What do you think?
This should be taught in multiple grades just like. Amazing!! The Native’s taught people how to create a Peaceful method of Governance!
This should be taught in multiple grades. Amazing!! The Native’s taught people how to create a Peaceful method of Governance!
Writing about this in my dissertation. Glad to see the Library of Congress writing about the influence that the Haudenosaunee had on the U.S. Constitution. Upon other readings, I have learned that the Chickasaw Councils also influenced Benjamin Franklin. Would be good to see what archival materials are available to support this. By archival, I mean oral historical evidence, books, documents, architecture, etc.
This history needs to be more widely shared in these polarizing times. The brilliance of our founding fathers came from their ability to listen. To learn. To appreciate that different histories and perspectives can be a strength, if we listen. To humbly not assume – without listening – that there is only one right way. Peace requires respect for each other, even if we come from different tribes. Our constitution is based on this balanced inclusion and appreciation of all of us, even if we often fall short of its founding ideals.
The most glaring, deliberate omission and the fatal flaw of our “Founding Fathers”
is the United State’s exclusion of women from political power. It is a flaw from which we have yet to recover.
I think it is very important and impressive that recognition was made in 1988 regarding the ideals, principles, and concepts of the Indigenous Six Nations that have always used this system of governance. What concerns me is how something got lost in the translation and put into practice a system that takes without asking, makes promises without honoring any of them, removes the rights to life liberty and pursuit of happiness from the original Indigenous inhabitants across the country, and made numerous attempts to eradicate their fellow inhabitants, living on the land that they originally planned on sharing, according to the constitution and declaration of independence. Food for thought. This needs to be taught in all high schools and universities.
The Oral Tradition lives today and is available for the asking. When you do this, it shows respect and humility towards a culture you do not belong to, and are looking to learn about.
No one can know about every culture– their songs, their foods, their language, history, and life ways.
A smart person knows what they do not know.
SLW
Kootenai-Salish, Nakota, Mate’
I only learned about this today and I should have been learning this in Junior High, or at least High school. I’m not going to divulge how long ago that was. The significance of this information is *huge* and I wish I would have been introduced to it earlier!
I am astonished after learning this information. I have always thought about the iroquois for some unknown reason as though they were direct ancestors of this govrnment. It has always been an etheral feeling.
This is a great deceit upon the minds of the graduates of American public schools.
How much richer is the story of the creation of this country.
its good info and I’m learning it in the 6th grade.it should be taught in all other grades and places to.its good history to be fair.
I am lucky enough to still be a academic scholar and I Think that this was an amazing start to my 8th grade year, by far the most interesting topic of the year.
Ben Rhodes, in his book, All We Say, in the second chapter, features the 1805 speech, by Red Jacket, a Seneca Chief. Reading this book and chapter was the first time I had seen the word Haudenosaunee let alone heard of Red Jacket. His speech is surely one of the most moving in the book.