A01 Columbus, New York USA 1805

In a distant time, the Oneida, Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga warred against each other. This period of great upheaval continued until the arrival of the Peacemaker, who brought The Great Law of Peace. They united the warring nations and formed the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the world’s oldest participatory democracy. To emphasize the union that had been created between the five nations, the Peacemaker chose a white pine tree, whose needles cluster in groups of five. A white pine tree was pulled from the ground by its roots, which had grown in the four directions — north, south, east and west. Into the resulting hollow were buried all the weapons of war. And from this place, strong currents of water would carry the weapons away. An eagle was placed upon the top of the tree to see far into the distance and warn of approaching danger. The Peacemaker then took an arrow from each of the nations and bound them together to symbolize the power of unity. One arrow can break and bend easily, but five together add strength. The Peacemaker then said:

We have now completed our power so that we the Five Nations Confederacy shall in the future have one body, one mind, and one heart. If any evil should befall us in the future, we shall stand or fall united as one man.

— Oneida Nation, adapted from “The Peacemakers Gift of the Great Law” 

back to All