Reflections on and Learnings from Module 1

For this post, I decided to focus on the Haudenosaunee (named the Iroquois by the French, pronounced hoo-dee-no-sho-nee). The Haudenosaunee consisted of the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, the Seneca, and later the Tuscarora. Together these peoples comprise the oldest living participatory democracy on earth. Their story, and governance truly based on the consent of the governed, contains a great deal of life-promoting intelligence for those of us not familiar with this area of American history” (The Six Nations: Oldest Living Participatory Democracy on Earth). “The Six Nations: Oldest Living Participatory Democracy on Earth” resource walks you through how the people of Six Nations contributed to the formation of democracy as we know it in the United States of America. The perspective shared reveals that we have been told a story about the formation of this country and its politics, but key groups that had a hand in its formation were left out. The perspective also details how Americans changed what they learned about democracy from the Haudenosaunee people into what it is today.

I think this web resource and others were put into this course and not others because they are verifiable. For example, one resource comes from The American Philosophical Society and three others from the Public Broadcasting service. There are also resources written by Native American scholars and people. This provides balance and allows us to see resources as written in the academic context of what is defined as “scholarly”, while also allowing us to see Native American scholars and tribe members share the history of their culture. A quality academic website is one that is peer-reviewed (indicating trust) and employs academics to contribute. At first glance, the Ratical Six Nations website link doesn’t appear academic. This is because it does not have the design aesthetics that a site such as The American Philosophical Society has. However, reading through the site, I noticed a familiar name encountered in Module One: Oren Lyons. There are also contributors to the page who are academics themselves: Bruce E. Johansen, Professor of Communication and Native American Studies University of Nebraska at Omaha and Donald A. Grinde, Professor and Chair of American Studies at the University of Buffalo.

So far, the information I have had the pleasure of reading has been incredibly transformative. It has helped me to examine my implicit biases about Native Americans. As my transformation relates to this particular resource, I had no idea how much of an impact Native Americans had on shaping American law. I was taught in school that Americans pulled the idea of democracy from Ancient Rome. There was never once a mention of the Six Nations chiefs invitation to the hall of the Continental Congress. The resource pulls a powerful quote from the book Exemplar of Liberty, Native America and the Evolution of Democracy:

On June 11, 1776 while the question of independence was being debated, the visiting Iroquois chiefs were formally invited into the meeting hall of the Continental Congress. There a speech was delivered, in which they were addressed as “Brothers” and told of the delegates’ wish that the “friendship” between them would “continue as long as the sun shall shine” and the “waters run.” The speech also expressed the hope that the new Americans and the Iroquois act “as one people, and have but one heart.” After this speech, an Onondaga chief requested permission to give Hancock an Indian name. The Congress graciously consented, and so the president was renamed “Karanduawn, or the Great Tree.” With the Iroquois chiefs inside the halls of Congress on the eve of American Independence, the impact of Iroquois ideas on the founders is unmistakable (Grinde, Jr and Johansen).

Oren Lyons touched on this in the Bill Moyers documentary, Oren Lyons the Faithkeeper, but the impact of Lyons words did not land until I saw this fact mentioned a few times in other resources. When I think about why that his words did not land, it is because I immediately dove into bias by way of shock. Many of the readings in this module have helped me to see just how much my bias has played into what I have learned about Native Americans. I am curious and quite excited to see how much I grow and learn from what society has taught me about Native Americans. The skill of reflexivity we are learning is vital to being open to conversation and understanding how one’s personal worldview can easily overshadow and ignore the experiences of others. I am curious and quite excited to see how much I grow and learn beyond what society has taught me about Native Americans.

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Works Cited

Grinde, Jr, Donald A., and Bruce E. Johansen. Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy. American Indian Studies Center, UCLA, 1991.

The Six Nations: Oldest Living Participatory Democracy on Earth. https://ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/. Accessed 25 May 2019.

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[Note: I updated this post after noticing there were some formatting issues with the HTML. They have been fixed.]