Media Tip Sheets

What the Haudenosaunee Confederacy can teach Americans about democracy

Tuesday, November 1, 2022, By Ellen Mbuqe
Concerns over the health of American democracy are seen in a recent New York Times/Siena College poll reporting that 71 percent of all voters believe that democracy is at risk.
The American public has been subjected to misinformation and conspiracy theories around elections and witnessed the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol building. Election workers are subjected to harassment and threats and politicians openly say they will not accept election results if their party does not win.
Historically, America has billed itself as a global example of democracy. However, as Americans grapple with the current state of unease over the preservation of democratic ideals, they should consider other examples of democracy that have persevered for centuries.
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy – an alliance of the Six Nation Confederacy of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations – is the oldest continuous participatory democracy in the world.
Syracuse University Associate Professor Philip Arnold and founding director of the Ska-nonth — Great Law of Peace Center said “in these precarious times, when our Democracy seems most at risk, it is helpful to reflect on alternative and forgotten values that have informed our Democratic traditions.”
“At the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster conference, largely understood to be the earliest inspiration for the formation of Western Democracy, the Onondaga leader and diplomat Canasatego (c. 1686-1750) presented to what were to become many of the Founding Fathers of the United States teachings from the Peacemaker of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois or Six Nations),” said Arnold.
  • ‘We have one thing further to say, and that is We heartily recommend Union and a Good Agreement between you our Brethren. Never disagree, but preserve a strict Friendship for one another, and thereby you as well as we will become the Stronger. Our wise Forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations; this has made us formidable, this has given us great weight and Authority with our Neighboring Nations. We are a powerful confederacy, and, by your observing the same Methods our wise Forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh Strength and Power; therefore, whatever befalls you, never fall out with one another.’ (Indian treaties printed by Benjamin Franklin, 1736-1762, edited by Julian Boyd, 1938)
“Originally given at Onondaga Lake, over one thousand years ago, the Peacemaker’s message of peace and unity has reverberated through the centuries. The Peacemaker’s message is symbolized in the US as the 13 arrows in the Eagle’s talon. This message has brought together countless people around the world,” said Arnold.
“Forgotten by the Founding Fathers, however, were the roles that women and other ethnic and racial communities can contribute to Democracy. Perhaps most important are the additional values of the Haudenosaunee that Peace, or Ska-nonh, can only be attained when human beings are in proper relationship with the Natural World,” said Arnold.
Arnold is the Chair of the Department of Religion at Syracuse University, as well as a core faculty member of Native American and Indigenous Studies. He is a member of NOON (Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation), an organization of the Syracuse Peace Council. In 2007 he organized the Doctrine of Discovery Study Group to discuss the legacy of Christianity in the destruction of Indigenous peoples. He is also the President of the Indigenous Values Initiative,
To schedule an interview with Arnold, please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, executive director of media relations at Syracuse University, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu or 412-496-0551.