If any man or any nation outside the Five Nations shall obey the
laws of the Great Peace and make known their disposition to the
lords of the confederacy, they may trace the roots to the tree and if
their minds are clean and they are obedient and promise to obey the
wishes of the confederate council, they shall be welcomed to take
shelter beneath the Tree of the Long Leaves.
We place at the top of the Tree of the Long Leaves an eagle who is
able to see afar. If he sees in the distance any evil approaching or any
danger threatening he will at once warn the people of the confederacy.
The smoke of the confederate council fire shall ever ascend and
pierce the sky so that other nations who may be allies may see the
council fire of the Great Peace...
Thenever the confederate lords shall assemble for the purpose
lords
a
open
expressing their gratitude to their cousin lords and greeting them, and
they shall make an address and offer thanks to the earth where men
dwell, to the streams of water, the pools, the springs and the lakes, to
the maize and the fruits, to the medicinal herbs and trees, to the forest
trees for their usefulness, to the animals that serve as food and give
their pelts for clothing, to the great winds and the lesser winds, to the
thunderers, to the sun, the mighty warrior, to the moon, to the mes-
sengers of the Creator who reveal his wishes and to the Great Creator
who dwells in the heavens above, who gives all the things useful to
men, and who is the source and the ruler of health and life.
Then shall the Onondaga lords declare the council open...
Il lords of the Five Nations Confederacy must
be honest in
a wrong for anyone to
a lord into trivial affairs, for the people must ever hold their lords
high in estimation out of respect to their honorable positions.
When a candidate lord is to be installed he shall
furnish four strings of shells (or wampum)' one
span in length bound together at one end. Such
will constitute the evidence of his pledge to the
confederate lords that he will live according to
the constitution of the Great Peace and exer-
cise justice in all affairs.
When the pledge is furnished the
speaker of the council must hold the shell
strings in his hand and address the
opposite side of the council fire and he
shall commence his address saying
"Now behold him. He has now become
a confederate lord. See how splendid he
looks. An address may then follow.
3. wampum (wam pem) n. small beads made of shola
Literary Analysis
Political Document
and Symbol
What agreement do
the strings of shells, or
wampum, symbolize?
Vocabulary
tempered (tem' perd) v.
treated to achieve just the
right strength or balance
deliberation
(di lib' or a shon) n
careful consideration
oblivion (e bliv à on) n.
the condition of being
completely forgotten
Vocabulary
disposition (dis pe zish
an) n. an inclination on
tendency
constitute (kan ste 1000)
v serve as the parts or basis
of; form; comprise
Reading Strategy
Analyzing Philosophical
Assumptions and Beliefs
What implicit beliefs are
expressed in this paragraph?
Reading
Check
What does the speaker
say is the nature of the
Great White Roots?
Then
At the end of it he shall send the bunch of shell strings to the opp
site side and they shall be received as evidence of the pledge. T
shall the opposite side say:
"We now do crown you with the sacred emblem of the deer's an
lers, the emblem of your lordship. You shall now become a mentor
the people of the Five Nations. The thickness of your skin shall be
seven spans-which is to say that you shall be proof against ange
. Your heart shall be filled with peace
offensive actions and criticis
and good will and your mind filled with a yearning for the welfare
the people of the confederacy. With endless patience you shall carry
out your duty and your firmness shall be tempered with tendernes
for your people. Neither anger nor fury shall find lodgement in your
mind and all your words and actions shall be marked with calm
deliberation. In all of your deliberations in the confederate council
in your efforts at law making, in all your official acts, self-interest
shall be cast into oblivion. Cast not over your shoulder behind you
the warnings of the nephews and nieces should they chide you for
any error or wrong you may do, but return to the way of the Great
Law which is just and right. Look and listen for the welfare of the
whole people and have always in view not only the present but also
the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the
surface of the ground-the unborn of the future nation."