SIX NATIONS – In both Canada and the United States, there is an assumption that the American Indian population is something they can put all in one basket with one-size-fits-all policies and legislations arbitrarily made over them without the approval or even knowledge of the “Indians”.
In the early years of the WWII, the Haudenosaunee in particular, stood up to this assumption, and in the U.S., refused to be forced to enlist for an army of a foreign state. The State Department didn’t know what to do about individual Iroquois enlisting on their own. Under whose flag would they fight? If they were not actually citizens of Canada or the U.S., how could they enlist without giving up their own sovereignty first?
The Confederacy had a simple solution.
On June 13, 1942, the Six Nations Confederacy, declared War on Germany. The next day, a spokesperson for the Confederacy read this declaration on the steps of the United States Congress:
“We represent the oldest, though smallest, democracy in the world today. It is the unanimous sentiment among Indian people that the atrocities of the Axis nations are violently repulsive to all sense of righteousness of our people, and that this merciless slaughter of mankind can no longer be tolerated. Now we do resolve that it is the sentiment of this council that the Six Nations of Indians declare that a state of war exists between our Confederacy of Six Nations on the one part and Germany, Italy, Japan and their allies against whom the United States has declared war, on the other part.”
In this way, the Haudenosaunee entered World War II on its own consent, and its own terms.
But, in fact, it was only a continuation of the declaration of War against Germany and the Axis powers that was made, for the same reasons, in 1918 during WWI.
The 1919 Peace Treaty that ending the War, did not include the cessation of hostilities from the Confederacy. That declaration of war was never revoked and so in 1942, it was more of a continuation of that earlier declaration but with Italy and Japan added.
As far as is known by this reporter, it wasn’t revoked after WWII either. Does that mean, Six Nations is still technically at War with Germany?
But perhaps even more interesting today is a treaty, still on record, with Russia.
Angus Horn of Kahnawake was a spokesperson on the occasion, in 1942, when Joseph Stalin was reminded through a Russian envoy of their ancient alliance.
The original Russian Wampum goes back to 1710 when five chiefs met with Queen Anne in London along with 13 family monarchs in what is said to be the first ever international peace conference on the law of the Land of Turtle Island.
This meeting of world leaders was initiated by the Five Nations with wampum presented to each family. An envoy took the wampum and the message back with him to Russia’s Tsar Peter the Great Russia. That wampum is on display at the Moscow State Museum of Contemporary Political History.
Horn expressed gratitude to Stalin that Russia has never been a party to, what has been called the biggest holocaust in all humanity, when waves of European settler governments caused, endorsed, and encouraged an estimated 100 million Onkwehon:weh to be killed on orders of the Vatican through papal bulls issued in the 1400s.
What is called “the Doctrine of Discovery” as promoted in these bulls have remained in place ever since. They gave any Catholic or Catholic government, not only the right, but the “God given” duty to murder all “pagans” not willing to kneel-and-kiss-the-ring of the Pope, as it were.
The logic was, no people — no ownership, so once step number one is complete, you now have the “God given” right to “discover” this wilderness as real estate to be claimed and owned.
In 1942, a delegation of 11 Onkwehon:weh leaders visited the Vatican to officially ask the Pope to rescind three Papal Bulls of Discovery: Dum Divers of (1452), Romanus Pontifex (1455) and Inter Caetera (1493). The current Pope says the church is still seriously considering that request, but must be aware and conscious of the geo-political ramifications in the aftermath of such a wide sweeping, and historically entrenched decision. It is argued with cause, that the United States and Canada continue to use the papal bulls to dispossess and disempower Indigenous people today through the court system.
Teiohonwe: thon stood up and said, “This goes against the Great Law of Peace. I want to make a resolution that these new ideas remain separate from the Great Law of Peace. They should be called Skanawati’s Laws of War. This is so there will be no confusion in the teachings of the Great Peace. These teachings will govern the responsibilities of those who go to war and not those of the royaner.”
http://www.wampumchronicles.com/sawiskera2.html
and here is an article where it talks about the Chiefs being clubbed, Which Hazel and Co. use to defame the different versions of the kaianerakowa.
The Kayeneren:kowa would be interpreted as giving the war chiefs the prominent position of handing out punishments, such as the clubbing to death of chiefs, as set in Skanawati’s Laws of War. http://www.wampumchronicles.com/kariwiio2.html
In the future, there would be confusion between Skanawati’s and Rosehraha: hon’ s title. That is because Skanawati would be the first royaner to take up the hatchet of war again. When he went to war, he would use the title Rosehraha: hon. He would add elements of the Great Law, such as the laws concerning warriors and war chiefs whereby royaner could be killed if they did not abide by the will of the warriors. He would take two titles, one of a war chief and the other a peace chief; this went against the will of the Creator. He would say that the assistant to the royaner should be a war chief, to make sure that he did the will of the warriors. This went against everything the Peacemaker had tried to achieve, and the onkwe honwe would one day become confused again about the meaning of the Great Peace. These would be called Skanawati’s Laws of War.
http://www.wampumchronicles.com/greatwayofpeace7.html
The rules of the League, however, seem to have for bidden the actual assumption by the councillors of any executive or warlike command. At least, if they undertook such duties, it must be as private men, and not in their capacity of nobles–just as an English peer might serve as an officer in the army or as an embassador. The only exceptions recognized by the Iroquois constitution seem to have been in the cases of Tekarihoken and Skanawati, who were at once nobles and war-chiefs.
Any act of war was not done under the great peace, so Not with the Collective.