Deganawida, the Peacemaker
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DEGANAWIDA, THE
PEACEMAKER
(c. 1150 CE: Native traditional/academic; c. 1450–1550 CE: non-Native academic)

Christopher Buck

DEGANAWIDA, A NAME traditionally considered too                                Peacemaker was "American" in that he was a
sacred to pronounce (yet fine in printed form), is                             Native American—and possibly Native Canadian,
respectfully referred to as "the Peacemaker" by                                that is, a "dual citizen," if his Canadian birth "on
the Iroquois people, who are more properly                                     the northerly side of the lake, Lake Ontario" (CL,
known as the Haudenosaunee ("People of the                                     p. 2) has any credence—and was certainly a Na-
Longhouse"). The Iroquois were aboriginal                                      tive North American. (Obviously the United
inhabitants of lands bordering Lakes Huron, Erie,                              States and Canada, as nations, did not exist durand Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, an area                                ing the founding of the Confederacy.) Not being
comprising nearly all of present-day New York                                  a "writer" in the traditional sense, the Peacemaker
State, part of Pennsylvania, and southern Ontario                              was a charismatic figure—orator, author, and
and Quebec. The Peacemaker is a legendary yet                                  author of a living tradition. Thus, Deganawida,
historical figure, memorialized in traditions held                             the Peacemaker, with the assistance of Hiawatha
to be sacred by indigenous peoples among the                                   and Jigonsaseh (the leader of the corn-planting
Iroquois Nations—and, generally, among Native                                  "Cultivators," also called the "Peace Queen"),
Americans and Native Canadians today. This                                     united five warring Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)
article takes a look at the Deganawida epic, a                                 nations into a formidable and enduring federacycle of narratives that exists in some forty ver-                             tion—a consensus-based matrilineally hereditary
sions—composites of Iroquois sophiology, as it                                 federal council of fifty chiefs ("sachems," or
were—recorded largely as part of a process of                                  spokesmen), each appointed by local councils of
Haudenosaunee survival and revival, culturally,                                clan matrons, with protocols rooted in "Condospiritually, and politically.                                                  lence" ceremonies that served as a vehicle for
The version privileged here is titled Concern-                             political decision-making. Never would Deing the League, translated by the linguist Hanni                               ganawida have been able to accomplish this had
Woodbury in collaboration with two native speak-                               he and his illustrious cohorts not met face-to-face
ers of Onondaga, the late Reg Henry and the late                               with the warlords of belligerent tribes and skill-
Harry Webster. This version (hereafter abbrevi-                                fully persuaded them to become close allies,
ated CL in page references) provides a direct,                                 replacing war with a sophisticated system of
authentic link to the past. Other major versions                               peaceful conflict resolution by democratic consulwill be referred to as well.                                                   tation and collective decision-making. Barbara
Mann refers to Deganawida, Hiawatha, and
Jigonsaseh as "the peace trio" (Iroquoian Women,
WIDENING THE AMERICAN CANON: ORATURE                                          p. 38). J. N. B. Hewitt, for instance, speaks of
AS LITERATURE                                                     the peace trio as "the swart statesmen Dekanawida [sic], Hiawatha, and ! the equally astute
It may surprise readers to characterize De-                                    stateswoman Djigonsasen [sic], a chieftainess of
ganawida (a.k.a. Tekanawita and other variant                                  the powerful Neutral Tribe" ("Some Esoteric
spellings) as an "American writer." Yes, the                                   Aspects," p. 322).

Some may disagree with characterizing the                                                   That said, in Hanni Woodbury's translation,
Peacemaker as a [Native] "American writer,"                                                  Concerning the League, a stock introductory
since the Deganawida epic is about him, not by                                               formula is used to directly quote the Peacemaker.
him. However, the latter could not have happened                                             The recurrent phrase "Thereupon Tekanawita
without the former. In that sense, the "message"                                             said," occurs 191 times (present writer's count).
and the "history" contained in the Deganawida                                                This phrase is a literary device used in Iroquoian
epic may be said to have been "authored" by                                                  texts to distinguish temporal sequencing from
Deganawida. Since the Deganawida epic quali-                                                 declarative statements. Non-Native academics
fies as oral literature (and arguably as sacred                                              generally do not take this formula literally as
literature), an analogy may be drawn with the                                                indicating direct quotations by the Peacemaker.
traditional ascription of Moses as the traditional                                           However, many, if not most, Native American
and Native Canadian authorities tend to accept
"author" of the Torah (i.e., "The Five Books of
the statements attributed to Deganawida as
Moses"), even though, as one early Jewish
substantially authentic transmissions of his
Christian document argued, referring to Deuterteachings.
onomy 34:6, "But how could Moses write that
'Moses died'?" (Pseudo-Clementine Homilies,                                                      The Deganawida epic, moreover, belongs to
chap. 47). The Oxford English Dictionary defines                                             world literature. Enter the Peacemaker among the
"author," in part, as "A creator, cause, or source."                                         men and women of American and world literature, as a man of wisdom. The Deganawida cycle
One literary example given is this: "The author
is an originary voice that stories America before
of our religion." If the semantic penumbra of
America was "America"—originally called
"writer" adumbrates this sense of its synonym,
"Turtle Island" by the Iroquois themselves. De-
"author," then a case can be made. That said,
ganawida may therefore be considered to be a
provisions of the Great Law were preserved on                                                venerable "American writer" (orator/author of
wampum belts (freshwater shells strung together),                                            oral/written tradition) of history and culture, as a
a form of communication which, like writing,                                                 maker of history and culture, long before Ameriused visual symbols to convey information and                                                can literati came on the scene.
aid memory. So transmission was not entirely
Some regard the Peacemaker as the founder
oral. (See Barbara Mann, "The Fire at Onondaga:
(along with Hiawatha and Jigonsaseh) of the first
Wampum as Proto-Writing.")
New World democracy. In this sense, not only is
The Peacemaker's inclusion in the American                                              Deganawida a truly American orator/author in
Writers series is justified if "orature" is accepted                                         the indigenous sense but is equally "American"
as "literature." Compositions in languages lack-                                             given the extraordinary value that America ating writing can be designated as "oral literature."                                          taches to democracy. That said, the notion of the
Literary productions in most indigenous lan-                                                 Peacemaker as an "American writer" (orator/
guages remain predominantly "oral" in character                                              author) fails to do justice to so powerful a
until print technology brings them to the threshold                                          personality, who, by his inspired vision, charisof "writing." "Oral literature" therefore becomes                                            matic influence, and skillful diplomacy, "wrote"
"orature" with the emergence of print technology                                             history and revolutionized a culture, which
as a means of literary dissemination, once such                                              survives today as a lived legacy. Given these
languages are committed to print. The Oxford                                                 reasons, recognition of Deganawida as an
English Dictionary defines "orature" as a "body                                              "American writer" is both justified and timely.
of poetry, tales, etc., preserved through oral                                                   Equally at issue, however, is the question of
transmission as part of a particular culture, esp. a                                         how this canonization of the Peacemaker compreliterate one." Thus the Deganawida epic, bet-                                             ports with the views of Native Americans and
ter known as the "Great Law of Peace," is ora-                                               Native Canadians. What justification for this
ture here being recognized as part of the Ameri-                                             cultural appropriation, this impingement on all
can literary canon.                                                                          things indigenous, this infringement, as it were,

of sacred indigenous tradition, which is so cultur-                                with the inscriptions "Haudenosaunee" ("People
ally sensitive? By what right can the non-Native                                   of the Longhouse") and "Great Law of Peace."
present writer presume to profane (i.e., to                                        The official description reads, in part:
publicly render secular) a sacred oral tradition?
The Iroquoian ethnologist Michael K. Foster,                                             The Haudenosaunee Confederation, also known as
curator emeritus of the Canadian Museum of                                               the Iroquois Confederacy of upstate New York, was
remarkable for being founded by 2 historic figures,
Civilization, recounts how Chief Jacob ("Jake")
the Peacemaker and his Onondaga spokesman,
Thomas (d. 1998), a prominent proponent and                                              Hiawatha, who spent years preaching the need for a
interpreter of Haudenosaunee culture, justified                                          league. The Peacemaker sealed the treaty by
this profanation/translation to the non-Native                                           symbolically burying weapons at the foot of a Great
world when, in September 1992 on the Six Na-                                             White Pine, or Great Tree of Peace, whose 5-needle
tions Reserve near Brantford, Ontario, he took                                           clusters stood for the original 5 nations: Mohawk,
Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca.
the unprecedented step of reciting the Great Law
(U.S. Mint, "2010 Native American $1 Coin")
in English (drawing much indigenous indignation
thereby), in a nine-day event on the grounds of                                    The mastermind behind Iroquoian political genius
his home, which attracted national media                                           was Deganawida, assisted by Hiawatha (no
coverage. Among the some two thousand people                                       resemblance to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's
present, a large number of these listeners were                                    poetic fiction) and Jigonsaseh (whose presence
white, not Iroquois. During the summer of 1994                                     assured a male-female equilibrium in the
Chief Thomas repeated the event. Responding to                                     League's governance system). According to Chief
criticism, he offered this justification, according                                John Arthur Gibson's 1899 version (pp. 34–60),
to Foster:                                                                         Hiawatha was a former cannibal whom Deganawida won over and who then became the
I think the white man needs to understand. It isn't
that he's going to take the law and use it himself.!
latter's spokesman. (In Gibson's 1912 version,
They already did! The 13 colonies already took the                               the cannibal is not named.) Together, De-
Great Law for their so-called Constitution. So what                              ganawida, Hiawatha, and Jigonsaseh established
should we be afraid of? ! If they want to learn it,                              the Iroquois League, uniting the "Five Nations"
they have a right to. That should have been done                                 (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and
500 years ago, to study and respect the Confederacy.                             Seneca) into a powerful confederacy, into which
Maybe we wouldn't have the problems we have
today if they would have studied our people, and                                 the Tuscaroras, after a gradual migration that
[would now] understand and honor and respect [us].                               began in 1714, were adopted in 1722 (now the
(Foster, "Jacob Ezra Thomas," p. 227)                           "Six Nations"), with the Tuteloes and Nanticokes
added to the "Longhouse" (the grand metaphor
It is in the spirit of this advice that the following                              for the League) in 1753, and protection extended
epitome of the life and teachings (i.e. oral                                       to the Delawares and others. The territory under
"writings") of the Peacemaker are here presented.                                  the sway of the Iroquois League was vast, as
In so doing, this is not intended as exploitation                                  James A. Tuck notes in Scientific American:
of Native American spiritual traditions. It is not a
"theft of spirit." Rather, it is recognition of the                                      Five tribes of the Iroquois confederacy were, from
universality and contemporary relevance of the                                           west to east, the Senecas, the Cayugas, the Ononda-
Peacemaker's enunciation of "the Good Message,                                           gas, the Oneidas and the Mohawks. At the beginalso the Power and the Peace."                                                           ning of the 18th century their power extended from
Maine to Illinois and from southern Ontario to
The Iroquois were known for their political
Tennessee. The Tuscaroras became the sixth after
genius, which impressed Benjamin Franklin and                                            being ousted by white settlers in the Carolinas.
continues to be noted by the U.S. government to                                                                                    ("The Iroquois Confederacy," p. 36)
this day. In 2010, for instance, the U.S. Mint issued its Native American one-dollar coin, featur-                                  Arthur Gajarsa, circuit judge on the U.S. Court
ing, on the reverse, an image of the "Hiawatha                                     of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (1997–2012),
Belt," with five arrows bound together, along                                      in Banner v. United States (2001), noted:

