Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Continued from last issue And, they say, as the two young boys grew to be young men, they found that they had special gifts as well, and their special gift was one of creation. Each one of them had th...

Continued from last week And they say that because this young woman had lost her life giving birth, that there was a great force emitting from her in all directions, this life-giving force, and as...

Continued from last week So again, as they say, “as the time went on”, this young woman, she had a dream. And they say, in this dream, she was approached by a handsome young man. And he said that he...

Continued from last week As the woman began to dance, in today what we call counterclockwise direction, she was playing her drum and she was singing this song. And the way she was dancing was king of...

Continued from last week And so, again, they send all their best wishes with him. And he slaps the water with his tail and down he goes. So they all are kind of waiting for the beaver to come back....

Continued from last week. So they brought her down to the surface of the water. And as they were flying past the animals that were on the water there, they asked that maybe they could find some place...

Continued from last week So, this young woman is expecting. And so they had again, a big feast kind of before they sent her out of this world. And they had made her new clothes. And they had provided...

Continued from last week. There was a young woman who had never taken part in this contest before. And then she decided to so this, this one year. And they say on the third day on an her last chance...

This rendition of the Iroquoian Creation story was compiled by Anataras (Alan Brant) from Tyendinaga. And again, they say, as far as our stories and legends or myths or whatever you want to call...

Continued from last week. The text of the treaty continued: Note: It is clearly understood by the parties to this treaty, that the annuity, stipulated in the sixth article, is to be applied to the...

Continued from last week. Article 6: In consideration of the peace and friendship hereby, established, and of the engagements entered into by the Six Nations; and the United States desire with...

Continued from last week. The terms of Article 4 are deliberately opaque. Pickering, in his report to Secretary of war Alexander Knox, explained why: …the chiefs were desirous of a fresh c...

We direct our attention to the Life Forces on Mother Earth; to the waters, which quenches our thirst and provides for the well-being and the strength of plant life; to the animals, who provide us...

Continued from last week Article 2: The United States acknowledges the lands reserved to the Oneida, Onondaga and Cayuga Nations, in their respective treaties with the State of New York and called the...

Continued from last week. Brothers You have attended this treaty a long time the articles which we have signed we hope you fully understand now as we have shown them to you we would wish to know your...

Continued from last week. The Third day of the Council, November 4, 1794, Red Jacket continued: Brother - We the Sachems of the Six Nations will now tell you our minds, the business of this treaty is...

Continued from last week (United States Library of Congress, Indian Affairs Papers) On September 27, 1794, Pickering wrote: Two runners arrived the day before from Buffalo Creek with a message urging...

Continued from last week The actions of New York State, which continued to obtain Haudenosaunee lands through fraud and trickery, combined with the treaties forced on the confederate nations by the Un...

Continued from last week A significant part of the history and culture of the Haudenosaunee and Indians of the United States is the treaty. In last few week’s cultural corner you learned just what is...

Continued from last week A report of the Lords of Trade was read in Council at the Court of St. James, November 23, 1761. It states: That it is as unnecessary as it would be tedious to enter into a...

Once upon a time very long ago, there were three sisters who lived together in a field. These sisters were quite different from one another in their size and also in their way of dressing. One of the...

Continued from last week… The 1701 Treaty Conference Lieutenant Governor John Nanfan had succeeded the Earl of Bellomont as the Governor of New York. In early July 1701, “all the Sachims of the Fiv...

Continued from last week 4 Strings Wampum (Simcoe Papers II, 131) By the 1840’s, other indigenous nations were also using the Dish With One Spoon as a means of resolving their land issues. In N...

Continued from last week (William Johnson Papers, II,705) After the defeat of the French in 1760,the British soon found themselves looked upon as possible arbitrators in hunting territory disputes...

The Dish with One Spoon wampum belt, with the round purple area in the center symbolizing the dish. It was kept at the Six Nations Grand River Territory by Skanawati (John Buck) until his death. In...