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The Legal Tradition Of The Haudenosaunee Culture

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During the early years of settler colonization during the 17th century, the Iroquois nation, rather known as the Haudenosaunee people, faced growing pressure to maintain legal traditions over time. The Iroquois practiced "the Great Law of Peace," or Kainerekowa, which is known as a "complex and sophisticated" legal tradition (Borrows, 73). Along with the Great Law of Peace, the Two Row Wampum, also recognized as the Gus Wen Tah, were important foundations of Iroquois customs. The legal tradition has been maintained till present day despite settler, American and Canadian attempts to eradicate the traditional law overtime. The Great Law of Peace extended to all nations of the Iroquois confederacy that is composed of five separate groups: the …show more content…

Firstly, the Great Law of Peace begins with Peacemaker who was born as part of the Wendat Nation. While traveling on a journey, Peacemaker experienced the tragedies of war fare in the Mohawk nation when spreading the message and work of the Creator. He was at first, rejected by the Mohawk nation as his message of peace, power, and righteousness did not go along with the nations intentions. The Peacemaker explained the significance of the longhouse in its correlation with the Great Law to Jikonsahseh the Mother of Nations (Borrows, 2010). In explaining the importance, one can understand how Peacemaker began to be an influential icon to the Haudenosaunee people by generally giving a positive direction for the Iroquois to follow. Because the Great Law was traditionally passed on through oral interpretations, metaphors and analogies were used to convey important features of the Haudenosaunee traditions. Fire place of the longhouse, wampum, the tree of peace, the circle of chiefs, are just some examples of how symbols were explained in order to "communicate the important aspects of Haudenesonee law" (Borrows, 75). The five Iroquois nations had to comply and construct The Great Law of Peace in order to impose it on its current and future

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