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Review
of Teachings From The Longhouse
As
settlers claimed Canada in the name of European Kings and Queens, they
forgot one important thing, this land already belonged to someone the
tribes of the First Nations.
These settlers, as they brought their alcohol, guns, and foreign diseases,
to the American northeast, decimated the population and culture of the
Iroquois, in particular.
Enter Handsome Lake, a Seneca Indian ( the Seneca tribe is part of the
Iroquois Five Nations confederacy), born in 1735. After recovering from an
alcohol induced illness Handsome Lake created a code to strengthen his
people against the effects of white society. This code has survived
through the generations, as an oral tradition that is still delivered
twice a year in traditional longhouses and now in this the only widely
available English text.
Two centuries after this code was first spoken, the ideas and rules that
it contains are as relevant as ever. From native land claim issues to that
of native self government, Handsome Lake's code speaks to these modern
issues with an old and wise voice.
The late Jacob Thomas was a Cayuga chief, craftsman, historian, and the
interpreter of the Wampum Belts, for the Six Nations. Terry Boyle is a teacher
and broadcaster, and the author of Under This Roof and Memoirs of Ontario.
He lives near Parry Sound.
Teachings from the Longhouse
see publications list #9318
5 ½ x 8 ½ 176 pages (p) 14 black-and-white line drawings
$ 17.95 (p)
ISBN: 0-7737-56590 |
