jdmann@labrea.stanford.edu (09/06/89)
\* Written 10:40 pm 8/15/89 by jdmann(David Yarrow) *\
THE TREE OF PEACE
New World Symbol of Freedom
The White Pine is a Native American symbol of powerful and timely
ideas of human relations and social order. It is "The Tree of Peace,"
ancient image of the Haudenosaunee, the Iroquois Six Nations Confederacy,
the oldest surviving government in North America.
The Legend of the Peacemaker is the oral tradition which depicts the
Confederacy's founding. In an ancient time the Iroquois were ruled by
warfare and anarchy, and people lived in fear and hunger, preyed upon by
powerful warriors and tyrants. One day a man, born of a virgin, appeared
on the Onondaga Lake shore to announce the Good News of Peace had come,
that killing and violence would end. "Peace," he said, "is the desire of
the Holder of the Heavens. Peace will come when people adopt the Mind of
the Creator, which is Reason." For many years Peacemaker traveled
teaching the Path of Peace - that "all people love one another and live
together in peace." One by one he convinced each person, village and
nation to accept his teaching. Hiawatha, an Onondaga, was his spokesman.
At last all the people gathered on the Onondaga Lake shore for the
first Council of the United Nations. There Peacemaker transmitted "The
Great Law of Peace," the instructions to form a society and government
based on liberty, dignity and harmony. The White Pine, with five needles
clasped as one, became the symbol of the Five Nations united as one
Confederacy. Peacemaker uprooted a White Pine, exposing a deep cavern
with a river at its bottom. He told the warriors to cast their weapons
into this hole and the river carried the tools of war deep in the Earth.
Replanting the White Pine, Peacemaker said this was "burying the hatchet"
to signify the end of killing and violence. "The Tree of Peace,"
Peacemaker explained, "has four white roots extending to the four corners
of the Earth. Anyone who desires peace can follow these roots to their
source and find shelter under the branches of the Great Tree." Atop the
White Pine sits the Eagle-that-sees-afar to be ever vigilant to sound
alarm when evil threatens. The Great Peace endured for centuries before
Europeans came to the New World.
But the story doesn't end there. On June 11, 1776 Iroquois "forest
diplomats" attended the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Congress
President John Hancock welcomed them as "brothers," recognizing the long
and friendly dialog between the colonials and Iroquois on freedom,
democracy, law, and government. The Onondaga chief who led the Iroquois
ambassadors bestowed on John Hancock the name "Karandawan," which means
"Great Tree." For decades the Iroquois had counseled the colonists in
the Art of Union, urging them to unite. Three weeks later the
Declaration of Independence was signed.
Thus, the Tree of Peace became a symbol of an emerging United States
government. The White Pine became the Liberty Tree displayed on colonial
flags. The Eagle-that-sees-afar became the American Eagle, still a
symbol of American government. In the Peacemaker Legend five arrows were
bundled together to represent the strength through unity of the Five
United Nations. Today, on the US Great Seal, the American Eagle clutches
a bundle of 13 arrows representing the original colonies. American
government was patterned after the Haudenosaunee, where all people -
women and men - are represented and control their government.
As the Tree of Peace, the White Pine is a unique symbol of government
that has its roots in the Natural World, not human cleverness or power.
Like Christ or Mohammed in the Old World, Peacemaker was a spiritual
messenger in the New World come to fulfill a Divine Plan. As the White
Pine is rooted in the Earth, the Great Peace epxresses the view that Law
and Government are expressions of natural order. To Iroquois, Peace is
Law - they use the same word for both concepts. Peace is also religion -
the marriage of spirituality with politics, of Righteousness and Justice.
It's not an abstract idea, but a way of life based on wisdom,
graciousness and respect for Mother Earth and "all our relations."
On Sept. 17, 1987 over 200 people gathered at the Mall in Washington,
DC to plant a Tree of Peace, led by Leon Shenandoah, Chief of the Six
Nations Confederacy, and Chief Oren Lyons of Onondaga Nation. Mohawk
Nation Chief Jake Swamp placed an arrowhead, symbol of the weapons of
war, under the tree, explaining, "If we have feelings of war among us, we
must take them out and bury them. If we have feelings of greed, we must
take them out and bury them. Feelings of mistrust must be buried so we
can start to create the atmosphere of peace for future generations."
The Legend of the Peacemaker was transcribed as "The White Roots of
Peace" by Dr. Paul A. W. Wallace, published for $8.95 by Chauncy Press,
Turtle Pond Rd, Saranac Lake, NY 12983.
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This is from "THE DRAGON AND THE ICE CASTLE: Rediscovery of Sacred Space
in the Finger Lakes" by David Yarrow, just released by Solstice
Publications
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