Iroquois--Clans and Classes
the Condoling Council. -- Clans and Classes.

The name usually given to the Book of Rite, or rather to its contents, is, in the Canienga dialect, Okayondongh-sera Yondennase
(or in the French missionary orthography, Okaionhsera Iontennase), which may be councils, civils and religious, tribal and federal, in which the public spirit and social temper of the Iroquois found their most congenial and most popular mode of display, the Yondennase, the Condoling ( or Mourning ) Council, held the highest rank. it was , in a certain way, typical of the whole, and comprised the elements of all the other councils. In its earlier form this council was not peculiar to the Iroquois. We know, from the Jesuit reports, that it was the custom of the Hurons to hold a public lamentation for the death of a chief, and at the same time to appoint another who should take his place and assume his name. But that which among the Hurons was merely a tribal custom became, in the Iroquois form of government, an important institution, essential to the maintenance of their state. By the ordinances of their  League, it was required that the number of their federal senate should be maintained undiminished. On the death of one of its, members, it was the duty of the nation to which he belonged to notify the other nations of the event, and of the time and place at which he would be lamented and his successor installed. The notice was given in the usual manner, by officials messengers, who bore for credentials certain strings of WAMPUM, appropriate to the occasion. The place of meeting was commonly the chief natron of the deceased senator's kindred- usually his mother, if she survived him- was in the meantime convened to select his successor. the selection must be approved by his clan and by the nation; but as their sentiments were generally known beforehand, this approval was rarely withheld. Indeed, the mischief resulting from as unsuitable council and the senate had the right of deposing any member who was found unqualified for the office.
At the appointed day the chiefs of the other nations approached the place of meeting. A multitude of their people, men and women, usually accompanied them, prepared
 to take part in the exhibitions of grief and in the festivities which always followed the installation of the new councilor. the approaching chiefs halted when they reached the border of the "opening," or cleared space surrounding the town. Here took place the "preliminary ceremony,"  styled in the 
" Deyughnyonkwarakda," a word which means simply " at the edge of the woods." At this point a fire was kindled, a pipe was lighted and passed around with much formality, and an address of welcome was made by the principal chief of the inviting nations. The topics of this address comprised a singular mixture of congratulations and condolence, and seem to have been prescribed forms, which had come down from immemorial antiquity, as appropriate to the occasion.
the guests were than formally conducted-- " led by the hand," as the recites -- to the Council House of the town. they seem, anciently at least, to have advance in the order of their clans. The towns belonging to the Wolf Clan were first enumerated-- probably as the chiefs belonging to them took their places - than the town tortoise clan ( or double clan, as it is styled ), and finally those of the Bear clan. In all, 23 towns name. Five of them are expressly stated to have been "added lately." The residue are supposed to be  the name of the towns in which the people of the Five Nations resided at the time when the confederacy was formed, though this point is uncertain. That few of these can now be identified, is what would naturally be expected. It is well known that the Indians had the custom of removing their towns from time to time, at intervals varying from ten to twenty years, as their fuel in their neighborhood became exhausted, and as the diminished crops under their primitive mode of agriculture showed the need of fresher soil. Only those villages would be permanent whose localities offered some special advantages, as fortresses, fishing places, or harbors.
This list of towns has another peculiarity which arrests the attentions. It apparently comprises all the towns of the League, but these are divided among only three clans, those of the Wolf, the Tortoise and the Bear. the other clans of the confederacy are not once named in the book. Yet there are indications which show that when the list the list of the chiefs which concludes the  book was written, at a date long after this list of towns first recited, other clans existed in three of the nations. this is an important point, which merits further consideration. Those who have read the adimirable account of the "League of the Iroquios ," by Morgan, and his philosophic work on "Ancient Society" are aware that he has brought out and elucidated with much clearness and force the nature and results of the remarkable clan system which prevail among North American Indians. It is not universal, as it does not seem to be known among the widely scattered bands of the Crees and the Athapascans, or among the Indians of Oregon. It was found, however, among the great majority of tribes in the region north of the Mexico and east of the Rocky Mountains, and was sufficiently alike in all to indicate a common origin. Mr. Morgan finds this origin in a kinship, real or supposed, among the members of each clan. He considers the clan, or gens,  and not the single family, to be the natural unit of primitive society. 

Longest Lunar Moon Eclipse of the 21st century wows star-gazers for over 100 minute.

