Let us now plant a symbolic tree of long leaves destined to grow tall and strong. It will represent your unity and strength. When other nations wish to accept the good Tidings of Peace and Power, they shall be seated within the Confederacy Council. Atop the tall tree will proudly sit an all-seeing eagle to watch and warn you of any danger.

Let us join hands firmly, binding ourselves together in a circle. If a tree should fall upon the circle, your circle cannot be broken. Your people can thus be assured of your unity and peace.

–The Great Peacemaker of the Haudenosaunee

Six hundred years ago, in the Finger Lakes region of what is now New York State, the young chief of the Onondaga tribe could not sleep. He would stay up late at night, wakeful, watching his wife and three daughters sleeping. He could feel there was a great change coming in the world.

At last one day he was visited by a seer, who told him that Peace and Power were coming; strife would end, and peace would prevail. The seer prophesied that the young chief should be called Hiawatha, that is, “he who combs”, and asked Hiawatha to help him promote peace among all the tribes. He also warned Hiawatha that an evil magician lived on the other side of a nearby lake, and to watch out for him.

When the seer left, heading ever eastward on his mission to carry the message of peace, Hiawatha continued in his duties as chief; but soon thereafter, one by one, his daughters died. In sorrow, Hiawatha left the Onondagas and traveled from tribe to tribe, carrying the message of peace that the seer had told him of. By this time, the seer was known throughout the Finger Lakes as the Great Peacemaker.

At last, after some time, when Hiawatha had traveled the length and breadth of New York, and even been named the chief of the Mohawk tribe, he and the Great Peacemaker visited a terrible magician who lived on the shores of Onondaga Lake. His hair was a mass of snakes, and he reigned over that region with terror. It was this same magician who had killed Hiawatha’s daughters; and he utterly refused to accept the message of peace. But Hiawatha spoke to him, and sang to him, and told him stories, using all he had learned of oratory and persuasion; and at last Hiawatha saw that the magician was smiling at him.

“I accept your message of peace and power,” he said.

With that, Hiawatha was overjoyed; and he began to comb the snakes from the hair of the evil magician. In this way, Hiawatha earned his name. When he had finished, the magician, whose name was Atotarho, took Hiawatha’s place as chief of the Onondagas; and they began the great work of forging the Senecas, Oneidas, Onondagas, the Cayugas, and Mohawks into one people, the Haudenosaunee, the People of the Long House.

In these latter days the Haudenosaunee are usually called the Iroquois. The government forged by them was used as a model for the US Constitution; and you can see the eagle and the bound bundle of arrows in the Great Seal of the United States. Of all the peoples native to the area governed by the United States, the Iroquois have probably been most successful in maintaining their tribal identity and independent government, and they continue to make strides towards regaining full independence.

Hiawatha’s name tells a story of energy that arises from home and hearth, skilled in matters of the mind and art, with an unwavering connection to Spirit. Through force of will, a difficult journey is undertaken, the outcome of which is a stronger connection to Source.

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