Kayanerenkó:wa: The Great Law of Peace

by Kayanesenh Paul Williams

Several centuries ago, the five nations that would become the Haudenosaunee—Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca—were locked in generations-long cycles of bloodshed. When they established Kayanerenkó:wa, the Great Law of Peace, they not only resolved intractable conflicts, but also shaped a system of law and government that would maintain peace for generations to come.

This law remains in place today in Haudenosaunee an Indigenous legal system, distinctive, complex, and principled. It is not only a survivor, but a viable alternative to Euro-American systems of law. With its emphasis on lasting relationships, respect for the natural world, building consensus, and on making and maintaining peace, it stands in contrast to legal systems based on property, resource exploitation, and majority rule.

Although Kayanerenkó:wa has been studied by anthropologists, linguists, and historians, it has not been the subject of legal scholarship. There are few texts to which judges, lawyers, researchers, or academics may refer for any understanding of specific Indigenous legal systems. Following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and a growing emphasis on reconciliation, Indigenous legal systems are increasingly relevant to the evolution of law and society.

In Kayanerenkó: The Great Law of Peace Kayanesenh Paul Williams, counsel to Indigenous nations for forty years, with a law practice based in the Grand River Territory of the Six Nations, brings the sum of his experience and expertise to this analysis of Kayanerenkó:wa as a living, principled legal system. In doing so, he puts a powerful tool in the hands of Indigenous and settler communities.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Indigenous, Sociology, Politics

609 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 26, 2018

Reviews

[John Workman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I intend to reread this book to ensure I grasp each detail that is proposed and brought together by Kayanesenh, my first read through has filled me with hope and certainty that the world many of us wish to rise up through the ashes of our time is not only possible through active maintaining of healthy relationships, it is inevitable if peace is sought by those with the will to ensure it. The story of the peacemaker has been one of the most interesting and significant mythologies I have ever read as it details within its metaphors the real historical success of a peaceful revelation in a blood-soaked land and it is through the perpetuation of such well thought out structures and stories that this revolution continues its success today despite the centuries of attempts by the ignorant and avaricious to destroy it; the foundations are indestructible. May the white roots of peace flourish through us those that continue on the message presented not only by Deganawii'dah but all the peacemakers in our collective history for we are all one family across the earth.

[MeerderWörter]

"By 1990, my perspective had matured and deepened. I understood, as the Maoris had in Aotearoa, that it is important to retain the original names for things, because English translations are never exact and often misleading. To me, the Iroquois Confederacy became the Haudenosaunee; the chiefs became rotiyanershon; and the Great Law became the Kayaneren'kó:wa. By 1990, I had also been personally transformed: I was now Kayanesenh of the Wolf Clan of the Onondaga Nation, and my wife and children Mohawks of the Turtle Clan." p.15

I won't write much about it, it feels to intimate in a sense as that I could dissect this book.

[Christopher Sudlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life altering dose of perspective, despite it's size by the time I was done I was left thirsting to know and understand more about now only the Haudenosaunee but of other clan and non-clan social systems to get a better feel for the alternatives that the indo-euroean culture spent a few hundred years trying to wipe off the face of the earth. Exquistely and gently compiled, Kayanesenh provides the different perspectives and versions and their historical contexts in a minimally judgemental manner. I really appreciate the care that went into creating this work.

[Damon Langlois · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was first drawn to this book because the US Constitution was based on the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace. After seeking information online I discovered this book and bought it to dig deeper. I was pleasantly surprised by the mythological and religious context revealed in this book. It was very inspiring in its lessons on how peace can be found among nations. I like to call it "extreme forgiveness." A must-read for its legal, philosophical, and historical lessons.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readable and generous introduction to Haudenosaunee law and its cultural and historical underpinnings.