The largest total lunar eclipse of the century transformed the moon into a reddish orange color for more than 100 minutes, according to NASA.
The eclipse was not seen in the United States, but I did get a picture of it from Italy. Noah Petro, a scientist for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, told ABC. Star-gazers in the areas near the Middle East, south of eastern Africa, western and southeast Asia and India were able to catch a glimpse of the celestial event as long as the weather permits.
In those areas, the totality off the lunar eclipse-- when the moon will retain its red color--lasted for about 2 hours. the entire event will last about 6 to 7 hours. But you will still see Mars bright in the Sky.
Although North America, residents weren't able to see the eclipse, we should still not that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter -- NASA's robotic spacecraft orbiting the moon experienced it first hand. The LRO was launched in June 2009 to provide detailed maps for future human and robotic exploration. Its the moon that really holds the secret to understand how the solar system works. its a good time for Americans to star getting excited about the moon, as NASA will began celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the spaceflight that made Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin the first two people on the moon, on July 20th, 1969.
The next lunar visible to be seen on the North American Continent will be January 21st, 2019. it will be a super moon as well. Which will be a full moon or new moon that coincides with the moon's position at it's closest to the Earth.
Here in Toledo, Ohio where I am at we didn't have the eclipse but we did see how close Mars is to earth.

What exactly is a blood moon?


A blood moon isa term used to describe a total lunar eclipse, which is as the moon appears darkest will pass through the Earth's shadow. the tolal lunar eclipse is given the " blood" nickname because of the beautiful red color caused by the projection of the all the Earth's sunrises and sun sets onto its surface, , earlier this year, before the super blue blood moon event took place on January 31st, 2018.

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Horatio Hale

"the Nester of American Philologists"
it has been the good fortune of Iroquois studies that the field has attracted gifted minds. The pioneer work of Lewis H. Morgan of Rochester, New York, in ethnology was paralleled in linguistics by that of Horatio Hale of Clinton, Ontario. Both men were lawyers, both were attracted to Iroquois political organization, and each brought unique gifts to the recording of Indian life which reinforced the other's contribution: Morgan's work's on kinship and on the structure of the confederacy was enhanced by Hale's gift with languages and his sense of poetry which he fulfilled so beautifully . Some of the quality of original Iroquois comes through in his English rendering of the lament to the founders of the League:

Hail, my grandsires!
Now hearken while your grandchildren cry
mournfully to you,
-because the Great League which you established has grown old.....
Hail, my grandsires!
You have said that 
Sad will be the fate of those 
who come in the latter times.

Though not the founder of American linguistics, Hale was, after Gallatin, none the less, its mot distinguished practitioner, and he came by these qualities naturally.

Native American Spirituality

Listen to each of these storytellers. Just remember we are story tellers. We just need to tell our stories. 

Little Hawk - Native American Wisdom | Indigenous Storytelling

Little Hawk - Native American Wisdom | Indigenous Storytelling

Little Hawk - Native American Wisdom | Indigenous Storytelling

Iroquois Women
The Heart of the Nation
“There is nothing more real than the
Superiority of the women. It is they who constitute
The tribe, transmit the nobility blood,… and perpetuate
The family. The possess all actual authority; own the land, and
The fields and their harvest; they are the soul of the councils,
The arbiters of peace and war; they have care of the public treasury;
[captives] are given them; they arrange marriages; the children belong to them and their blood confined the line of descent and the order of inheritance.”
By: Joseph-Francois Lafitau
1724

For thousands of years the southern Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. The hardwoods of the eastern forest- maple, elm, ash, hickory, chestnut, beech- blended with stands of birch trees and eternal green of the hemlock, pine and spruce forest to the north. The elm tree, which provided bark for longhouses and canoes, had special religious meaning: at the center of the earth stood the Great Elm, with its huge, arching branches. There were no high mountain's, only gentle hills, from which to spot enemy or welcome a friend.
There were also many rivers and streams, forming a vast water network among the lakes. Many tribes could easily paddle canoes throughout their territory to trade corn, beans, and animal pelts with their friends and make war with their enemies. Although trees had to be cleared to build village nears the rivers, the land was fertile and easily worked with their stone tools. The Iroquois replied on crops of corn, beans, and squash, but they also hunted and gathered in the woods and fields.
The people of the Longhouse lived within nature. They cycle of their lives revolved around four clearly defined seasons. In the spring, the sap flowed and, like delicate green lace, the buds emerged on the trees. The earth softened, warmed, and was made ready to receive seeds.
In early summer, cherries and luneberris including wild strawberries and raspberries' were gathered before the long stretches of and heat. As July temperatures soar, ears of corn quickly ripen on the stalks.
In the autumn, the trees become a brilliant red, yellow and orange foliage corn leaves and stalks faded to tan, pumpkins glow orange on the damp morning sun or sunset, and drying beans rattling in their shells. Women and children harvesting the fields and gather in crab apples used to flavor deer meat, and the last of the blackberries.
Watching the geese as they fly south and feeling chill winds from the west sweep over us

