The Great Peacemaker (Skén:nen rahá:wi [skʌ̃.nːʌ̃.ɾahaːwi] in Mohawk), sometimes referred to as Deganawida or Tekanawí:ta (as a mark of respect, some Iroquois avoid using his personal name except in special circumstances) was by tradition, along with Jigonhsasee and Hiawatha, the founder of the Haudenosaunee, commonly called the Iroquois Confederacy. This is a political and cultural union of six Iroquoian-speaking Native American tribes residing in the present-day state of New York, northern Pennsylvania, and the eastern portion of the province of Ontario, Canada.
Background
The Great Peacemaker's name means "Two River Currents Flowing Together". Some of the numerous legends about the Great Peacemaker have conflicting information. It is reported that he was born a Huron, and by some accounts, his mother was a virgin, making the birth miraculous. Others say he was born an Onondaga and later adopted by the Mohawk.
Arthur C. Parker's book The Constitution of the Five Nations describes how the Great Peacemaker travelled to different settlements to spread his message of peace. At one settlement, when asked who he was, the Great Peacemaker answered, "I am the man who is called on earth by the name of Dekanahwideh, and I have just come from the west and am now going east for the purpose of propagating peace so that the shedding of human blood might cease among you." When the settlement agreed to his plan, he explained, "This day is early and yet young, so is the new mind also tender and young, so also is the Good Tidings of Peace and Power, and as the new sun of Good Tidings of Peace and Power arose, so it will proceed on its course and prosper; so also will the young mind, and the Good Tidings of Peace and Power shall prevail and prosper. Therefore in the future, your grandchildren forever shall live in peace."
Haudenosaunee confederacy
By all accounts, the Great Peacemaker was a prophet who counseled peace among the warring tribes. According to some legends his first ally was Jigonhsasee, who became known as the Mother of Nations. She lent her home for the meeting of the leaders of the rival tribal nations. The Great Peacemaker's follower Hiawatha, an Onondaga renowned for his oratory, helped him achieve his vision of bringing the tribes together in peace.
According to the archaeologist Dean Snow, the Great Peacemaker converted Hiawatha in the territory of the Onondaga; he traveled alone to visit the Mohawk tribe who lived near what is now Cohoes, New York. Other traditional accounts hold that the Great Peacemaker consulted with Jigonhsasee about which tribal leaders to approach and she facilitated that meeting to create the confederacy.
According to some legends, initially the Mohawk rejected the message of the Great Peacemaker, so he decided to perform a feat to demonstrate his purity and spiritual power. After climbing a tree high above Kahon:ios (Cohoes Falls), the Great Peacemaker told the Mohawk warriors to chop the tree down. Many onlookers watched as the Great Peacemaker disappeared into the swirling rapids of the Mohawk River. They believed he had died but the next morning they found him sitting near a campfire. Greatly impressed by the Great Peacemaker's miraculous survival, the Mohawk became the founding tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy. The tribes gathered at Onondaga Lake, where they planted a Tree of Peace and proclaimed the Great Binding Law of the Iroquois Confederacy.
The Mackinac natives record that Hiawatha came to Mackinaw Island to see Giche Mantitou Rock, also known as "Sugarloaf Rock", where Peacemaker taught as well references that Peacemaker walked upon Lake Ontario. It is additionally recorded by them that Peacemaker's canoe could fly including a story where Peacemaker stated to Hiawatha, "this canoe can be rowed across these waters or do you want it to see it fly across". He traveled through the narrow neck of land near Niagara Falls healing the sick and all that he touched.
Dates
The dates Dekanawida lived, and thus the founding of the Confederacy, have not been identified with certainty.
