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~by Marcia DeJesús-Rueff, EdD
Given our current election campaign and the escalation of violence, you may be at the point right now where all you want to do is cover yourself and your loved ones in bubble wrap, ideally coated over with a thick layer of Kevlar. Indeed, the title of this blog might sound like the silly, proverbial chicken-and-egg question. This question is not a childhood riddle. Instead, this question lies at the heart of how the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy, has remained alive and vital for over six hundred years, the longest living democracy in the world. This question also provides insight into this year’s presidential election, specifically how governmental structures cannot by themselves support our country’s government when coupled with the unbridled, individual freedoms of its inhabitants. First, however, let us turn briefly to the history of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and its influence on the United States.
Sometime between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, the Creator gave The Great Law of Peace to the man who became known as the Great Peacemaker. This man then traveled throughout the land of the Onondaga, Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, and Seneca Nations to share this gift and to enlist their support in creating an overarching government, one of the key components of The Great Law of Peace. This umbrella government brought these previously warring five nations together as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. In 1722, they expanded to include a sixth nation, the Tuscarora.
Haudenosaunee governmental structures are rooted in family and a deeply held belief that peace between six previously warring nations allows their members, both individual and collective, to prosper. These structures protected all six nations from outsiders, and provided ample food, as all six Nations shared each other’s hunting grounds.
Led by the senior women called Clan Mothers, the Haudenosaunee were committed to this vision of peace and belonging. Clan Mothers served as heads of their clans (families) and appointed the Chiefs to their roles. In all, fifty Chiefs were selected by the Clan Mothers from among adult men who met key criteria: eloquence, the ability to listen, and the gravitas to build consensus. These 50 Chiefs formed the Grand Council, which continues to meet, and makes decisions following the Great Law of Peace. Importantly, their decisions are made by consensus. The Clan Mothers also maintain the power to dismiss Chiefs, if they are believed to not be doing their job, thus providing a type of checks-and-balance system.
At the beginning of every meeting and ceremony, the “words that come before all others,” the Thanksgiving Address, is recited. This address provides the guiding principles of the culture and is recited to bring all those involved in the meeting to “one mind.” Thus, the Haudenosaunee form of government is both a political and a spiritual body committed to peace, unity, and cooperation. (Hämäläinen, 2022).
The Haudenosaunee were greatly admired by those who founded the United States’ government; they used the Haudenosaunee structures to design our own three-part government. Although there are many parallels between the two governments, there are also key differences, and those differences provide insight into why we are now experiencing such extreme struggles.
In 1744 the Haudenosaunee leader Canassatego spoke at the Indian-British assembly in Philadelphia: “…We heartily recommend Union and a Good Agreement between you our Brethren. Our wise Forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations; this has made us formidable; this has given us great weight and Authority with our Neighboring Nations. We are a Powerful confederacy, and by your observing the same Methods our wise Forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh Strength and Power.”
In 1751, Benjamin Franklin wrote to his printer colleague: “It would be a strange thing if six Nations of ignorant savages should be capable of forming a scheme for such a 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.” (Both quotes from the National History and Education Clearinghouse)
Given that our governmental structure is modeled on that of the Haudenosaunee, why have they experienced so much less internal turmoil than we have? I believe it is because when the Great Peacemaker gave the five nations the Great Law of Peace, it included not just the structures for a good government that would create peace and harmony among them, but also a code of ethics which outlined a way of being to the nations and individuals within those nations prosper. The Great Law of Peace guides the Haudenosaunee people in all aspects of life, emphasizing Reason to assure the three aspects of the Great Law: Righteousness, Justice, and Health. It includes instructions on how to treat others, directs them on how to maintain a democratic society, and stresses that to preserve peace, Reason must prevail. (The Smithsonian)
The founders of our country grafted structures from the Haudenosaunee government onto their European understanding of individual rights and personal wealth accumulation. However, the animating moral focus of our constitution is individualism. This benefits the individual, with the belief that the individual would then benefit the community.
Additionally, citizenship and voting powers were originally limited to white men with property. Indeed, much of our country’s tension has to do with the struggle to expand the rights and privileges of citizenship to an ever-broader population: Blacks, women, immigrants, non-Christians, and on and on. Who is fully Human – worthy of full citizenship? And who is Other?
To paraphrase the late Ted Williams of the Tuscarora Nation: So we now have parts of the Great Law of the Great Peace, but can we live it? Can we make the United States work with just these parts of the whole?