The Iroquois Confederacy, or Haudenosaunee, is                                                    ment, the U.S. Constitution, that united immigrant
believed to have been formed in the fifteenth                                                     Europeans into a symbiotic union called America.
century when the legendary Hiawatha and the Great                                                                                        (pp. 29, 37)
Peacemaker united the warring eastern Native
American tribes. Prior to European colonization,                                             Tribalography, as understood by the present
the Iroquois Confederacy exercised active dominion                                           writer, recognizes that traditional narratives are
over nearly thirty-five million acres, most of what
is now the states of New York and Pennsylvania,
formative (culturally foundational), performative
and was considered the most powerful peacekeep-                                              (ceremonially recited), and transformative
ing force of Native Americans east of the Missis-                                            (spiritually and socially revitalizing). They resippi River.                                                                                 present the past in the present. Fact and fiction
(Banner v. United States, 238 F.3d at p. 1350)                                     synthesize into the grand, collective tradition,
In New York, Archibald Kennedy and James                                                   admixed with legendary and mythic elements (not
Parker (Benjamin Franklin's printing partner)                                                  unlike the "magical realism" of Gabriel García
published a pamphlet, The Importance of Gain-                                                  Márquez), integrating symbolically mnemonic
ing and Preserving the Friendship of the Indians                                               accounts, where cosmogony (origin of universe)
to the British Interest Considered (1751), calling                                             functions as sociogony (origin of society), in a
for the Iroquois Six Nations to be federated with                                              sacred embrace of physical and metaphysical
the colonies. In his letter, dated March 20, 1751,                                             epistemology that characterizes Native American
to James Parker, Benjamin Franklin held up the                                                 perspectives. In other words, while there is no
Iroquois confederacy as a model of good gover-                                                 way to definitively recapture "pre-contact" hisnance:                                                                                         tory by way of "post-contact" sources, a consensus, for the most part, has emerged that the
It would be a very strange Thing, if six Nations of                                          Peacemaker was a historical figure.
ignorant Savages 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                                                         HISTORICITY OF THE PEACEMAKER
should be impracticable for ten or a Dozen English
Colonies, to whom it is more necessary, and must                                             Without considering Native Americans, one canbe more advantageous; and who cannot be sup-                                                 not understand the early development of North
posed to want an equal Understanding of their                                                America. Enter the Peacemaker. Legends are
Interests.                                                                                   historically rooted and culturally bound. As such,
(Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 4, pp. 118–119)
Deganawida is not an ethnographic curiosity but
Having justified the significance and impor-                                               a living cultural presence. The overmastering fact
tance of Deganawida as an "American writer"                                                    in the history of the Iroquois is the dominance
(orator/author of oral/written tradition) in the                                               and centrality of the "Longhouse" tradition based
grand sense of the word, a word regarding                                                      upon the Peacemaker cycle. Phenomenologically,
methodology: The present author has adopted                                                    the Deganawida epic—most notably Concerning
and adapted a new methodology called "tribalog-                                                the League, dictated by Chief John Arthur Gibson
raphy," which is still under development, and so                                               in 1912—compares favorably with the sacred
may mean slightly different approaches depend-                                                 scripture in the world's great religions and, as
ing on the scholar. In her highly influential article                                          such, belongs to world literature.
"The Story of America: A Tribalography," Le-                                                        Most ethnologists and linguists have assumed
Anne Howe explains:                                                                            that Deganawida was a historical figure and use
the term "tradition" for that reason. A solid intel-
Native stories are power. They create people. They                                           lectual approach is that the Peacemaker ought to
author tribes. America is a tribal creation story, a                                         be treated as phenomenologically parallel to the
tribalography.! I am suggesting that when the
European Founding Fathers heard the stories of                                               founders of world religions—such as Buddha,
how the Haudenosaunee unified six individual tribes                                          Moses, Christ, Muhammad, or Bahá'u'lláh. By
into an Indian confederacy, they created a docu-                                             adopting this approach, the Deganawida epic, in

its several versions, is understood as a sacred or                               process that took place over generations. Taking
"enlightened" tradition within the Haudenosaunee                                 Crawford's and Parmenter's best estimates
worldview, with an appreciation of the irreduc-                                  together, the date range for the historical Peaceible historical dimension of the Peacemaker as                                   maker becomes c. 1450–1550.
founder (variants and possible embellishments                                        That date range is not the final word on the
within the collective tradition notwithstanding).                                subject, however, for what about "ethnohistory"?
For the Peacemaker gave supernatural sanction to                                 What does Haudenosaunee tradition have to say
the League that he and Hiawatha founded,                                         about the question of when the Great League was
"because the Great Spirit never planned for                                      founded, and why is that tradition important?
humans to hurt one another nor to slaughter one                                  The answer is as political as it is academic:
another" (CL, p. 106). While the historicity of                                  indigenous scholars and activists are reclaiming
the Peacemaker is widely accepted by scholars,                                   the right to their own history. So the date range
dating varies. By analogy, such dating presents                                  that extends to the mid-1500s may soon be
problems akin to the so-called "quest for the                                    regarded, by the Iroquois at least, as racist
historical Jesus."                                                               history. The Haudenosaunee see insisting on the
All religions are influenced by subsequent                                  post-contact date (after Columbus) as colonializevents. As such, there is no single pristine ac-                                 ing their history.
count of the Peacemaker, uninflected by various                                      In principle (legally, at least), oral tradition
outside influences, be they Christian or otherwise.                              should be taken far more seriously. As of March
Traditionally, however, a plurality of Deganawida                                21, 2014, U.S. federal law, as put forth in the
traditions are considered to be simultaneously                                   Native American Graves Protection and Repatriatrue. That said, the Gibson-Goldenweiser version                                 tion Act (NAGPRA), now recognizes that oral
(see below) has been widely acknowledged as                                      tradition is accepted as admissible on a par with
the best version extant, in that it is structured                                expert opinion:
faithfully to how it was ceremonially recited and
ritually performed in the present.                                                     Where cultural affiliation of Native American hu-
So what is the most tenable date of De-                                           man remains and funerary objects has not been
established in an inventory prepared pursuant to
ganawida? Arguably the most widely accepted                                            section 5 [25 USCS § 3003], or the summary pursudate among academics is c. 1450 CE. In "The                                            ant to section 6 [25 USCS § 3004], ! such Native
Long Peace Among Iroquois Nations," Neta C.                                            American human remains and funerary objects shall
Crawford, after reviewing traditional sources and                                      be expeditiously returned where the requesting
scholarly literature, concludes that                                                   Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization can
show cultural affiliation by a preponderance of the
evidence based upon geographical, kinship, biologiit seems likely that the League of the Iroquois was
cal, archaeological, anthropological, linguistic,
formed well before the five original nations came
folkloric, oral traditional, historical, or other
into contact with European explorers and settlers.!
relevant information or expert opinion.
The negotiations for the formation of the League
(25 USCS § 3005(a)(4))
were probably concluded around 1450, about 85
years before the Mohawks, in the League members'
One Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) voice is that of
first direct contact with Europeans, met Cartier on
the Saint Lawrence.                                                            Barbara Alice Mann, associate professor in the
(p. 351)                     Honors Department of the University of Toledo
and also an Ohio Bear Clan Seneca, who would
Similarly, Jon Parmenter, in his The Edge of the                                 therefore be considered an expert in more than
Woods: Iroquoia, 1534–1701, holds that plausible                                 one sense as defined by NAGPRA, given her
dates for the historical Peacemaker, where the                                   command of the oral tradition, documentary
date of "founding" can be interpreted as the                                     evidence, and the scholarly literature. At the polar
initiation of diplomacy by the Peacemaker and                                    opposite are the reductionist views of the anthro-
Hiawatha, could be anywhere circa 1400–1550,                                     pologist William A. Starna, professor emeritus at
while the League formation itself was a lengthy                                  the State University of New York College at

