Democracy and the Iroquois Confederacy
Casey Keyes
AP
Democracy and the Iroquois Confederacy
The Iroquois Indians were the most
politically advanced people of pre-Columbian
Before their union, the nations of
the Iroquois Confederacy fought viciously amongst each other (Johansen, Founders
22). These nations, or tribes, were the Mohawk, the
After the creation of the Iroquois
Constitution, the Iroquois people referred to themselves as the Haudenosaunee, which, when translated, meant “people
building a longhouse” (“Iroquois” 2). This longhouse was the symbol for the
union between the five nations and for the territory which they occupied, which
covered most of present day New York and stretched from the Hudson River to the
St. Lawrence and up to Lake Erie (Speck 20). The Mohawks, who occupied the land
farthest to the east, were considered the guardians of the eastern “door” of
the longhouse, while the Senecas, who lived farthest
west, guarded the western “door” (“Iroquois” 2). Altogether, the land that
composed the Iroquois “longhouse” covered about 24,894,080 acres, and about
four fifths of present day
Lewis Henry Morgan, a pioneer
ethnologist and first true authority on the Iroquois Indians, thought very
highly of their civilization. In his book, League of the Iroquois, he
wrote that, “In a word, the League of the Iroquois exhibited the highest
development of the Indian ever reached by him in the hunter state.” He believed
that the hunter state, the condition of living only a step above that of a
nomad, was the only factor that kept the Iroquois from advancing into a power
equal to that of the Europeans (55-57). The government created by their
Constitution, however, was equal to, if not better than, the majority of those
of other civilizations that had preceded them and would succeed them. The trait
of living in and for the present was characteristic, not only of the Iroquois,
but of most Native Americans (Morgan 59). So, it was not surprising that they
did not fully write out their Constitution until many years after its creation.
Instead, all laws were passed on orally, with engraved wampum belts used as
memory aides to do so (Parker 7). These belts contained abbreviated records of
important events and changes in Iroquois history in addition to the actual laws
of the Great Peace (Johansen, Founders 25).
The legislative body defined by the
Iroquois Constitution was known as the Confederate Council. It consisted of a
total of fifty representatives, who were called chiefs, lords, or sachems, from
each of the five original Iroquois nations (“Constitution” 9). The Onondoga had 14 representatives, the Cayuga had 10, the
The powers of the Confederate
Council increased as time progressed after the creation of the Great Binding Law.
It eventually had the authority to make war and peace, to adopt, manage, and
expel foreigners and foreign nations, and to make treaties (Morgan 67). From a
certain perspective, the Iroquois Confederacy’s government may have seemed to
be something of an oligarchy, with only one legislative body governing a vast
number of people. This opinion, however, overlooks the intricacy of the
workings within that single legislative body. For instance, any important
legislation, as most of it was, could only be passed if unanimously voted upon
by all of the Iroquois lords. The concept of a majority vote simply did not
exist (Morgan 111).
The
Iroquois government was almost more democratic than oligarchic in the respect
that the Confederate Council was divided along the lines of clans and tribes
into smaller bodies that created a unique and thorough system of checks and
balances (Johansen, Founders 14-16). The Onondoga
lords, who were also called the “Firekeepers” because
it was in their territory that the Confederate Council convened around a great
fire, determined what cases where of enough importance to be considered by the
entire Council. They were made up of two bodies that had to vote unanimously on
an issue, with all Onondoga lords present, in order
for legislation on that issue to be passed (“Constitution” 2-3). The Mohawk
lords, too, divided themselves into three groups who had to come to agreement
separately before their vote as a tribe could be counted. They were considered
the “heads and leaders of the Five Nations Confederacy,” and no law could be
passed without all Mohawk lords present at the Confederate Council
(“Constitution” 2). On a tribal level, the Council was divided into three
groups: The Mohawks and Senecas who were called the
“older brothers,” the
[The
Iroquois government] somewhat resembled that of a two-house congress in one
body, with the ‘older brothers’ and ‘younger brothers’ each comprising a side
of the house. The Onondogas filled something of an
executive role, with a veto that could be overridden by the older and younger
brothers in concert. (Founders 23)
Equality
was prevalent in Iroquois society. The government was set up that no single
tribe held too much power or authority.
