White Roots of Peace

The Iroquois Book of Life

by Paul Wallace

"Be strong of mind, O chiefs: Carry no anger and hold no grudges. Think not forever of yourselves, O chiefs, nor of your own generation. Think of continuing generations of our families, think of our grandchildren and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground". (Deganawidah)

Paul Wallace retells the orally transmitted epic of Deganawidah, the Peacemaker, the charismatic spiritual leader who, over 500 years ago, brought warring tribes of the Northeast together to form the Iroquois Confederacy. The Peacemaker's work is preserved in the Confederacy's traditional constitution, which had a largely unacknowledged impact in shaping the American Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution. The Confederacy remains united under the Peacemaker's unbroken lineage, today represented by the Tadodaho (chief), the temporal and spiritual leader of the Six Nations. In his epilogue, John Mohawk chronicles the Confederacy's struggles to preserve its lands and sovereign dignity since the 18th century. The teachings of the Peacemaker remain vital today, offering an inspired model for consensus-building among nations and peoples throughout the world.

156 pp ~ illustrated — ©1994