Oneonta. This intellectual landscape—a hyper-                                                   divine portent of cosmic and therefore historical
critical minefield—is difficult to map, because                                                 significance.
the claims are so territorial, with so much                                                         The latest date for the formation of the
heritage and history at stake.
Iroquois Confederacy has been put forward by
At issue is a central question: was the League                                             Starna, who postulates that "the genesis of the
"pre-contact" (before Europeans arrived on the                                                  League is tied directly to the arrival of the Dutch
American scene), or was it "post-contact"? The
[in 1609] and the trade at Fort Nassau [1613–
earliest date posited for the formation of the
14]" (p. 321). Henry Hudson, an English naviga-
Iroquois Confederacy is August 31, 1142, during
tor in the service of the Dutch East India
which a "Black Sun" (total eclipse) occurred right
Company aboard the ship Half Moon, discovered
before the League was finally and fully
established. This date has been proposed by                                                     the Delaware Bay and River, according to the
Barbara Mann and Jerry Fields, an astronomer, in                                                journal kept by his first officer, on August 28,
"A Sign in the Sky: Dating the League of the                                                    1609. According to Starna (pp. 285–286), the
Haudenosaunee." According to Mann and Fields,                                                   earliest documentary mention of a version of the
the Peacemaker, along with Hiawatha and Jigon-                                                  name "Deganawida" is found in A Dictionary of
saseh, flourished in the twelfth century. This is                                               the Mohawk Language produced sometime in the
squarely based on a Seneca legend which holds                                                   period 1743–1748 by Johann Christopher Pyrthat, during a ratification council held at Ganon-                                              laeus, a German-born Moravian missionary.
dagan (near modern-day Victor, New York), a                                                     Pyrlaeus' informant was an elderly Mohawk man,
solar eclipse coincided with the Senecas' deci-                                                 Sganarády. While Starna recognizes the Desion to join the League. In William W. Canfield's                                               ganawida epic's "status as a sacred text" (p. 320),
comment on a parallel traditional account, as told                                              he does not accord it much historical value.
to him by "the Cornplanter" (a warrior, Seneca                                                  Starna, moreover, holds that, once the Dechief, and major Iroquois leader of the late                                                    ganawida epic is set aside, nothing in the historieighteenth century), he cites both the Cornplanter                                              cal or archaeological record confirms the exisand Chief Governor Blacksnake as authorities for                                                tence of the League before contact; in other
the Seneca eclipse tradition:                                                                   words, that "the impetus for and timing of the
The legend of its formation here published is not                                             formation of the League ! cannot be satisfactorily
only based upon what was considered reliable                                                  answered solely on the basis of the Deganawidah
authority by Cornplanter, but has also the sanction                                           epic" (p. 315), and that it is too much to expect
of that other noted Seneca chief, Governor Black-                                             historians to accept a sacred narrative of events
snake (the Nephew), who was contemporaneous
so deep in the past without independent evidence.
with Cornplanter.! These chiefs both claimed to
have seen a string of wampum in their early years                                                 Even if one does not accept the date of
that placed the formation of the confederacy at a                                             August 31, 1142, proposed by Mann and Fields,
time when there occurred a total eclipse of the
sun—"a darkening of the Great Spirit's smiling
they make a powerful and compelling argument
face"—that took place when the corn was receiving                                             against dating the formation of the League as a
its last tillage, long before events that could be reli-                                      response to Europeans in the mid-sixteenth
ably ascribed to the year 1540.                                                               century and beyond:
(Canfield, "Notes to the Legends,"
The Legends of the Iroquois, pp. 205–206)
We know who "the enemy" was during the mid-
The same traditional/astrophysical approach                                                      sixteenth century: the Europeans. We also know
was used by Dean Snow to arrive at the Julian                                                        who "the enemy" was in League tradition: the cancalendar date of June 28, 1451, by adopting the                                                      nibal cult. At no point does League tradition state
that the cannibals were Europeans; quite the opdate of a later solar eclipse. (See "Dating the
posite, the cannibals were an absolutely Native
Emergence of the League of the Iroquois: A                                                           group. If the mid-sixteenth century claim is to stand,
Reconsideration of the Documentary Evidence.")                                                       its advocates must demonstrate that the cannibals
Such an eclipse could easily be interpreted as a                                                     and the Europeans are one and the same. They must

also explain why the Keepers seem unaware of this                             Cayuga, he would reply in Onondaga.) Gibson
extraordinary fact.                                                           could, at will, converse with visiting Oneida
(p. 110)                     chiefs. Occasionally Chief Gibson performed
rituals in Mohawk. He knew some Tuscarora as
well. Chief Gibson was trained as a ceremonialist
DEGANAWIDA EPIC: VERSIONS BY LANGUAGE                                          under the oldest living Onondaga fire-keeper at
that time (Fenton, 1962, p. 286.) Besides the
Although the chronological focus of the sundry                                  Chiefs' version, there is the 1899 Gibson-Hewitt
Peacemaker traditions (collectively referred to as                              version and the 1912 Gibson-Goldenweiser
the Deganawida epic) is essentially "pre-contact,"                              version. (See below.)
the primary sources are "post-contact."
The Chiefs' version was compiled in English
Native-Authored English Versions: As previin 1900 ("or composed in one of the Iroquois
ously stated, more than forty versions (oral and
languages and then translated by them into
written) of the Deganawida epic exist (Kimura,
English—the exact method used is not known,"
p. 49). All are honored as "authoritative" among
according to Hanni Woodbury in her introduction
Iroquois communities and speakers. Perhaps the
to Concerning the League [p. xvi, n. 12]). It was
most truly representative tradition is the Chiefs'
published as Traditional History of the Confedversion (English-only), "written from dictation
eracy of the Six Nations in 1912 by Duncan C.
by the ceremonial Chiefs" from each of the Six
Scott, superintendent of Indian Affairs in Canada.
Nations. These chiefs were Peter Powless
Arthur C. Parker (Seneca, but who did not speak
(Mohawk), Nicodemus Porter (Oneida), William
any Iroquoian languages) published The Constitu-
Wage and Abram Charles (Cayuga), John Arthur
tion of the Five Nations (1916), in which he
Gibson (Seneca), Thomas William Echo
combined the Chiefs' version—reviewed, cor-
(Onondaga), and Josiah Hill (Tuscarora), with J.
rected, and revised by Albert Cusick (Onondaga-
W. M. Elliott serving as secretary, along with
Tuscarora)—with the Iroquois code of laws set
Chief Hill. The chiefs' version was promulgated
down by Seth Newhouse ("Da-yo-de-ka-ne,"
on August 17, 1900, at the Six Nations Reserve
Mohawk-Onondaga) in "Indian English," corin Ontario, Canada, where, in 1874, Loyalist
rected by Cusick. Parker edited Newhouse's code
Mohawks and their confederated allies followed
of laws by reorganizing the sections to more
Joseph Brant to the banks of the Grand River
closely resemble the U.S. Constitution. Oddly,
near Brantford, Ontario. There, the Six Nations
Parker does not cite Scott's prior publication of
reconstituted the old League.
the Chiefs' version.
This endorsed version, promulgated "by the
authority of the Six Nations Council," represents                                   Twice previously, the chiefs had rejected Seth
a synthesis of parallel traditions. Of these eight                              Newhouse's 1885 Native-English version of the
leaders, Gibson (1850–1912) was arguably the                                    Peacemaker narrative, Cosmogony of the Iroquois
most influential. In 1872, at age twenty-three,                                 Confederacy, for which he wanted to be paid and
Gibson was appointed a Seneca chief, having                                     which called into question certain titles of
inherited his title, Kanyataiyo ("Beautiful Lake"),                             chieftainship and some of the Council's procefrom his mother's side. At thirty-one, Gibson                                   dures as well. A true Mohawk patriot, Newhouse
suddenly became blind due to an injury suffered                                 translated his Cosmogony into Mohawk, possibly
during a lacrosse match, a sport invented by the                                with Hewitt's assistance. It languishes as an
Iroquois. From then on, Gibson's nephew would                                   unpublished manuscript.
typically escort and assist him. As one of the ap-                                  The Chiefs' version was promulgated ostensiproximately 20 percent of the Grand River                                       bly for the purpose of preserving the Peacemaker
Iroquois who followed the Longhouse religion,                                   tradition for posterity. Why English? Theoreti-
Seneca was Gibson's mother tongue. Although                                     cally, while the Chiefs' version could have been
his English was excellent, he spoke mostly in                                   set forth in an Iroquoian language, as a practical
Onondaga. (While his wife would address him in                                  matter, English was preferred since "birth speak-

ers" of indigenous languages were fast                                                       of men's tradition and women spoke of women's
disappearing. Moreover, this project was also                                                tradition. Scholars have not quite grasped that
concerned with legitimacy. This is indicated by                                              fact, although Barbara Mann's work has drawn
the text's noting that "the installation of the Lords                                        attention to this problem and to the need to hear
or Chiefs as rulers of the people, laid down in                                              both traditions to regain a full perspective.
these unwritten rules hundreds of years ago, is                                                  According to Kimura (pp. 181–182), the
still strictly observed and adhered to by the                                                Chiefs' version was promulgated "for the purpose
Chiefs of the Six Nations and people" (p. 196).                                              of authorizing and legitimating a political
Not only was the Chiefs' version an anticolonial                                             structure." Specifically, "the matrilineally herediproject, it was one of self-empowerment as well,                                             tary council's primary intention was to persuade
particularly as a bulwark against Canadian                                                   the Department of Indian Affairs to accept the
colonial and assimilation policy. According to                                               legitimacy of their special status." To achieve
Takeshi Kimura (p. 62), the Chiefs' version is                                               that objective, a process of "reconstructing tradibest understood as a response to a self-                                                     tion" was involved. This reconstruction was essovereignty dispute between the Canadian De-                                                 sentially an act of reconstituting and codifying a
partment of Indian Affairs and the matrilineally                                             somewhat fluid tradition into a solid framework,
hereditary Six Nations Council "in order to                                                  vested with the stamp of authority by representajustify the political authenticity of the chiefs'                                            tives of the Six Nations.
council." That there was a clear need to establish                                               In their "introductory remarks" of August 17,
and maintain such legitimacy is illustrated by the                                           1900, Chiefs Josiah Hill (Six Nations Council)
fact that, in 1924, the Canadian government                                                  and J. W. M. Elliott (secretary of the Ceremonial
abrogated the authority of the Six Nations                                                   Committee on Indian Rites and Customs) ac-
Council. Establishing the League tradition in an                                             knowledge that some of the miraculous feats
authoritative, written version was an act of covert                                          ascribed to the Peacemaker may betray some
resistance against overt coercion into U.S.- and                                             Jesuit influence (p. 197). According to Darren
Canadian-friendly tribal councils—in other                                                   Bonaparte, however, the birth of the Peacemaker
words, a "settler" oppression tactic.                                                        has precedents not only in Christianity, but also
This is not to say that the Chiefs manipulated                                          in the Iroquois creation story, where Sky Woman
and recast tradition beyond recognition in light                                             and her virgin daughter may have been recast as
of these exigent historical circumstances, espe-                                             Deganawida's grandmother and mother. In either
cially since such updating is itself traditional. As                                         case, Kimura (p. 63) states that this foreword
social agents, anchored in time and place, the                                               was probably prepared by the Christian chiefs
Chiefs obviously had reasons—a complex of mo-                                                (not individually identified), since certain charactives—for producing an endorsed version of the                                               terizations in the Chiefs' prefatory remarks—
Peacemaker epic in English, since doing so was                                               such as "much modified" (p. 196), "past mythofar from customary and traditionally would have                                              logical legends," "crude (religious) belief," and
been frowned upon. Thus the Chiefs' version was                                              "transition from a state of paganism to that of
not only culturally and religiously significant but                                          civilization and christianity" (p. 197)—could not
had political, economic, and juridical dimensions                                            have been made by the traditional Longhouse
as well. By providing an authoritative narrative                                             chiefs. Some of the Christian chiefs strongly
of the Longhouse tradition to the Department of                                              advocated an elective rather than matrilineally
the Indian Affairs and to outsiders generally, the                                           hereditary tribal council, for instance. Although
Chiefs' version was intended for the public. This                                            united for the purpose of producing the Chiefs'
rendition was not an "invention," since the                                                  version, the preface raises some questions that
Peacemaker tradition was a long-standing and                                                 must remain unanswered until the perspective of
venerable one. That said, Parker's version                                                   each of the eight ceremonial Chiefs is analyzed.
crucially included women's sections, which are                                               That said, the preface may well be an instance of
missing from other traditions, because men spoke                                             "double-voicing" (what W. E. B. Du Bois called