We need to go back and re-fit a code of ethics into our basic belief systems. We citizens of the United States need to determine the values that people running for office and people who hold office will adhere to, values that we as individuals agree to abide by as well. We need a new moral compass to guide us, just as the Great Law of Peace guides the Haudenosaunee about how to interact with each other, how to do business with each other, and how to treat each other. This would be a culture shift; indeed, we would be creating a new culture for our country and its people to grow and thrive. Without these more explicit guidelines, we run the risk of not only increasing the strife and turmoil we now experience; we risk losing our democracy altogether.
Let us return to the question posed in the title of this blog. As Paul Wallace explains: “To the outside world, the spirit of the Haudenosaunee might seem to be expressed in the Latin motto E Pluribus Unum. But to the nations within it, its spirit might have seemed better expressed in the words Ex Uno Plura. The strength of the whole makes safe the individual differences of the members.” I have been pondering this quote over the past few weeks, and it is helping me better understand our nation’s struggles.
We in the United States believe that the unity of our country comes from bringing many different people, communities, and states together, e pluribus unum. What we need to recognize is that this unity protects us and our individual differences; each of us rests safely under the umbrella of our democratic union.
At this point in our country’s history and most definitely in this election cycle, individual rights trump (pun intended) the rights of our communities and our Nation. We often say that we want truth from our leaders, yet when asked in an interview with Dana Bush why he keeps repeating the false story about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets, J. D. Vance stated, “If I have to make up a story to get a point across, I will make up a story.”
During the September 10 debate, moderators David Muir and Lindsey Davis could only fact check the most egregious lies spewed by Donald Trump. Domenico Montanaro of NPR found 33 lies from the entire debate. Trump uses a tactic called “gish gallop,” issuing a stream of outrageously false statements that the listener cannot keep up with; thus, gish gallop ensures that nobody will be able to fact check him thoroughly within a brief timeframe. People are tired of this; they want and deserve something better.
Can we see an alternative way of interacting across differences, a way that might lead us to the culture shift our country needs? I believe that the Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration here in Rochester will provide one such opportunity.
The Indigenous Peoples’ Day Committee consists of a group of diverse people who originally came together in 2017 with the goal of designating the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, rather than Columbus Day. It took several years of diligent work, and in 2022 the City of Rochester officially declared the second Monday in October to be Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Additionally, the city declared the first Sunday in October to be Italian Heritage Day.
How does a group of activists work across several years and across differences to realize its goal and become close friends with those who originally wanted to maintain Columbus Day as is? After interviewing those involved in this work, it became clear that it was their “Working Agreements” that held them together. These agreements, created by the original group, are open to change and remain at the heart of how this committee works. Indeed, they are read at the beginning of every meeting to bring each member into “one mind.” Thus, when people become impatient with the process, they remember that they have agreed to “listen for understanding” and to “embrace discomfort.” If someone has a strong disagreement with another person, they can think about “assuming good intent” and then tailor their words of disagreement with care, knowing that this person, too, means well. This is a seemingly simple process that has profound impact on getting things done – and done well.
If you attend this year’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration here in Rochester, please notice how the Indigenous, Italians, Blacks, and many other diverse people, interact with each other. What appear to be their ways of treating each other? How are they supporting each other? What can you learn from the various displays, arts demonstrations, stories, sports and other activities about their beliefs? And then ask yourself, “Is this the kind of community I would like to be a part of?” If it is, let us work together to shift our country’s culture forward.
These days, we may want to protect our children and grandchildren and friends in Kevlar covered bubble wrap. Ultimately though, the only bubble wrap we have surrounding us is the culture we’ve constructed. Our strongest protection, our outer Kevlar, is our unity, our united agreements about how we will treat each other and how we will live together.
After the Trump and Vance attacks on Haitian immigrants, a group of Haitian-American citizens ran an advertisement supporting Springfield’s newest immigrants. The ad ends by highlighting the statement proudly displayed on Haiti’s flag: L'union fait la force. Unity creates strength.
Only in unity can we fully express our individual needs, wants, and talents to their fullest. Only from Ex Unam Plura can we truly secure E Pluribus Unum.
Sources
John Lienhard, The Iroquois and The U. S. Government: Podcast published at https://engines.egr.uh.edu/episode/709
Well written. Led me to greater understanding of Now We Are One.