As children we aren't taught about the enormous influence that Native Americans had on democracy. This is because we want our children to believe that the success of America was generated by our founding fathers, not anyone from a foreign nation. We also want them to believe that the people we took land from had nothing to offer us, which might help to ease the burden of our guilt. But they did, and while what we borrowed from their society isn't on the same order as the amount of land we took and the people we killed, it's still a great debt we owe them, a debt that is widely ignored in history textbooks. If you were raised to believe that the founding fathers created the first democracy in the world (as I was), then prepare to be disillusioned.
The Iroquois Confederacy consisted of five tribes- the Senecas, Cayugas, Onandagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks- making up an area in modern day New York state. Prior to its establishment these tribes had been at war with each other, and there was always a conflict of interest between them. It wasn't until the 16th century that a great spiritual teacher united them all. His name was Deganawida, which translates to the "The Thinker". Legend has it he was born of a virgin mother- curiously, the same way Jesus was. He traveled east from the Hurons, into the lands of all these tribes, gaining widespread appeal. His most famous convert was a former warlord who changed his name to Hiawatha (the same from Longfellow's epic poem of the same name). His exit from the region is just as mysterious as his entrance. After bringing peace and to the land, he rowed away from on it on a lake with a setting sun in the background, never to be seen again.
Here's some information from Britannica about how the Iroquois Confederacy united together:
“Cemented mainly by their desire to stand together against invasion, the tribes united in a common council composed of clan and village chiefs; each tribe had one vote, and unanimity was required for decisions. The joint jurisdiction of 50 peace chiefs, known as sachems, embraced all civil affairs at the intertribal level... The Iroquois Confederacy differed from other American Indian confederacies in the northeastern woodlands primarily in being better organized, more consciously defined, and more effective. The Iroquois used elaborately ritualized systems for choosing leaders and making important decisions. They persuaded colonial governments to use these rituals in their joint negotiations, and they fostered a tradition of political sagacity based on ceremonial sanction rather than on the occasional outstanding individual leader.”
It seems to me that these 50 peace chiefs were like members of our senate. They would cast their votes and agreements were made based on popular opinion. This social system that lacked the total influence of an individual leader was appealing to our founding fathers, because they knew how easily corruptible dictatorships and monarchies are. They wanted to create a form of government that was completely different from their English rivals, one in which the economic tyranny of a figure like George III couldn't cripple individual liberty. Since there was no effective way to unite colonies by following any of the European methods of governance, they turned to the Iroquois' model instead.
In the following years, the Iroquois weren't acknowledged for their contributions. Instead of showing our appreciation by respecting their rightful kingdom, they were driven out of their land like countless other tribes. By the war of 1812, the confederacy had lost total control of upper New York, and most of their land with it. It wasn't all the way until 1988 that the U.S. Senate formally recognized their contributions with the following statements:
“Whereas the original framers of the Constitution, including, most notably, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, are known to have greatly admired the concepts of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy; whereas the confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into one republic was influenced by the political system developed by the Iroquois Confederacy as were many of the democratic principles which were incorporated into the Constitution itself, etc..."
It's a great tragedy that the birth of democracy was stolen by invaders who erased its authors from history. The real founding fathers- Deganawida, Hiawatha, etc.- would have been ashamed at what's happened. Now all that's left are fragments of dialogue translated from their language into ours, words that still reverberate through the walls of Independence Hall, where they'd signed their souls away to us. The least we can say that's positive about this is that in their defeat, our victory inspired great uprisings against despotism and tyranny all across the globe. Even the third-world rebellions that go against us took a page from our own book, rebellions in which our economical debauchery aroused the wrath of the native populace. Perhaps one day we'll be eradicated like our natives were, only to have our history rewritten and glorified by the latest conquerors.
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