"double-conscientiousness"), in which an op-                                     as the Gibson-Hewitt version, this manuscript is
pressed group speaks in language that the op-                                    preserved as MS 2316, National Anthropological
pressive power would respond to.                                                 Archives, Smithsonian Institution (189 typescript
Other Native-English versions—beginning                                     pages). The 1899 recitation is a shortened verwith the 1885 version by Seth Newhouse—are                                       sion in that it does not relate the great ceremony
cited in the selected bibliography below. Native-                                for condoling deceased chiefs and raising their
language versions are listed, by language, at the                                successors in their stead. This version, it should
end of this article as well. A brief overview of                                 be noted, is distinct from the Chiefs' version
these versions in indigenous languages is pro-                                   (1900), which was dictated in English, not
vided as follows:                                                                Onondaga.
Onondaga Versions: In 1888, Chief John                                           In 1912 Chief Gibson dictated his fuller ver-
Buck, Sr. (a fourth-generation Onondaga chief,                                   sion of the League tradition to the anthropologist
fire-keeper, and wampum-keeper), dictated in                                     Alexander Aleksandrovich Goldenweiser (born in
Onondaga, a critically endangered language, his                                  Kiev) at the Six Nations Reserve. This "Gibsonversion of the League tradition to the ethnogra-                                 Goldenweiser" version was transcribed in the
pher J. N. B. Hewitt at the Six Nations Reserve,                                 first part of the twentieth century, when recording
Ontario, Canada. Hewitt was part Tuscarora and                                   technology was unavailable. This undertaking
had a good command of the Onondaga and                                           was completed just four months before Chief
Mohawk languages. (It was Hewitt, a founder of                                   Gibson suddenly died of a stroke on November
the American Anthropological Association, who                                    1, 1912. The original manuscript (529 pages on
in 1887 definitively established the connection of                               lined legal pads) is archived as III-I-116M in the
Cherokee with the Iroquoian family of                                            Canadian Ethnology Services Archives, Canadian
languages.) The original is preserved as MS 3130,                                Museum of Civilization, Hull, Québec. Taken
National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian                                   together, the Gibson-Hewitt (1899) and the
Institution. A translation of Chief Buck's was                                   Gibson-Goldenweiser (1912) versions represent
published by Hewitt in 1892. This version, albeit                                "the most satisfactory single native account of
anomalously, ascribes certain events to Hiawatha                                 the League" (Fenton, p. 158).
instead of Deganawida. Oddly, this version refers                                     Oneida Versions: On June 22, 1971, Damas
to the "Seven Nations."                                                          Elm (ninety-three-year-old Oneida elder of
Now we come to the preeminent—and per-                                      Southwold, Ontario) recited "The Story of Dehaps definitive—version of the peacemaker epic.                                  ganawida" in the Oneida language. This version
A renowned speaker in the Longhouse, the                                         was recorded on magnetic tape. The text was
Seneca chief John Arthur Gibson has already                                      transcribed by the linguist Floyd G. Lounsbury
been introduced above. Chief Gibson assiduously                                  with the assistance of Damas Elm on June 23–
followed the time-honored method of committing                                   28, 1971. It remains unpublished. The archival
oral traditions to memory. From youth, Gibson                                    files are difficult to access since they are deemed
took every possible opportunity to hear recitals                                 "culturally sensitive."
from his elders, which, over time, he learned by                                     Another Oneida version is that recited by
heart, bit by bit. Stock phrases and word-for-                                   Chief Robert Brown (a.k.a. Anahalihs ["Great
word repetitions, as obvious memory aids, are                                    Vines"]), Bear Clan chief of the Oneida tribe,
very typical of oral literature. (Improvisation is                               translated by Brown and Clifford F. Abbott of the
not acceptable in the strict performance of a                                    University of Wisconsin–Green Bay and edited
sacred narrative. Although the main action can                                   by Randy Cornelius (Tehahuko'tha), also of the
never be changed, certain details in the narrative                               Sovereign Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. It apcan fluctuate, depending on the era and the telling.                             pears that Brown's recitation closely parallels, if
And so, in 1899, at the Six Nations Reserve,                                not depends heavily upon, Gibson's 1912 Onon-
Chief Gibson dictated, in Onondaga, a version of                                 daga version, such that it may be fair to say that
the League tradition to J. N. B. Hewitt. Known                                   Brown was recasting Gibson's work into Oneida.

But there are significant differences as well.                                               most of these core elements (as summarized by
Although not formally published, this version is                                             the present writer), with headings by Vecsey, as
currently available on the Internet.                                                         noted:
Mohawk Versions: Chief Seth Newhouse                                                        (1) "The Migration and Separation of the
produced a typescript translation of the Mohawk                                              People" (Vecsey, pp. 82–83): This element is
version of the "The Great Law of Peace," as the                                              absent in the Gibson-Goldenweiser version.
Peacemaker cycle is also known. This Newhouse                                                    (2) "The Birth and Growth of Deganawida"
document is archived as MS 3490, National                                                    (Vecsey, p. 83): In the distant past, war and blood
Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian                                                        revenge plagued the Mohawk homeland on the
Institution. The translation is titled Constitution                                          northern shore of Lake Ontario (in what is now
of the Confederacy by Dekanawidah: Collected                                                 Canada), where warriors, ruthlessly and relentand Translated from [the] Mohawk Text by Chief                                               lessly, killed and scalped inhabitants of settle-
Seth Newhouse. Digital scans of all forty-three                                              ments across forest and countryside. (This may
pages of the translation are available online. A                                             be a Western interpolation. According to Mann,
bilingual Mohawk-English version was published                                               the war was the overthrow of the Mound Builder
in 1993 by Ohontsa Films.                                                                    priesthood.) To escape the dangers of this ongo-
Cayuga Version: The ethnographer J. N. B.                                               ing onslaught, a mother ("End of the Field") takes
Hewitt committed to writing the "Cayuga version                                              her daughter ("She Walks Ahead") away from
of the Deganawida legend 1890," cataloged as                                                 her people and migrates to a remote area of the
MS 1582, National Anthropological Archives,                                                  bush, where the two do not see another human
Smithsonian Institution. Digital scans of all                                                being for a long time.
seventeen pages are available online. (See                                                       Later on, the mother discovers that her
bibliography.)                                                                               daughter is pregnant and demands to know who
Non-Native English Version: In January 1946                                             the father is. The daughter has no idea. The old
the University of Pennsylvania Press published                                               woman, sure that her daughter is lying, grows
Paul Wallace's White Roots of Peace. See discus-                                             angry, and the two are estranged until a mession of this book below.                                                                     senger from the Great Spirit appears and tells the
mother that her daughter is about to have a divine
birth. (This is patent Christianization, since the
DEGANAWIDA EPIC: STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS                                                       Haudenosaunee traditionally do not value "virgins" and "virgin birth" stories.) They should call
Comparing the major versions, Christopher Vecthe boy Tekánawí·ta'; [Deganawida], whose missey identifies twenty-two key structural elements
sion will be to bring about peace. The boy grows
common to the majority of extant versions of the
rapidly, a sign of supernatural origin or powers
Deganawida epic. To give the reader a fair
(CL, pp. 1–14).
impression, Christopher Vecsey's twenty-two elements may be cited as a structural framework of                                                  (3) "The Journey to the Mohawks, the Situaanalysis. As Vecsey observes: "No one version                                                tion, and the Mission Explained" (Vecsey, p. 84):
contains every episode, although Gibson's 1899                                               When the boy becomes a young man, his mother
manuscript comes the closest to completeness"                                                and grandmother return home, where he an-
(p. 82). From a traditional (plurality) perspective,                                         nounces to their people the Good Message, the
these episodes enjoyed reciprocity as simultane-                                             Power, and the Peace. After the Peacemaker tells
ously true. Gibson simply put together all the                                               the village's children of his mission, the older
versions he had heard, which is allowed in                                                   women spread the news, and a day is appointed
indigenous tradition. Vecsey wrote this in 1986,                                             for the Peacemaker to speak to the elders (CL,
before Hanni Woodbury published her translation                                              pp. 15–36). This is his message, which the chief
of Concerning the League in 1992. The Gibson-                                                and elders accept:
Goldenweiser version (Concerning the League                                                       Thereupon Tekanawita [Deganawida] stood up in
[CL], translated by Hanni Woodbury et al.) has                                                    the center of the gathering place, and then he said,