July 22, 2018
My first Blog. the last few days I've been doing research on a few different subjects. One is about the Mush Hole, the Mohawk massacre of 1943.
A few months ago my heart was set on writing a book on God and Country, Without God There is No Country. Now i have started looking in to the history of the Mohawk.




August 12, 2017

At the Dawn of the 20th Century

Native Americans were thought to be a vanishing race.However, despite four hundred years of warfare, deprivation, and disease, American Indians have not gone away. Countless thousands have lost theirs lives, but over the course of this century, (we are coming back) the populations of native tribes have grown tremendously. Even the ones struggling to adopt to modern western life, they have also kept their flames of our traditions alive. the languages, stories, and everyday ways of life. An exhilarating renaissance in the Native American culture is now sweeping the nation coast to coast.
I come from Indigenous blood. My bloodline comes from my mothers side. there is not much known about us. But is known is, we come from the Mohawk tribe. i thought i knew everything about our family. I was fooled! i found out that its not just being a member of a tribe its about knowing who you are inside.of yourself. i have talked with my mother and many times about our people. I've gotten a ear full. i have heard many stories growing up.
Despite the social and cultural of major nation, from early history of native peoples in North America to their present-day struggles for survival and dignity.
Historical or complementary photographs of traditional subjects, as well as the period are blended in half truths. throughout each article I amble to write so that readers may gain a sense of each Nations way of living. there  over 550 nations. No single person can comprehensively portray the intricate and vary the ways of life of an entire nation. there will never be enough paper or ink, not enough memory on any hard drive to get it all. i have found books dated back to the early 1700's, and thats bout it for now. i only hope that the young and the old people a like will come away with a deeper appreciation for this rich tapestry of Indian way of life- both past and the future, and a more interest to learn more about my people.

We can start here
Origins: a blend of lakes, rivers and forest the home country of the Iroquois is known for its strking beauty. Our story on how the world began. listen to the story. your mind will take you to another kind of reading all most the same.

"Turtle Island"

Long ago, before the Earth came to be a husband and a wife who were expecting a child lived in the sky. Sky World. in the center of the Sky World stood a great tree with four white roots stretching north, south east, and west in the direction of the wind. It was a sacred tree, not to be touched be anyone, from which grew many kinds of leaves, fruits, and flowers. One day the woman was gathering seeds and berries but also desired some bark from the tree. She pervaded her husband to scrape the bark for her, but he also dug at the root. The floor of the sky collapsed. Gazing into the opening, the husband and wife, were astonished that far below, there was only water and creatures who could live in or on it. Bending down for a closer look, the woman lost her balance and fell through the hole in the sky she had been caught by a flock of swans, which, flying wing tip to wing tip, they made aa feathery raft and carried her aloft.

But htere was no land, only water below in which swam with the fish and animals. the woman could nether fly nor swim, and the birds did not know what to do with her. Finally a turtle swam up and said,

"there is room on my back." So the swans gently placed her on its shell. Realizing that there must be earth on which the woman could live. the creatures of the world below plunged deep into the water searching soil. Again and a again they dove, but only the muskrat, could reach the bottom, it''s lungs nearly bursting, he brag up little mud each time he went down and came up.

"Place the earth on my back," the turtle said. The muskrat did so, and the woman began to walk in circles, in the same direction as the sun the mud grew and grew until it became Turtle Island, which is the Iroquois name for their_ home in the North America. the woman dropped the seeds and berries she had carried from the Sky World, and they sprouted into the plants and trees that now cover the earth. the woman later became

   HODENOSAUNE

pronounced:

(hoe-de-no-Show-nee)

"which means people of the long house"

this is what the Iroquois call themselves, and how the land people came to be.