I choose the website Six Nations-The Oldest Participatory Democracy on Earth because these nations are so close to where I have lived all my life.  I had heard about the Iroquois Tree of Peace, but it was not in school.  It was used in a prayer service about peace I attended.   
But as I read the article I wondered if I told people that:
·         This Confederacy had the longest participatory democracy on earth:
·         The leaders of this democracy had met with our Continental Congress and their ideas of democracy influenced our founding fathers;
·         This Confederacy lived under the Great Law of Peace;
·         Their societies are based on peace, equity, justice and the power of good minds;
·         Their woman had equality long before Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were born; and
·         They practiced the rules of environmental conservation long before the words became popular
would anyone know who I was talking about?  I am sure they would be surprised when I said the Iroquois Confederacy.  I certainly didn’t know this from any of my teachings in school.
            And then I wondered why Native American were considered savages and uncivilized by white people.  

            I was also fascinated by this picture by John Kahionhes Fadden.


Images of the Six Nations are identified by the style of hat they're wearing
located about the six smokeholes.

            I think this shows a level of sophistication that would not be seen in an uncivilized culture.
           

“Six Nations: The Oldest Participatory Democracy on Earth”   (date not listed).   Retrieved from https://ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/ on September 21, 2018.


Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 23, 2018 at 6:50 PM

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  2. UnknownSeptember 23, 2018 at 7:05 PM

    Hello,

    I appreciated your observation of the way that women were regarded in these tribes prior to the American women securing the rights to equality. It should also be noted that the women in these tribes wielded a lot of power and had a great influence on tribal matters. In the module discussions I made the point that the women of the tribes often operated as the nucleus of all tribal matters. It makes you wonder why the adaptation of the ideals of Democracy by the Continental Congress did not include the way that women were regarded. Perhaps members of the Continental Congress took note of it and did not see it as appropriate.

    Patrick

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    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 26, 2018 at 6:20 AM

      Patrick, I think that the Continental Congress did not pick-up on the Iroquois views on women in the Confederacy because their culture had a special view of women and it was not one of power. I was searching the web to see if I could find the significance of the six hats worn in the picture above (no luck) when I saw an article on the U.S. History website that quoted a portion of the Iroquois Constitution. It stated:
      The women of every clan of the Five nations shall have a Council Fire ever burning in
      readiness for a council of the clan. When in their opinion it seems necessary for the
      interest of the people they shall hold a council and their decisions and recommend-
      ations shall be introduced before the Council of the Lords by the War Chief for its
      consideration.
      It also said the women selected the sachems (representatives) for the Confederacy and that the society was matrilineal. Women also decided about the distribution of food. This would make they very powerful in an agricultural society. One can only wonder what would have transpired if white society had emulated these views.

      "The Iroquois Tribe". 2018. U. S. History Online Textbook. http://www.ushistory.org/us/1dasp. Retrieve September 26, 2016.

      Delete
  3. CKaneSeptember 24, 2018 at 8:12 AM

    If you were to tell me those things, I would be surprised that all of those are the Iroquois Confederacy. I have never been told about that, or have not read much on it yet either. To be able to show all of these things have been around way before what I have been taught is very surprising.

    To find out that Native Americans have equality of everyone is a wonderful, though looking at some books you did not see women other then taking care of children. But I agree with Patrick, that with these readings I have found that women are held a high regard with tribal matters. Many families right now, the mothers are the head of the families.

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