"First I will answer what it means to say, 'now it is                                   After Tekanawita had departed in that direction
arriving, the Good Message.' This indeed, is what it                                    he came to a house belonging to a cannibal who
means: When it stops, the slaughter of your own                                         had his house there. Then Tekanawita went close
people who live here on earth, then everywhere                                          to the house. Then, when he saw the man coming
peace will come about, by day and also by night,                                        out, departing, sliding down the hill to the river,
and it will come about that as one travels around,                                      and dipping water, thereupon Tekanawita hureveryone will be related. Then, indeed, [?]in future                                    riedly climbed onto the house to the place where
days to come.                                                                           there was a chimney for the smoke to escape; he
lay down on his stomach and looking into the house
he saw that the task of breaking up meat and piling
Now again [?], secondly, I say, 'now it is arriving,
it up had been completed.
the power,' and this means that the different nations, all the nations, will become just a single one,                                  Then the man returned, and he was carrying a drum
and the Great Law will come into being, so that                                         of water in it. Thereupon he poured it into a vessel,
now all will be related to each other, and there will                                   put meat into the liquid, and hung the vessel up
come to be just a single family, and in the future, in                                  over the fire until it boiled. Moreover, the man
days to come, this family will continue on.                                             watched it, and when it was done, he took down
the vessel placing it near the embers. Thereupon he
Now in turn, the other, my third saying, 'Now it is                                     said, "Now indeed it is done. Moreover, now I will
arriving, the Peace,' this means that everyone will                                     eat." There upon he set up a seat, a bench, thinking
become related, men and also women, and also the                                        that he will put it on there when he eats. Thereupon
young people and the children, and when all are                                         he went to where the vessel sat, intending to take
relatives, every nation, then there will be peace as                                    the meat out of the liquid, when he saw, from inside
they roam about by day and also by night. Now,                                          the vessel, a man looking out.
also, it will become possible for them to assemble
in meetings. Then there will be truthfulness, and                                       Thereupon he moved away without removing the
they will uphold hope and charity, so that it is peace                                  meat, and sat down again on the long bench, for it
that will unite all the people, indeed, it will be as                                   was a surprise to him, seeing the man in the vessel.
though they have but one mind, and they are a                                           Thereupon he thought, "Let me look again."
single person with only one body and one head and                                       Thereupon he, Tekanawita , looked again from
one life, which means that there will be unity.                                         above where the smoke hole was, again causing a
Moreover, and most importantly, one is going to as-                                     reflection in the vessel, and then the man, standing
sembly in meetings where it will be announced that                                      up again, went to where the vessel sat, looked into
all of mankind will repent of their sins, even evil                                     the vessel again, saw the man looking out, and he
people, and in the future, they will be kind to one                                     was handsome, he having a nice face. Thereupon
another, one and all. When they are functioning, the                                    the man moved away again and he sat down again
Good Message and also the Power and the Peace,                                          on the long bench, and then he bowed his head,
moreover, these will be the principal things every-                                     pondering and thinking, "I am exceedingly handbody will live by; these will be the great values                                       some and I have a nice face; it is probably not right,
among the people."                                                                      my habit of eating humans. So I will now stop,
(CL, pp. 36–41)
from now on I ought not kill humans anymore."
(CL, pp. 78–83)
This episode is omitted in the Chiefs' version                                      Hiawatha mistakes the Peacemaker's face, which
and in the Gibson-Hewitt version.                                                   is reflected in the pot, for his own. In the Gibson-
(4) "The Cannibal Converts" (Vecsey, p. 84):                                    Hewitt version, the Peacemaker gives the former
After returning to their camp in the bush, the                                      cannibal the name Hiawatha, who is then sent to
Peacemaker carves a canoe of white stone. He                                        a settlement to announce the coming of "the
sets out on his mission. He first encounters a                                      Good Message, and the Power, and the Peace."
Mohawk who had fled for safety from the                                             However, in the Gibson-Goldenweiser version
bloodshed, and the Peacemaker tells the Mohawk                                      (Vecsey, p. 84, citing the Gibson-Hewitt version,
to announce his forthcoming arrival and mission                                     pp. 34–60), the cannibal remains unnamed, and
to the chief. Peacemaker then encounters a can-                                     the Peacemaker confers the name "Hiawatha" on
nibal, the story of which is one of the most                                        the great warrior and chief of the next Mohawk
famous episodes (CL, pp. 78–90) of the Peace-                                       settlement. (See also White Roots of Peace, pp.
maker epic:                                                                         42–45.) If analyzed sociologically, this episode

may indicate a transition from cannibalism                                                    negotiations with the Peacemaker and her per-
(especially by Mound Builder priests among the                                                sonal centrality and ending the Second Epochal
Ohio Iroquois) to crop farming and deer hunting.                                              war resulted in the women's sections of the
(5) The "Mother of Nations Accepts                                                        Iroquois Constitution, twenty-three of the one
Deganawida's Message" (Vecsey, p. 84): Arriv-                                                 hundred seventeen clauses, according to Renée
ing at the waterfalls on the eastern side of the                                              Jacobs' count" (Iroquoian Women, p. 155).
river, the Peacemaker encounters "Fat Face" (the                                                  (6) "The Prophets Prove Their Power"
traditional name is most commonly spelled                                                     (Vecsey, p. 84): The Peacemaker proceeds to a
"Jigonsaseh"), the head mother of the Senecas,                                                Mohawk settlement. He camps on the outskirts
who became the Head Mother of the League.                                                     overnight, and awaits invitation. The next day,
The Peacemaker chides her for feeding the war-                                                the chief sends scouts, calls a meeting, and invites
riors, thereby aiding and abetting warfare. After
the Peacemaker to deliver his message. The chief
converting her to his message, he sends Fat Face
accepts, yet "the Great Warrior and his deputy"
to travel east, to announce his arrival in three
express hesitation, challenging Deganawida to a
days (which is really three years) (CL, pp. 90–
test to see if he is endowed with supernatural
94). On the role of women who carry the traditional title of "Jigonsaseh," Barbara Mann notes                                              power. The Peacemaker climbs a great tree,
that the Head Clan Mothers of the League were                                                 perched precipitously over a deep gorge. The
the title-keepers (and also lineage-keepers):                                                 Great Warrior's men then cut down the tree. Deganawida plunges into the river's turbulent waters
The Jigonsaseh ! allowed or disallowed passage of                                           below and disappears. The next morning, a young
war parties, thus giving them tacit veto power over                                         man sees smoke rising from the edge of the
warfare. Because federal officials could be put                                             cornfield, which turns out to be where the
forward only by their respective Clan Mothers, and
could be impeached by them, Clan Mothers ef-
Peacemaker is encamped, and the chief, Great
fectively controlled the national agenda: Federal of-                                       Warrior, and deputy are now convinced of the
ficials of the two Brotherhoods (Congress) and the                                          Peacemaker's power to accomplish his mission
Firekeepers (the Executive Branch) considered mat-                                          (CL, pp. 95–130).
ters at a national level only after they had already
been discussed, approved, and forwarded by the                                                  (7) "Tadadaho the Wizard Prevents Peace"
"women's councils," i.e., the Clan Mothers in their                                         (Vecsey, p. 85): The Peacemaker proceeds
own councils.                                                                               eastward. "First I will go to the dangerous place,
("The Lynx in Time," p. 440;                                       where we two will converse, the Great Witch [or
see also Mann, Iroquoian Women, chap. 3)                                       'Sorcerer'] and I." If the Wizard accepts, they
Seneca Chief Cornplanter refers to the office of                                              will hear a great voice announcing this, at which
those who succeeded Jigonsaseh (who, according                                                time the meeting should be convened at "Standto parallel traditional accounts, would, and did,                                             ing Stone" [the Oneida nation] (CL, pp. 130–
carry the title of "the Jigonsaseh") as the "Peace-                                           132).
maker Queen," among the Seneca. (Cornplanter,                                                     (8) "Hiawatha's Relatives Are Killed"
qtd. in Canfield, "The Peacemaker," The Legends                                               (Vecsey, p. 85): Meanwhile, Hiawatha's eldest
of the Iroquois, pp. 149–154.) Barbara Mann                                                   daughter has taken ill and died. Then the next
stresses the traditional importance of this office.                                           daughter succumbs. To console him, the young
She also laments the fact that it was largely                                                 warriors divert Hiawatha's attention by putting
forgotten, due to American and Canadian policies                                              on a game of lacrosse. During the game, his third
of forced assimilation, and further obscured by                                               daughter, the youngest of the three and pregnant,
Western scholarship, which has simply failed to                                               goes to the river to bathe. On her way back, the
appreciate the importance of the "Peace Queen"                                                warriors see a great bird flying low overhead. In
and those who held her office, in succeeding                                                  their zeal to seize it, they collide with the last
generations, among the Iroquois nations. Speak-                                               daughter, whose injuries are fatal (CL, pp. 132–
ing of the original Jigonsaseh, Mann notes: "Her                                              138).