Any advantages given to a particular nation was done for the benefit of
the entire Confederacy (Morgan 92-96). The Mohawks, for example, received tributes
from conquered nations, but they also inhabited the land that bordered those
nations and were thus in charge of them. Also, the Senecas
were given the two most important war chiefs of the Confederacy, but this was
because the Senecas guarded the western “door,” which
was most vulnerable one (Morgan 95). The Onondogas
had the power to pass legislation when the older and younger brothers were not
in accord, but they could also be overruled if the brothers disagreed with
them. The system of clans also helped to prevent the isolation of single
nations and the resulting rifts that might have occurred between them. The nine
matrilineal clans, Bear, Wolf, Turtle, Snipe, Deer, Beaver, Heron, Hawk, and
Eel, were spread out through the five tribes so that no clan belonged to only
one tribe (Johansen, Founders 25). The result was that the interests of
the people were not limited to their homes, but stretched out to all reaches of
the Confederacy.
There was also great equality
amongst the Iroquois people themselves, particularly in the case of women. The
Great Binding Law states that “Women shall be considered the progenitors of the
[Iroquois] Nation” (9). It was through the Iroquois women that all clan lines
and lordship titles ran. It was the duty of the women to choose a candidate for
a lordship from their line of lineage who was “trustworthy, of good character,
of honest disposition, who [managed] his own affairs, [supported] his own
family, […] and who [had] proven a faithful man to his nation” (“Constitution”
10). Once a candidate had been installed into the position of a lordship, it
was the women’s’ job to attend council meetings in order to guide and
discipline lords from their family. They were also given the authority to
displace a lord whose attendance to council meets was insufficient (“Constitution”
10). Thus the role that women played in the Iroquois government was a very
important one.
The people of the Iroquois
Confederacy had great rights in their own government. Although lords were to be
respected and considered of a higher social class, they were held directly
accountable to the people (“Constitution” 6). The characteristics which Lords
were to possess were clearly described in the Great Binding Law:
The
thickness of their skin shall be seven spans – which is to say that they shall be
proof against anger, offensive actions, and criticism. Their hearts shall be
full of peace and good will and their minds filled with a yearning for the
welfare of the people of the Confederacy. With endless patience they shall
carry out their duty and their firmness shall be tempered with a tenderness for their people. Neither anger nor fury shall
find lodgment in their minds and all their words and actions shall be marked by
calm deliberation. (“Constitution” 6)
If a lord did not
heed the wishes of the people, or if he broke the law, the people would address
him as many as three times, and then depose him if he did not correct his ways.
If one was found guilty of murder, he was banished from the Confederacy
altogether (Johansen 24). In the most extreme cases of insubordination by a
lord, a council of men was permitted to warn and then kill that lord. A deputy
was to be appointed for any lord who was affected by either “infancy, idiocy,
blindness, deafness, dumbness, [or] impotency” (“Constitution” 5). Any man who
showed particular ability and interest in the workings of the government could
be elected a “pine tree chief,” whose powers were less than those of a lord and
whose title was not hereditary as a lord’s was, but who was still allowed to
participate in legislation (Morgan 70-71).
War chiefs, whose titles were
hereditary, were assigned the duty of keeping the people informed. They
reported to the people of their tribes the happenings at council meetings and
in turn made the public sentiment felt in those meetings (Morgan 6). If someone
was unhappy with the workings of the Confederate Council or the Great Peace
itself, they sought correction through their War Chiefs (“Constitution” 18). As
Morgan wrote, “…The government rested upon the popular will, and not upon the
arbitrary sway of chiefs” (76). Any In extremely important matters, the people
would be directly consulted in order for a decision to be made (“Constitution”
17). The Iroquois held the rather uncommon position in history of being served by
their government, and not a servant to it. As Morgan saw it, “The government
sat lightly upon the people, who, in effect, were governed but little. It secured to each that individual independence, which the Haudenosaunee knew how to prize as well as the Saxon race”
(77).
