Resources
“There are no experts in Iroquois Culture. When we come together we say that we put our minds on the table. That way if you have knowledge that I can use, I can borrow it, and if I have knowledge you can use, you can borrow it. We always have something to learn.”
– Jake Thomas: 1977
As I undertake my work I often reflect on this quote - I hope these resources will be helpful to you in your learning as they have been for mine.
Haudenosaunee Resources:
There are Four Major Historical “Epochs” in Haudenosaunee History (As outlined by Susan Hill in “The Clay We are Made Of”)
(1)Creation (Sky Woman falls to our world and is placed on the back of a turtle, she gives birth to a daughter who gives birth to twin boys – one of whom creates humans)
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https://youtu.be/RfCafd_22dE (This video shows the woman’s shuffle dance which honours the lifegiving power of women as well as the dance that sky woman did on the back of the turtle to “grow” north America into a continent)
(2)Four Ideas (four ceremonies / matters)
(3)Kayanereh’ko:wa “Great Law” (Great Goodness)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DaNMtVANsA&ab_channel=SixNationsPolytechnic
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The “Great Law” is the history and also the practices that were established by the peacemaker and the founding of the confederacy (our political system which still exists today although there are also “Band Councils” and “Tribal Councils” which were created by colonial laws in Canada and the US.
(4)Handsome Lake (1735-1815)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA56SOeAkMA&ab_channel=RobbieRobertson-Topic
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He had a series of visions after almost dying – he had been an alcoholic and involved in a lot of conflict – he lived through a very difficult time for our communities including the American revolution, population loss due to disease, overhunting of game etc. While in a coma near death he had the first in a series of visions about how the Haudenosaunee should return to a “good mind,” the Code of Handsome Lake or Gaiwiio is still shared in Longhouses today.
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If you would like more info on this you can read The Code of Handsome Lake by Arthur C. Parker: https://archive.org/details/codeofhandsomela02hand
The Dish With One Spoon – Pre European Treaty / Understandings
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Not all treaties were between Europeans and Indigenous people the Dish With One Spoon is between the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe and dictates how we will share and protect the natural resources of the great lakes watershed – of course modern court settlements and negotiations as well as the impacts of colonization have impacted this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajw8b8R5REE&ab_channel=HartHousehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL83GvOO_C0&ab_channel=SixNationsPolytechnic
Colonial Interactions (This is a huge area of history so these are just a few major moments and topics of significance to Haudenosaunee)
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Treaties and Wampum Diplomacy
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Religion (“Jesuit Relations” 1632-1673)
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Beaver Wars / French and Indian Wars / Mourning Wars (Mid to late 1600’s) “Four Kings” (1611)
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Seven Years War (Mid to late 1700’s)
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“Six Nations” (1720’s)
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American Revolution (1775) Which caused division in the Confederacy that would see us fighting against each other some on the side of the British some on the side of the Patriots.
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Jay Treaty (1795) This treaty is recognized by the US and is why if you have a Status Card in Canada you can travel to the US without a passport – additionally if you have a letter from your band stating you have 50% blood quantum you can work in the US and qualify for medic-aid without a Green card. This is not recognized in Canada for the most part except University of Guelph which charges US Indigenous students the same tuition as Canadian students
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War of 1812
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Marshall Trilogy (1820s) (designed tribes as domestic dependent nations in the US) / Indian Act (1876) in Canada / Termination Policy (1950s) in the US
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Enforcement of Elected Band Council (Six Nation Grand River - 1924)
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Residential Schools (Mohawk Institute 1885-1970) and Industrial Schools in the US
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Major Hydro Electric and issues with Environmental Degradation (Impacting Seneca, Tuscarora and Mohawk Nations in New York State)
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Kinzua Dam https://youtu.be/IC6xM9zPgcE
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Contemporary Indigenous Matters
Probably the best general website on high level Indigenous History in Canada https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/
1492 Land Back Lane (Six Nations of the Grand River) – Ongoing land reclamation (happening right now) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvSwsTK5hBQ&ab_channel=PamPalmater https://soundcloud.com/pampalmater/1492-land-back-lane-skyler-williams-and-myka-burning
Royal Commission on Aboriginal People
Video: George Erasmus Co-Chair of RCAP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LHSB0ntS3A&ab_channel=NipissingUniversity
Video: RCAP 20 Years Later, The Agenda with Steve Pakin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HORO9JTdK_w&ab_channel=TheAgendawithStevePaikin
Idle No More
Video: CBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYf75dKON6k&ab_channel=CBCNews
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
United Nations Declaration on The Rights of Indigenous People https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html
Video: UNDRIP in Canada (Made by CIGI)
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Final Report of the National Inquiry into MMIWG https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/
Video: Canada's missing and murdered Indigenous women | AJ+ (Please note this video may be upsetting for some viewers as it discusses the death of women including Tina Fontaine) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DLZgG15c-o&ab_channel=AJ%2B
Impacts of racism, poverty and colonial trauma on youth
Youth Suicide at Cross Lake (Please note this video may be upsetting for some viewers as it discusses youth suicide) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfPrfZfPhbY&ab_channel=TheFifthEstate Seven Fallen Feathers (Racism in Thunder Bay and impact of relocating children for high school) (Please note this video may be upsetting for some viewers as it discusses youth suicide)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAgSQjIXxs4&ab_channel=TheAgendawithStevePaikin
Museums and Indigenous People
School For Advanced Research Guidelines for working with Indigenous People https://guidelinesforcollaboration.info/
Ames, Michael. Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1992.
Archambault, Jo Allyn. “American Indians and American Museums.” Zeitschrift Für Ethnologie 118, no. 1 (1993): 7–22.
Bell, Catherine, and Val Napoleon, eds. First Nations Cultural Heritage and Law: Case Studies, Voices, and Perspectives. Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 2008.
Cherry, Alissa, and Keshav Mukunda. “A Case Study in Indigenous Classification: Revisiting and Reviving the Brian Deer Scheme.” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 53, no. 5–6 (2015): 548–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639374.2015.1008717.
Hamilton, Michelle. Collections and Objections: Aboriginal Material Culture in Southern Ontario. Kingston: McGill Queens University Press, 2010.
Lonetree, Amy. Decolonizing Museum: Representing Native America in National and Tribal Museums. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012.
Simpson, Moira. Making Representations, Museums in the Post-Colonial Era. New York: Routledge, 1996.
Stevens, Scott. “Collectors, and Museums: From Cabinets of Curiosities to Indigenous Cultural Centers.” In The Oxford Handbook of American Indian History, edited by Frederick Hoxie. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
United States. “101st Congress: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,” 1990. <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/101/hr5237>.
Much more to come!
Research with Indigenous Communities
Principles of Free Prior and Informed Consent FPIC https://www.fpic.info/en/
First Nations Information Governance Centre, OCAP Principles (Ownership Control Access and Possession) https://fnigc.ca/splash/