Peacemaker
Page 11
Further, I’ve been able to see and interact with several new generations of Haudenosaunee women and men deeply devoted to their traditions. The story of the Peacemaker is still being told . . . and not just in words. Haudenosaunee artists are continuing to bring the story to the world through their work. In fact, a version of the story of the Peacemaker has just been illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden, Ray’s grandson, and will be published in 2021 by Wisdom Tales Press.
I’ve also read all of the books written about the Great League, from Lewis Henry Morgan’s classic The League of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois (1851)—which was actually a collaboration with Ely Parker, who became a grand sachem of his Seneca people—on down to Mohawk scholar Brian Rice’s brilliant The Rotinonshonni: A Traditional Iroquoian History through the Eyes of Teharonhia:wako and Sawiskera (2016), which was written after walking the route of the Peacemaker’s journey, interviewing Haudenosaunee elders along the way. (I should mention that Brian spent that summer living at our Ndakinna Education Center in Greenfield Center, NY as our first Native American scholar in residence.)
Here’s a very brief reading list for those who wish to find out more about the history.
Creation and Confederation: The Living History of the Iroquois (2008) by Darren Bonaparte
The League of the Iroquois (1984) by Lewis Henry Morgan
The Rotinonshonni: A Traditional Iroquoian History through the Eyes of Teharonhia:wako and Sawiskera (2016) by Brian Rice
White Roots of Peace (1990) by Paul A. W. Wallace
about the author
Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed children's book author, poet, novelist, and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications, from Akwesasne Notes and American Poetry Review to National Geographic and Parabola. He has authored many books for adults and children, including Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two, Talking Leaves, and Two Roads.
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