Basic Call to Consciousness

Continued from last issue

Policies of Oppression in the Name of “Democracy”

Economic History of the Haudenosaunee

The Haudenosaunee, People of the Longhouse, who are known to many Europeans as the Six Nations, have inhabited their territories since time immemorial. During the time prior to the coming of the Europeans, it is said that ours were a happy and prosperous people. Our lands provided abundantly for our needs. Our people lived long, healthy, and productive lives. Before the Europeans came, we were an affluent people, rich in the gifts of our country. We were a strong people in both our minds and bodies. Throughout most of that time, we lived in peace.

Prior to the arrival of the colonists, we were a people who lived by hunting and gathering, and practiced a form of agriculture which was not labor intensive. The economy of the people was an extremely healthful Way of Life, and our peoples were very healthy – among the finest athletes in the world. There were some, in those times, who lived to be 120 years old and more, and our runners were unexcelled for speed and endurance.

Among our people we refer to our culture as “Ongwe Honwekah.” This refers to a Way of Life that is peculiar to the Haudenosaunee. It is virtually impossible for us to recount, specifically, the history of “Haudenosaunee” economics.” As will become evident, our economy, that way in which our people manage their resources, and the relationship of that management to the total organization of our society, are processes completely bound together. The distribution of goods, in our traditional society, was accomplished through institutions which are not readily identified as economic institutions by other societies. The Haudenosaunee do not have specific economic institutions, nor do we have specifically distinct political institutions. Rather, what European people identify as institutions of one classification or another serve many different purposes among the Haudenosaunee.

We were a people of a great forest. That forest was a source of great wealth. It was a place in which was to be found huge hardwoods and an almost unimaginable abundance and variety of nuts, berries, roots, and herbs. In addition to these, the rivers teemed with fish and the forest and its meadows abounded with game. It was, in fact, a kind of Utopia, a place where no one went hungry, a place where the people were happy and healthy.

Our traditions were such that we were careful not to allow our populations to rise to numbers that would overtax the other forms of life. We practiced strict forms of conservation. Our culture is based on a principle that directs us to constantly think about the welfare of seven generations into the future. To this end, our people took only as many animals as were needed to meet our needs. Not until the arrival of the colonists did the wholesale slaughter of animals occur.

We feel that many people will be confused when we say that ours is a Way of Life, and that our economy cannot be separated from the many aspects of our culture. Our economy is unlike that of Western peoples. We believe that all things in the world were created by what the English language forces us to call “Spiritual Beings,” including one that we call the Great Creator. All things in this world belong to the Creator and the spirits of the world. We also believe that we are required to honor these beings, in respect of the gift of Life.

In accordance with our ways, we are required to hold many kinds of feasts and ceremonies which can be described as “giveaways.” It is said that among our people, our leaders those whom the Anglo people insist on calling “Chiefs”, are the poorest of us. By the laws of our culture, our leaders are both political and spiritual leaders. They are leaders of many ceremonies which require the distribution of great wealth. As spiritual/political leaders, they provide a kind of economic conduit. To become a political leader, a person is required to be a spiritual leader, and to become a spiritual leader a person must be extraordinarily generous in terms of material goods.

Continued next week