The Six Nations: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) included the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and the Tuscaroras (who joined later on). Together they comprise the oldest living participatory democracy on earth, practiced by the Six Nations for over 800 hundred years. It is well documented that the authors of “today’s” constitution, such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, “modeled” it after the Six Nations.
- photo above: Alan Michelson
below: The Hiawatha Belt
A symbol of the agreement between the five original Haudenosaunee nations and their promise to live in unity and stand by one another in times of trouble. The four white squares stand for the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations. The Onondaga, as the keepers of the council fire, are represented at the center of the pattern by the white tree of peace. The lines extending out from the Seneca and Mohawk squares on either side of the belt stand for a path which other nations may follow if they agree to live in peace or wish to join the Confederacy.