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Iroquois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power", the "Five Nations"; the "Six Nations"; or the "People of the Longhouse") is a group of First Nations/Native Americans that originally consisted of five nations: the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, and the Seneca. A sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, joined after the original five nations were formed.
Beliefs
In the Iroquois belief system was a formless Great Spirit or Creator, from whom other spirits were derived.[citation needed] Spirits animated all of nature and controlled the changing of the seasons. Key festivals coincided with the major events of the agricultural calendar, including a harvest festival of thanksgiving.
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Features of Confederacy
The general features of the Confederacy may be summarized in the following propositions: The confederacy, ..... was a union of Five Nations, composed of Tribes, under one government on the basis of equality; each Nation remaining independent in all manners pertaining to National government. It created a Great Council of Sachems, who were limited in number, equal in rank and authority, and invested with supreme powers over all matters pertaining to the Confederacy. Fifty sachemships were created to be named in perpetuity in central gentes of the fifty tribes; with power in these gentes to fill vacancies, as often as they occurred, by consensus from among their respective members, and with the further power to depose from office for cause. Upon selection of a candidate, the General Council approved, or stated cause for disaproval. The sachems of the Confederacy were also sachems in their respective tribes, and with the chiefs of these tribes formed the Council of each, which was mediator over all matters pertaining to the tribe exclusively. Unanimity in public acts was essential to the Council of the Confederacy. In the General Council the sachems deliberated by Nation, which gave to each Nation a veto over the others. The Council of each Nation had power to convene the General Council; but the latter had no power to convene itself. The General Council was open to the orators of the people for the discussion of public questions; but the Council in session decided issues. The Confederacy had no chief executive magistrate, or official head. The symbolic chief executive, or president, was the titleship of Tadadaho. Experiencing the necessity for a general military commander, they created the office in a dual form, that one might neutralize the other. The two principal war-chiefs were made equal in powers. Equality between the sexes had a strong adherence in the Confederacy,[9] and the women held real power, particularly the power to approve or veto declarations of war.[citation needed] The Grand Council of Sachems were chosen by the clan mothers, and if any leader failed to comply with the wishes of the women and the Great Law of Peace, he could be removed by the clan mothers. [9][10]
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Example to the United States
The Iroquois nations' political union and democratic government has been credited as one of the influences on the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. [11][12] However, there is heated debate among historians about the importance of their contribution. Historian Jack Rakove [13] writes: "The voluminous records we have for the constitutional debates of the late 1780s contain no significant references to the Iroquois." Researcher Brian Cook writes: "The Iroquois probably held some sway over the thinking of the Framers and the development of the U.S. Constitution and the development of American democracy, albeit perhaps indirectly or even subconsciously... However, the opposition is probably also correct. The Iroquois influence is not as great as [some historians] would like it to be, the framers simply did not revere or even understand much of Iroquois culture, and their influences were European or classical - not wholly New World."[14] However, Cook concedes that much of the heated debate around the influence of Amerindians on the United States Constitution amounts to academic knee-jerk reactions and protectionist turf-wars. Cook further notes "The National Endowment for the Humanities rejected a number of research proposals that dealt with the Iroquois influence theory... [and] Johansen's first book on the Iroquois influence, Forgotten Fathers, was ordered removed from the shelves of the bookstore at Independence Hall."
Although their influence is hotly debated, it is a historical fact that several founding fathers had direct contact with the Iroquois, and prominent figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were closely involved with the Iroquois. Whether this was purely politics for protection or true admiration, perhaps can never be fully determined.
In 2004 the U.S. Government acknowledged the influence of the Iroquois Constitution on the U.S. Framers. [15] The Smithsonian Institution also noted the similarities between the two documents, as well as the differences. One significant difference noted was the inclusion of women in the Iroquois Constitution, one group among many that the framers of the U.S. Constitution did not include.
