Wampum is the Root of all Evil

You might note as you read that the name of the Mohawk Party seems to come up a lot in the Iroquois Constitution. Dekanawida summarily puts himself in charge of this whole bureaucracy, and appoints the Mohawks (Possessors of Flint) as the head of the Five Nations Confederacy. Dekanawida considers his Mohawk comrades to be the "Foundation of the Great Peace" and he makes it against the Great Binding Law to pass any measure in the Council if a Citizen Mohawk protests.

If you are going to be a Native American it seems to be altogether a very good idea to be a member of the Mohawk party. The Constitution clearly states that the Council shall not even be legal unless every Mohawk Lord is right there, sitting cross-legged under that Tree of the Great Long Leaves upon his assigned soft white feathery down globe thistle pillow. You can bet that if Ben Franklin had been aware of this article, he would have thought to put the Congressmen from Philadelphia in charge, with veto power over all laws and tariffs.

Just as the United States Senate starts the opening session with a prayer, the Indians are required in their Constitution to offer thanks to the Great Spirit. The Indians have no reservations about the separation of church and state, and are required by statute to give a non-denominational prayer of thanks to the streams of water, to the pools, to give thanks specifically to the springs and the lakes, to the maize and the fruits, to the medicinal herbs and trees, to the forest trees for their usefulness. It was also required to give thanks to the animals that serve as food and give their pelts for clothing, thanks to the great winds and the lesser winds, to the Thunderers, to the Sun, the mighty warrior, thanks to the moon, to the messengers of the Great Spirit who dwells in the heavens above.

We would have done well to have emulated the Native Americans on this point. We could have prayed for 50% parity on price supports for dairy products, and high margins for futures contracts.

If you are one of the People of the Hills, an Onondaga, you can't risk sleeping-in on council meeting day, and you would be well advised not to go fishing in the Lake of Great Waters, because you, of all the council, must be present at every Confederate Council. As an Onondaga you are required not only to sweep the dirt around the campfire, but you are also charged to agree with the majority of the council, "so that a unanimous decision may be rendered". Now this may seem at first glance a somewhat anti-democratic requirement and in fact appears to be more like the plenary session of the Warrior's Revolutionary Strike Brigade, but get used to it, the Mohawks have the votes sewn up anyway.

Tomorrow's lesson , "So how do you get to be a Lord?"