The Iroquois Confederacy - America's First Democracy

Hello. Before the video begins, I would like to tell you about an amazing channel. It's called LatAmStory, and it's putting out amazing content about Latin American history. It's definitely worth checking out. The Iroquois Confederacy The people of the Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Six Nations, refer to themselves as the Udinoshani. It means peoples of the longhouse, and refers to their lengthy bark-covered longhouses that housed many families. The Iroquois, or Haudenosaunee Confederacy of Upper New York and Southeastern Canada, is often characterized as one of the world's oldest participatory democracies. It was originally made up from five nations, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later joined by the Tuscarora. The Confederacy's constitution, the Great Law of Peace, is believed to have been a model for the U.S. Constitution, partly because Benjamin Franklin was known to have been much interested in its structure. According to their founding tradition, the Peacemaker Story, these Iroquois peoples, who had been at war with each other for a long time, came together to live in peace and harmony after Hiawatha, a mourning Onondaga chief, joined a man who was known as the Peacemaker, in pursuing unity among the Iroquois. Some believed this happened in the late 1100s, and some believed it happened in the late 1500s, as the story is carried orally, and it's not written down. The great Peacemaker and the wise Hiawatha traveled to each of the five nations to share their ideas for peace. A council meeting was called, and Hiawatha presented the Great Law of Peace, or what would later be known as the Iroquois Constitution. It united the five nations into a league of nations, the Iroquois Confederacy, and became the basis for the Iroquois Confederacy Constitution. Each nation maintained its own leadership, but they all agreed that common causes would be decided in the Grand Council of Chiefs. The concept was based on peace and consensus, rather than fighting. The Peacemaker established clans within the nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The clan system united the nations and ensured peace among them. The Peacemaker also set up the Iroquois Society as matrilineal. This meant clan members traced their family history and ancestors through their mothers. Each clan was made up of a group of families that had a common female ancestor. When people married, the husband moved into his wife's longhouse. When a child was born, he or she became part of the mother's clan. Members of the same clan were considered family members, so they always extended hospitality to each other, even if they came from different nations. Also, people of the same clan did not marry each other. Within each nation, members of the same clan lived together in a longhouse. The Iroquois lived in settlements made up of several longhouses. Longhouses were large open dwellings where many families of the clan lived together. The longhouse was an important place in the government of the Iroquois. It was where men and women met to discuss issues and events and to advise their leaders. People were expected to attend these discussions because the consensus or agreement of the group was crucial. Clan mothers were usually the oldest and most respected women in their clans. The title was hereditary and passed on to the woman relative that was thought to be best suited for the position. Clan mothers were responsible for their clan's welfare and for maintaining harmony and balance within the clans and nations. They selected the male chiefs, called hoyane, which means caretakers of the peace. The great law of peace stated that the chiefs had to put the needs of their people first. The clan mothers would replace chiefs who failed to do this. Within each clan, there was a women's council and a men's council. These councils advised the clan mothers who then advised the chiefs and vice versa. Although they rarely spoke at grand council meetings, all Iroquois people, men and women, had ways to make their voices heard in the decision making of the grand council. Through the women's councils and men's councils of their clans, they advised the clan mothers of their positions on issues. The clan mothers, in turn, chose and advised the chief. If the chief didn't carefully consider the advice of his clan mother, the clan mother warned him. After the third warning, she removed him and chose someone else. The longhouse was used by the peacemaker and Hiawatha as a symbol to represent the union, the culture, and the tradition of the Iroquois confederation and how their territory should be shared. The three largest tribes held important positions within the confederation, which relate to the structure of the longhouse. The Mohawk were the easternmost group and considered to be the keepers of the eastern door. The Seneca, the largest nation, were known as the keepers of the western door. The Onondaga were known as the keepers of the central council fire, and the main Onondaga village served as the capital and meeting place of the council. The grand council met to discuss issues that affected the whole Iroquois confederacy, such as peace treaties, trade agreements, and decisions to go to war. The grand council was made up of chiefs from each nation, 50 in all. Within each nation, the chiefs formed a council for that nation. This council made decisions that helped its nation function well, such as sharing resources and locating settlements. The grand council met when a member nation called for a meeting. The role of the chiefs at grand council meetings was to represent the people of their clan and nation. The clan mothers attended the grand council meetings to make sure their chiefs fulfilled their role as representatives. The grand council was made from 50 chiefs. The number of chiefs for each nation was established by the peacemaker. The Seneca had eight. The Mohawk had nine. The Cayuga had 10, and the Oneida had nine chiefs. The Seneca and the Mohawk being the older brothers, the Oneida and the Cayuga being the younger brothers, and the Onondaga being keepers of the council fire. First the elder brothers, the Mohawk and the Seneca, discussed the issue among themselves. When they reached a decision, they passed their consensus across the sacred fire to the younger brothers, the Oneida and Cayuga. The elder brothers listened while the younger brothers discussed the matter and arrived at their own consensus. When the older brothers and younger brothers agreed, the Onondaga, the keepers of the council fire, would be asked to give their judgment. Council decisions had to be unanimous, so the grand council always worked toward consensus. If some party disagreed in the process, the council had to be restarted until all sides came to a common decision. In 1722, the confederacy was joined by the Tuscarora people, who lost the war against the Europeans and migrated north. They shared the same language and culture as the other nations. After that, the grand council decided the Tuscarora would join them. However, they were not given any representation in the council. Thank you for watching. If you enjoyed the content, please consider supporting the channel by subscribing and becoming a Patreon.