(9) "Hiawatha Mourns and Quits Onondaga"                                    Deganawida then sends two messengers to "look
(Vecsey, p. 86): Heartbroken, Hiawatha departs.                                  for smoke." They transform into hawks, see the
He goes to a cornfield, builds a lean-to, and lights                             smoke rising, and change back into humans. They
a fire to camp overnight (CL, p. 139).                                           see a man smoking a large pipe, who is the chief
(10) "Hiawatha Invents Wampum" (Vecsey,                                     of the "Big Pipe People" (the Cayugas). He acp. 86): At his camp, Hiawatha cuts and cores                                     cepts the Peacemaker's message. The messengers
sumac branches (later described as "basswood,"                                   proceed to the "Great Mountain."
identified as elderberry in the Chiefs' version)                                      The Senecas remain unconvinced. So the
into short sticks, hooks them onto a horizontally                                Peacemaker goes to them, and finds them split
suspended rod, and gazes at them (CL, pp. 140–                                   into two factions. The chiefs accept, although the
141). This is the origin of the "Welcome at the                                  warriors do not (CL, pp. 141–222).
Woods' Edge" wampum. Since wampum already                                             (14) "Scouts Travel to Tadadaho" (Vecsey, p.
existed and was widely used, what Hiawatha                                       87): Deganawida and Hiawatha launch the stone
actually invented—or rather, revivified—were the                                 canoe to cross the great lake. Representatives
Condolence speeches.                                                             from the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca
(11) "Hiawatha Gives the Mohawks Lessons                                    nations embark, climb aboard. Hiawatha paddles.
in Protocol" (Vecsey, pp. 86–87): Puzzled at see-                                In the middle of the lake, the Sorcerer shouts, "Is
ing this, the man guarding the cornfield reports                                 it time yet?" This stirs up a fierce gale, with great
to the chief, who sends two scouts to invite                                     waves threatening to capsize the canoe. Then the
Hiawatha to the chief's house. They address                                      Peacemaker commands, "Rest wind!" The Sor-
Hiawatha three times. No response. On hearing                                    cerer shouts again, stirring up a great whirlwind.
this, the chief guesses what's expected. Cutting                                 Deganawida then says, "Stop wind!" and calms
shafts from feathers, he arranges these in similar                               the tempest (CL, pp. 223–225).
fashion. When the scouts then present these to                                        (15) "The Nations March to Tadadaho, Sing-
Hiawatha, he accepts the chief's overture, saying:                               ing the Peace Hymn" (Vecsey, pp. 87–88): This
"This is right and I accept it." (This is the origin                             element evidently is absent from the Gibsonof the "Invitation Wampum," which is part of                                     Goldenweiser version as well.
"forest diplomacy.") The chief calls a meeting.                                       (16) "Deganawida and Hiawatha Transform
Hiawatha relates what transpired among the                                       Tadadaho" (Vecsey, p. 88): At last they reach the
Mohawks and announces the Peacemaker's im-                                       "Great Sorcerer" (i.e., Tadadaho). "They observed
minent arrival (CL, pp. 141–171).                                                that all over his head beings were writhing—it
(12) "Deganawida Consoles Hiawatha"                                         was like snakes, his hair, and his fingers were
(Vecsey, p. 87): This element appears to be absent                               gnarled—all over they were writhing, nor was he
in the Gibson-Goldenweiser version.                                              about to talk. Thereupon they saw something
(13) "Deganawida and Hiawatha Join Onei-                                    hanging on him" (CL, p. 228). The Peacemaker
das, Cayugas, and Senecas to Mohawks" (Vecsey,                                   then sends Hiawatha to fetch "Fat Face"
p. 87): The Peacemaker arrives in the middle of                                  (Jigonsaseh), now called "our mother, the Great
the night, tells Hiawatha he has been to Onon-                                   Matron." She arrives. A "grand council"
daga, where he announced his mission to the                                      convenes. The Peacemaker proposes the follow-
"Great Sorcerer," and from there proceeded to                                    ing to the Great Sorcerer:
the "Great Mountain" (a Seneca settlement) as
Now, indeed, all of them have arrived, they of the
well. The Peacemaker's unobserved arrival                                              four nations, that is, the Mohawks and the Oneidas
astonishes the inhabitants of Standing Stone                                           and the Cayugas and the Senecas; they are the ones
[Oneidas], who take council, where Deganawida                                          who have accepted the Good Message and the
proclaims his message. They accept.                                                    Power and the Peace, that which will now function:
the Great Law. Moreover, everything reposes there,
Meanwhile, the Great Sorcerer (by whom Ta-                                        the minds of the several nations, and as to you,
dadaho is likely meant), now growing impatient,                                        they place before you their proposition that it is to
shouts a great shout, heard all over the world.                                        be you who is the title bearer, and the Great Chief,

and you also are to be the fire keeper at the place                                          order for the operation of good governance
where we will kindle the fire, whose rising smoke                                            among the Five Nations, Hiawatha then invites
will pierce the sky. Then one will see it in all of the                                      the recalcitrant Seneca warrior chief ("the Great
settlements on earth.                                                                        Warrior") and his deputy, who are brought to the
(CL, pp. 230–232)
council to hear the Peacemaker's message. He
offers them the special authority over all of the
So, after the uniting of four nations (Mohawks,
League's warriors, and also offers them the post
Oneidas, Cayugas, and Senecas), the allegiance
of "Doorkeepers." The Great Warrior accepts,
of one more remains to be won: the Onondagas,                                                  whereupon the Peacemaker gives thanks by recitled by the Great Sorcerer (still, at this point in                                             ing a short version of the Thanksgiving Address:
the saga, unnamed). The Peacemaker then proclaims:                                                                                             Thereupon Tekanawita stood up, saying, "The
Great Power came from up in the sky, and now it is
"Now moreover, it is accomplished; now she has                                                    functioning, the Great Power that we accepted when
arrived, our mother, the Great Matron whose name                                                  we reached consensus. So now our house has
is [Tsikonhsahsen]; now she has accepted the Good                                                 become complete. Now, therefore, we shall give
Message, and this, moreover, is what you should                                                   thanks, that is, we shall thank the Creator of the
confirm and adopt, the Great Law, so that she may                                                 earth, that is, he who planted all kinds of weeds
place antlers on you, our mother, and they shall                                                  and all varieties of shrubs and all kinds of trees;
together form a circle, standing alongside your                                                   and springs, flowing water, such as rivers and large
body." ! "Now you are looking at all of the ones                                                  bodies of water, such as lakes; and the sun that
who will be standing with you." Thereupon the man                                                 keeps moving by day, and by night, the moon, and
bowed his head. Thereupon his hair stopped writh-                                                 where the sky is, the stars, which no one is able to
ing and all of his fingers became quiet. Thereupon                                                count; moreover, the way it is on earth in relation
Tekanawita said, "Now, indeed, it is functioning,                                                 to which no one is able to tell the extent to which it
the Peace." Thereupon the man spoke up saying,                                                    is to their benefit, that is the people whom he cre-
"Now I confirm the matter, I accept the Good Mes-                                                 ated and who will continue to live on earth. This,
sage and the Power and the Peace."                                                                then, is the reason we thank him, the one with great
(CL, pp. 232–234)                                       power, the one who is the Creator, for that which
will now move forward, the Good Message and the
Power and the Peace; the Great Law."
In this dramatic scene, the Great Sorcerer bows
(CL, pp. 294–296)
his head in humble, yet grand, acquiescence. His
hair stops writhing. His fingers uncurl. Un-                                                       The Peacemaker then lays out the specific
seethed, he accepts the message. Then the                                                      laws of good governance by which the Confed-
Peacemaker strokes the Sorcerer's head, straight-                                              eracy will function. Women become the propriens his fingers, while others disentangle the                                                  etors of lordship titles (CL, pp. 294–326).
objects hanging from his shoulders. The Sorcerer                                                   (19) "The Confederacy Takes Symbolic Imis now righted, his humanity restored (CL, pp.                                                 ages" (Vecsey, p. 89): The Peacemaker estab-
226–235).                                                                                      lishes the central hearth, being the council fire.
(17) "Deganawida and Hiawatha Establish                                                    They plant a great white pine ("Great Tall Tree
Iroquois Unity and Law" (Vecsey, p. 88): The                                                   Trunk") named, in Woodbury's translation, as the
Peacemaker then summons Jigonsaseh, the Great                                                  "Great Long Leaf," which puts forth four white
Matron, whom he recognizes as a "Great Chief."                                                 roots ("Great White Root[s]") extending east,
Together with Jigonsaseh, Deganawida places a                                                  west, north, and south (CL, pp. 296–297). Arcrown of antlers (a symbol of authority) on the                                                rows are bound together by the sinew of a deer,
Sorcerer's head. The Peacemaker confers on the                                                 to represent the Confederacy's strong bond (CL,
Sorcerer the title "Thatotaho'." Antlers are then                                              pp. 300–309): "for this bundle, made of five arplaced on the other chiefs (CL, pp. 235–251).                                                  rows, is impossible to break, and it is impossible
(18) "Deganawida and Hiawatha Establish                                                    to bend it" (CL, p. 306).
League Chiefs and Council Polity" (Vecsey, pp.                                                     Later, on his way home, Hiawatha comes
88–89): After the Peacemaker sets forth rules of                                               upon a lake, on which a group of ducks are

floating. When the ducks take notice, they fly off,                                 Barbara Mann (personal communication, Septemmagically lifting all of the water from the lake.                                   ber 3, 2014), these are traditionally referred to as
On the lake bed, Hiawatha sees "white objects"                                      the "Three Pillars," since "three" is the indig-
(that is, shells; CL, p. 326) that remind him of                                    enous number meaning "pay attention"; therefore,
his first wampum of sumac sticks. He then col-                                      the Chiefs' version, in giving two, not three such
lects the white shells and puts them into a pouch                                   "pillars," reveals its Christianization. However,
of fawn skin, and places these objects near the                                     the Oneida version recited by Chief Robert
central fire, to serve as symbols of the Great Law                                  Brown of the Wisconsin Oneida Nation (who is
(CL, pp. 326–330). According to Mann ("The                                          considered a national treasure), echoes this
Fire at Onondaga: Wampum as Proto-Writing"),                                        formulation: "First, what is the meaning of 'good
wampum was a full writing system, whose                                             message' and second what is the meaning of
characters were immediately readable by any                                         'power' and then third what is the meaning of
wampum reader.                                                                      'peace has now arrived'?" (Brown, pp. 46–47).
(20) "The League Declares Its Sovereignty"                                      So, in the final analysis, this may be a distinction
(Vecsey, pp. 89–90): This element is absent in the                                  without a difference.
Gibson-Goldenweiser version as well.                                                    Translator Hanni Woodbury characterizes the
(21) "The Condolence Maintains the Confed-                                      "Good Message, Power and Peace" as the "three
eracy" (Vecsey, p. 90): The Peacemaker sets forth                                   Great Words" (CL, p. 61 and n. 61-1.) In Conclear laws of succession to the matrilineally                                       cerning the League, "the Good Message, Power
hereditary titles of the Confederacy, with ceremo-                                  and the Peace" occurs only once (p. 63). But its
nies for mourning the passing of a former chief                                     variations are numerous. "Good Message and the
and installing his replacement. The League is                                       Power and the Peace" is the expression most
constituted by fifty chiefs, upon each and every                                    commonly met with (37 times). "Good Message"
one of whom is bestowed, by the head clan moth-                                     comes up 112 times. "Peace" (also capitalized)
ers (each of whom bears the position title of                                       occurs 114 times. "Power" is found 85 times.
"Jigonsaseh," after the Great Matron), a matrilin-                                  The three great words, summed up, is the "Great
eally hereditary title (CL, pp. 237–250). The                                       Law" (16 times).
Condolence ceremonies are then set forth, in                                            In Chief Brown's Oneida version, the Peaceconsiderable detail and at great length. These                                      maker gives the following explanation to a
solemn rites of passage are followed by installa-                                   Mohawk chief (a former cannibal), to whom he
tion ceremonies to induct a successor to the                                        gives the name "Two Matters":
deceased chief (CL, pp. 486–701).
(22) "Deganawida Departs" (Vecsey, p. 90):                                            ["Two Matters"] "Who are you and where did you
This element appears to be absent in the Gibson-                                          come from?"
Goldenweiser version as well. In other words,
[The Peacemaker] Then he said, "I am the Peacethere is no departure scene in Concerning the                                             maker and from the north I have come.! The
League. Certain other versions feature the                                                Creator sent me here on earth. The Creator ap-
Peacemaker's farewell prophecy.                                                           pointed me to lecture people on what they are
doing.!