The Iroquois Confederacy also
promoted democracy and civility in its foreign policy. The Iroquois
Constitution described the Confederation with the extended metaphor of “The
Tree of Great Peace,” with its roots extending in all directions of the compass
to welcome any man or nation who wished to obey the laws of the Great Peace
(1). Originally, foreign tribes did not recognize the Confederacy as a formal
organization of nations, but as a mere loose alliance of them (Heckewelder 95-99). As time progressed, however, the
Iroquois became giants of their time who experienced a period of vast conquest
after their union (Morgan 8). When the Iroquois wished to conquer a nation,
they first attempted to persuade the nation peacefully, and if the nation
refused, they would then resort to conquest by force. Conquered nations were
allowed to practice their original form of government and their property was
recognized so that it would not be intruded upon by Iroquois people. All of
their weapons, however, were taken from them, and they were forbidden to engage
in war with other nations (“Constitution” 14-16). Any nation or person who
wished to join the Iroquois was permitted to do so, just as any Iroquois who
wished to leave the Confederacy to participate in the government of another
nation was permitted to do so (“Constitution” 11-14). No foreign nation,
whether it was inducted peacefully or by force, was allowed the privilege of
being represented in the Confederate Council (“Constitution” 16). Only the original
five nations with the original fifty lordships were allowed that right. For
example, the Tuscarora nation joined the Confederacy
in 1720, and in accordance with the Iroquois Constitution, they were not
allowed to be a part of the Confederate government.
The Iroquois were at the height of
their power in the 17th century with about 12,000 people (“Iroquois”
1). By the time the Dutch and the French had laid their claims in
For years historians have made
parallels between the government of the Iroquois and the governments of
civilizations that have followed it. Ben Franklin was a great admirer of the
Iroquois government, which influenced his plans for the union of the colonies
(Johansen, Founders 15). Herbert M Lloyd, who wrote an introduction to League
of the Iroquois, wrote that “[The Iroquois of the League are] the people
[…] whose influence has been most strongly felt in our political constitution
and in our history as colonies and nation” (qtd. in Founders
14). One theory is that the League of the Iroquois affected the creation of the
structure of the United Nations. This arose from the concept shared by both the
UN and the Iroquois Confederacy that any nation could join either as long as it
did not partake in war with other nations (Johansen, Founders 25). Many
ideas that have long been accepted in American politics and society took root
in Iroquois tradition. Parker wrote that:
Here,
then, we find the right of popular nomination, the right of recall and of woman
suffrage flourishing in the old America of the Red Man and centuries before it
became the clamor of the new America of the white invader. Who now shall call
the Indians and the Iroquois savages? (qtd.
in Founders 15)
Almost all aspects of the Iroquois
Confederacy, from the setup of its legislative body to the participation of the
people in its government to the way in which it dealt with other nations,
emphasized and promoted a democratic way of life. It is not surprising that
Iroquois oral tradition suggests that very little has changed in the original
Constitution of the Confederacy (Morgan 61). After all, it elevated its people
enough to become the strongest power of their time and region. Their
accomplishment of transforming from a group of warring tribes into a unified
and democratic nation is remarkable. Its influence is felt even today in the
workings of our own government of the
Works Cited
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Heckewelder, John. History, Manners, and
Customs of the Indian Nations.
Arno Press Inc. 1971.
“Iroqouis.” Wikipedia
Encyclopedia.
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Bruce E. “Dating the Iroquois Confederacy.” Akwesasne
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Oct./Nov./Dec.
1995: 62-63.
Johansen,
Bruce E. Forgotten Founders.
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(all book sources came from Brooks Free Library or other libraries within the Clams network.)