THE PEACEMAKER'S MESSAGE                                                        Now I will tell you what message the Creator send
[sent] with me of what there will be on earth. He
As Kathryn Muller points out (p. 22, n. 5), the                                           intended everyone to have a good mind on the earth
Gibson-Goldenweiser version is unique in that it                                          you travel. He thought there would be reasons. First,
refers to the "Good Message, Power and Peace"                                             he intended all the peopled [people] should be having peaceful thoughts in their minds. Then love will
(Onondaga: kaihwíyóh, ka'tshátstéhsæ' and
come from that. If their thinking is not peaceful
˛ e¨é'nu˛˛'') as three distinct concepts, whereas the
ske˛ëé'nu
ske¨é'nu
Àõe                                                                                     then they will not have love. And if they do have
Chiefs' version refers to the "the message of the                                         love then from it will come compassion and if they
good news of Peace and Power." According to                                               have no love, then they won't have any compassion.

Each and every one of you has the power. Whatever                                                 Power means authority, the authority of law and
power you have comes from what you have thought.                                                  custom, backed by such force as is necessary to
Then that comes from a good mind. He intended                                                     make justice prevail; it means also religion, for
you all to be helping each other. You people should                                               justice enforced is the will of the Holder of the
not be arguing."                                                                                  Heavens and has his sanction."
(The Great Law of Peace, pp. 28–31)
"Thy message is good," said the woman; "but a
This explanation appears to be a gloss on the                                                       word is nothing until it is given form and set to
"Good Message," which gives rise to the "good                                                       work in the world. What form shall this message
mind," from which, through force of thought,                                                        take when it comes to dwell among men?"
arise feelings of peace, love, compassion, and
altruism.                                                                                           "It will take the form of the longhouse," replied
That said, further distinctions have been                                                      Deganawidah, "in which there are many fires, one
made. In the popular non-Native English version,                                                    for each family, yet all live as one household under
one chief mother. Hereabouts are five nations, each
Paul Wallace's White Roots of Peace, originally
with its own council fire, yet they shall live together
published by the University of Pennsylvania                                                         as one household in peace. They shall be the Kan-
Press in 1946 and considered a classic of Native                                                    onsiónni, the Longhouse. They shall have one mind
lore, the Peacemaker elaborates on "the Good                                                        and live under one law. Thinking shall replace kill-
News of Peace and Power" as follows:                                                                ing, and there shall be one commonwealth."
(Wallace, White Roots of Peace, pp. 39–40)
So Deganawidah passed from settlement to settlement, finding that men desired peace and would                                               This version of the Peacemaker's message is one
practice it if they knew for a certainty that others
would practice it, too.                                                                      of the most widely cited today, being the easiest
for Westerners to follow. The above passage, or a
But first, after leaving the hunters, Deganawidah                                            substantial part of it, appears on various Native
sought the house of a certain woman who lived by                                             American and Native Canadian Web sites as well.
the warriors' path which passed between the east
and the west.                                                                                Who are the sources of authority for Wallace's
variation on Deganawida's "gospel"? Paul Wal-
When Deganawidah arrived, the woman placed food                                              lace, a literary historian, credits Chief William D.
before him and, after he had eaten, asked him his                                            Loft, to whose memory Wallace dedicates his
message.
book. Conversant in five of the Iroquoian lan-
"I carry the Mind of the Master of Life," he replied,                                        guages, Chief Loft, Mohawk of Caledonia, was
"and my message will bring an end to the wars                                                Speaker of the Six Nations Council at Grand
between east and west."                                                                      River, 1917–1918, and a noted orator of Haude-
"How will this be?" asked the woman, who won-                                                nosaunee traditions and stories in the 1920s and
dered at his words, for it was her custom to feed                                            1930s. Another source may be the Gibsonthe warriors passing before her door on their way                                            Goldenweiser version, which Wallace read in a
between the east and the west.                                                               draft translation that was begun by Hewitt and
"The Word that I bring," he said, "is that all peoples                                       completed by William Fenton, with Simeon
shall love one another and live together in peace.                                           Gibson (son of John Arthur Gibson), archived in
This message has three parts: Righteousness and                                              the Smithsonian Institution's National Anthropo-
Health      and     Power—Gáiwoh,             Skénon,                                        logical Archives. (MSS. 1517b, c.) Yet another
Gashasdénshaa. And each part has two branches.                                               source may be J. N. B. Hewitt, who gave a paper
Righteousness means justice practiced between men                                            at the International Congress of Americanists held
and between nations; it means also a desire to see                                           in Washington in December 1915 on "Some
justice prevail.                                                                             Esoteric Aspects of the League of the Iroquois,"
published in 1917.
Health means soundness of mind and body; it means
also peace, for that is what comes when minds are                                               Here, the three words that epitomize the essane and bodies cared for.                                                                   sence of the Peacemaker's message—Gáiwoh

("Righteousness"), Skénon ("Health"), Gashas-                                     endangered" (p. 230). In so criticizing the recastdénshaa ("Power")—correspond to their respec-                                     ing of the Peacemaker's message, Jocks demontive Onondaga equivalents: kaihwíyóh ("Good                                       strates how the "appropriation" of Native Ameri-
Message"), ske˛é'nu
˛ é'nu˛ ' ("Peace"), ka'tshátstéhsæ'                              can spirituality implicates ethical, political, and
("Power"). Evidently, Professor Wallace has                                       hermeneutical issues. (See also Jocks's "Spiritualtaken artistic license with these sacred terms                                    ity for Sale.")
of art, reconfiguring the "Good Message, Peace,                                        However, the sixfold explication of the
and Power" as "Righteousness, Health, and                                         Peacemaker's three core principles evidently goes
Power." Thus, "Good Message" becomes                                              back to Hewitt, who wrote:
"Righteous-ness." "Peace" becomes primarily
The founders of the league, therefore, proposed and
"Health" and only secondarily "peace" (i.e., "also                                      expounded as the requisite basis of all good governpeace, for that is what comes when minds are                                            ment three broad "double" doctrines or principles.
sane and bodies cared for"). In the Gibson-                                             The names of these principles in the native tongues
Goldenweiser version, "health" occurs only                                              vary dialectically, but these three notable terms are
expressed in Onondaga as follows: (1) Ne'´´
twice, and only in relation to a person's individual
˘n˜´non', meaning, first, sanity of mind and the
Ske˘ñ´no
SkeÃÜn
health (CL, pp. 13, 448), whereas "righteous-                                           health of the body; and, second, peace between
ness" is absent entirely. Such a shift in emphasis                                      individuals and between organized bodies or groups
is scarcely warranted by the 1912 text. Since De-                                       of persons. (2) Ne'´´ Gaii'hwiyo', meaning, first,
ganawida is revered as the "Peacemaker," whose                                          righteousness in conduct and its advocacy in
purpose was to unite five warring Iroquois tribes                                       thought and speech; and, second, equity or justice,
the adjustment of rights and obligations. (3) Ne'´´
into "the League of the Great Law" (CL, pp. 310–                                          ˘'s'hasde˘ n'´sä', meaning, first, physical strength
Ga˘'s'hasdĕ
Gă's'hasde
311) by means of the "the Good Message, the                                             or power, as military force or civil authority; and,
Power, and the Peace," it would seem odd to                                             second, the orenda or magic power of the people or
rename these three great words as "Righteous-                                           of their institutions and rituals, having mythic and
ness, Power, and Health."                                                               religious implications. Six principles in all. The
constructive results of the control and guidance of
Christopher Jocks (Mohawk), in his article                                         human thinking and conduct in the private, the
"Living Words and Cartoon Translations," implic-                                        public, and the foreign relations of the peoples so
itly takes a jaundiced view of this variation (or                                       leagued by these six principles, the reformers
outright alteration of the original message), but                                       maintained, are the establishment and the conservation of what is reverently called Ne'´´
stops short of outright criticism (i.e., "I cite this                                   Gayane˘ñ'sä'gō´na
Gayanĕñ'sä'go
˘ñ'sä'go¯ ´na˘ '—, i.e. the Great Common-
´nă'—
modern exegesis not in order to criticize its ac-                                       wealth, the great Law of Equity and Righteousness
curacy ! but to demonstrate how deeply a tradi-                                         and Well-being, of all known men. It is thus seen
tion in translation may draw from very different                                        that the mental grasp and outlook of these prophetrealms of discourse in the process of recontextu-                                       statesman and states-women of the Iroquois looked
alizing itself in the target language" [pp. 225–                                        out beyond the limits of tribal boundaries to a vast
sisterhood and brotherhood of all the tribes of men,
226]). Invoking the Mohawk terms of art, Jocks                                          dwelling in harmony and happiness. This indeed
notes that the first two terms in "the phrase, skén-                                    was a notable vision for the Stone Age of America.
:nen, ka'shatsténhsera, karihríio, or its equiva-                                                                ("A Constitutional League of Peace," p. 541)
lent" are "easily glossed as 'peace,' and either
'power' or 'strength,' respectively." "'Good                                      Thus, it would appear that Paul Wallace's
message,'" Jocks hastens to add as to the third                                   elaboration of the Peacemaker's message depends
term, "is the most direct rendering of the word's                                 on Hewitt, who reflects the central Iroquois view
composition" (p. 225). These key words are                                        of a twinned cosmos.
transmogrified, if not mutated, in their transposition from source language to target language in
CONCLUSION
translation, in a process that Jocks calls "the
'cartooning' of culture" where "the link with the                                 The Deganawida epic, in its sundry versions,
living tradition based on enactment is seriously                                  belongs to world literature. It can be regarded as

a foundational American text, both in the pre-                                                Europeans into a symbiotic union called
contact and post-contact periods. Its authenticity                                            America." The Deganawida epic is formative in
is unimpeached, and its magical realism granted                                               that it is the founding "document" of the Iroquois
as edifying embellishment. Few would doubt its                                                League. It is performative in that it remains in
historical core, much less its cultural significance.                                         practice to this day. It is transformative in that it
The influence of the Peacemaker—and that of                                                   decolonizes and revisions our conception of
the Confederacy founded on its principles,                                                    America's origins.
organization, and laws he expounded—is a matter of debate. The foremost proponents of the
Iroquois influence thesis are Donald A. Grinde,
Jr., and Bruce E. Johansen in their book Exemplar
of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of                                               Selected Bibliography
Democracy, with a foreword by Vine Deloria, Jr.
On October 4, 1988, during the 100th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives passed                                               DEGANAWIDA EPIC
House Concurrent Resolution 331 (H.Con.Res.
331) by a vote of 408–8. Then, on October 21,                                                      NATIVE-AUTHORED ENGLISH VERSIONS
1988, the Senate approved Senate Concurrent                                                   "The Legend of the Peacemaker, Part 1." Ohsweken, Ont.:
Resolution 76 (S.Con.Res.76, identical to H.Con.                                                Jake Thomas Learning Centre, 1991.
Res. 331), by unanimous voice vote. The joint                                                 Newhouse, Seth (Da-yo-de-ka-ne). The Original Literal
resolution reads, in part:                                                                      Historical Narratives of the Iroquois Confederacy; or,
The Birch Bark Canoe. American Philosophical Society,
Microfilm No. 348, 1885. (Also titled Cosmogony of the
Whereas the original framers of the Constitution,
Iroquois Confederacy.)
including, most notably, George Washington and
Benjamin Franklin, are known to have greatly                                                Parker, Arthur C. "The Constitution of the Five Nations or
admired the concepts of the Six Nations of the                                                The Iroquois Book of the Great Law." New York State
Iroquois Confederacy;                                                                         Museum Bulletin 184:7–118 (April 1, 1916).
———. "The Origin of the Long House." In Seneca Myths
Whereas the confederation of the original Thirteen                                            and Folk Tales. Buffalo, N.Y.: Buffalo Historical Society,
Colonies into one republic was influenced by the                                              1923. Pp. 403–406. (As told by Delos B. Kittle, or "Chief
political system developed by the Iroquois Confed-                                            Big Kittle," Cattaraugus Reservation, January 1905.
eracy as were many of the democratic principles                                               Another "Native-English" version, as it does not appear
which were incorporated into the Constitution itself                                          to be translated directly from a Seneca text.)
!                                                                                           Scott, Duncan C., presenter. Prepared by a Committee of the
Chiefs. Traditional History of the Confederacy of the Six
RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-                                                          Nations. Ottawa: Royal Society of Canada, 1912.
TIVES (THE SENATE CONCURRING), That—                                                          (Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society of
Canada, 3rd ser., 5:195–246 [1911]).
(1) the Congress, on the occasion of the two                                                Thomas, Chief Jacob E. "Appendix: Gayanashagowa." In
hundredth anniversary of the signing of the United                                            "The Formation of the League of the Haudenosaunee
States Constitution, acknowledges the contribution                                            (Iroquois): Interpreting the Archaeological Record
made by the Iroquois Confederacy and other Indian                                             Through the Oral Narrative Gayanashagowa," by Sandra
Nations to the formation and development of the                                               Erin Atkins. Master's thesis, Trent University, Peterbor-
United States; !                                                                              ough, Ontario, 2002. Pp. 146–212. (A detailed description of Chief Jacob Thomas' version of Gayanashagowa
And so LeAnne Howe may be right after all,                                                      presented September 19–27, 1992, in Ohsweken, Ontario.)
when she states: "America is a tribal creation
story, a tribalography.! When the European
ONONDAGA VERSIONS
Founding Fathers heard the stories of how the
The Gibson-Goldenweiser Version: John Arthur Gibson,
Haudenosaunee unified six individual tribes into                                                Concerning the League: The Iroquois League Tradition
an Indian confederacy, they created a document,                                                 as Dictated in Onondaga by John Arthur Gibson. Newly
the U.S. Constitution, that united immigrant                                                    Elicited, Edited and Translated by Hanni Woodbury in

Collaboration with Reg Henry and Harry Webster on the                                       CAYUGA VERSION
Basis of A. A. Goldenweiser's Manuscript. Memoir 9.                                   Hewitt, J. N. B. "Cayuga Version of the Deganawida Legend
Winnipeg, Man.: Algonquian and Iroquoian Linguistics,                                   1890." MS 1582, National Anthropological Archives,
1992. (Based on "Original text of the Gibson-                                           Smithsonian Institution. 17 pages. Digital scans online at
Goldenweiser version of the Deganawidah epic compris-                                   http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID
ing 20 of Goldenweiser's notebooks." 529 pages original                                 %3Asiris_arc_83486&repo=DPLA
text. Control no. III-I-116M R. Accession no. 77/130
[formerly cataloged as MS 1252.5], Canadian Ethnology                                       NON-NATIVE ENGLISH VERSION
Service Archives, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull,                              Wallace, Paul A. W. White Roots of Peace: Iroquois Book of
Québec.)                                                                                Life. Santa Fe, N.M.: Clear Light, 1998. (Originally
The Gibson-Hewitt Version: John Arthur Gibson, Original                                   published Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,
Pencil Texts of the Deganawida Legend (1899). MS 2316,                                  1946.)
National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian
Institution. Digital scans available online at http://siris                                 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
-archives.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=Àú!si                             The author acknowledges the ideas, edits, corrections and
archives&uri=full=3100001Àú!83496Àú!0#focus For typed                                     encouragement of the following individuals, whose astute
transcript (also in Onondaga) see MS 1517(a), National                                  input has greatly enhanced the quality of this article: (1)
Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.                                      Barbara Alice Mann, Ph.D. (Native American, Ohio Bear
Clan Seneca), associate professor, Honors Department,
Hewitt, J. N. B. "Legend of the Founding of the Iroquois
University of Toledo, author of Iroquoian Women: The
League." American Anthropologist 5, no. 2:131–148
Gantowisas (New York: Peter Lang, 2000, 3rd printing,
(April 1892). (Translation of Chief John Buck's 1888
2006); (2) Donald A. Grinde, Jr., Ph.D. (Native
Onondaga version.)
American), professor, Department of Transnational Studies, University at Buffalo, the State University of New
York, editor and author, A Political History of Native
ONEIDA VERSION
Americans (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: CQ Press/Sage, 2002
Elm, Demus. The Story of Deganawida. Recited in Oneida,
[Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2003]); (3) Bruce E.
1971. Floyd Glenn Lounsbury Papers. Mss.Ms.Coll.95.
Johansen, Ph.D., Jacob J. Isaacson University Research
Box 42–43. c. 925 pages; 8 folders. Philadelphia:
Professor, Communication and Native American Studies,
American Philosophical Society. http://amphilsoc.org/
University of Nebraska at Omaha, author of Encyclopedia
mole/view?docId=ead/Mss.Ms.Coll.95-ead.xml (Includes
of the American Indian Movement (Santa Barbara, Calif.:
Lounsbury's transcripts of the recording, some transla-
ABC-CLIO/Greenwood, 2013); (4) Clifford F. Abbott
tion, text in interlinear form [Oneida and English]).
(linguist), professor of information and computing science at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, author of
MOHAWK VERSIONS                                                                         Oneida Teaching Grammar (University of Wisconsin–
Green Bay, 2006); and (5) Steven Kolins, M.S., technical
Brown, Chief Robert (a.k.a. Anahalihs ["Great Vines"]),
support specialist in the University Library, University of
Bear Clan chief of the Oneida tribe; cultural advisor,
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, published writer of
Sovereign Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. The Great Law
encyclopedic articles.
of Peace. Interlinear Oneida transcription and English
translation. Translated by Chief Brown and Clifford F.
Abbott (University of Wisconsin–Green Bay) and edited
by Randy Cornelius (Tehahuko'tha). Available online at                                CRITICAL STUDIES
http://www.oneidanation.org/uploadedFiles/Kayantlako-1                                Bernier, Jonathan. "The Quest for the Historical
-O-E-ed.pdf and http://www.oneidanation.org/                                            Tekanawi·ta': Oral Tradition and the Founding of the
uploadedFiles/Kayantlako-2-O-E-ed.pdf                                                   Iroquois League." Totem 11, no. 1:80–84 (2003).
Newhouse, Seth. Translation of the Mohawk Version of the                                Bonaparte, Darren. Creation and Confederation: The Living
Constitution of the League. MS 3490, National Anthropo-                                 History of the Iroquois. Akwesasne, Que., and Akwelogical Archives, Smithsonian Institution, 1937. 43 pages.                              sasne, N.Y.: Wampum Chronicles, 2006.
Typescript titled Constitution of the Confederacy by                                  Campbell, William J. "Seth Newhouse, the Grand River Six
Dekanawidah. Collected and Translated from Mohawk                                       Nations, and the Writing of the Great Laws." Ontario
Text by Chief Seth Newhouse. Digital scans available                                    History 96, no. 2:183–202 (autumn 2004).
online at http://collections.si.edu/search/slide                                      Canfield, William W. "The Peacemaker" and "Notes to the
show_embedded?xml=%22 http://sirismm.si.edu/naa/                                        Legends." In The Legends of the Iroquois, Told by "The
viewer/3490_Gallery/viewer_3490.xml%22 (A bilingual                                     Cornplanter": From Authoritative Notes and Studies.
Mohawk-English version was published in 1993 by                                         New York: A. Wessels, 1904 [1902]. Pp. 149–154, 203–
Ohontsa Films.)                                                                         211.

Crawford, Neta C. "The Long Peace Among Iroquois                                                    Irwin. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000.
Nations." In War and Peace in the Ancient World. Edited                                           (Originally published in American Indian Quarterly 20,
by Kurt A. Raaflaub. Malden, Mass., and Oxford: Black-                                            nos. 3–4:415–431 [1996].)
well, 2007. Pp. 348–368.                                                                       Johansen, Bruce Elliott, and Barbara Alice Mann, eds. Ency-
Dennis, Matthew. "Deganawidah and the Cultivation of                                                clopedia of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy).
Peace: Iroquois Ideology, Political Culture, and                                                  Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2000.
Representation." In Cultivating a Landscape of Peace:                                          Kimura, Takeshi. "The Native Chief's Resistance Through
Iroquois-European Encounters in Seventeenth-Century                                               Myth: A Historical and Religious Study of a Myth." Ph.D.
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-- Deganawida, the Peacemaker (Used by permission of the curator)