[IPSM] Indigenous Peoples Message for Peace

[hhazel at gmail.com]

http://www.ddh.nl/pipermail/wereldcrisis/2003-April/004012.html

Indigenous Peoples Message for Peace
2003-03-20

POLISHING THE SILVER COVENANT CHAIN: A STATEMENT OF PEACE AND
FRIENDSHIP TO THE WORLD

WE ALL HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR

The Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship is a metaphor used to describe the
interdependent relationship between nations. At certain times it must be
polished to remind us of our responsibilities to live in peace with one
another.

****

We, as women of the Haudenosaunee Mohawk Nation, wish to ask the world
to help us uphold our sacred responsibilities to the next Seven
Generations. We have a responsibility to remind all mankind that there
is a way to bring all people together into a universal peace plan. It
is made for all people - It is the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace.
Our law is not new. It was in use for centuries before the Europeans
came to colonize us. It was used as a basis for the Constitution of
the United States (Con. Res. 76, 2 Dec.1987) which in turn served as a
basis for the Charter of the United Nations. We and our honorable male
supporters, wish to remind the world of this important fact. We ask
for our law to be recognized and used in this time of crisis.

We want to remind the 'democratically' elected representatives that they do
not have jurisdiction to go against the will of the people. George Bush and
Tony Blair are just individuals. They must stop their misrepresentation.
They must stop bullying their people into killing others. We are all
interdependent and equal - We all have a voice.

With this voice comes rights and responsibilities. Using basic principles of
the Great Law of Peace, our voices can be heard once more. It is time for
the PEOPLE to stand together and speak up. We must draw on the principles of
Peace, Power and Righteousness.

PEACE:

According to our law we can recall our sons and daughters if we decide that
killing others is not necessary. And so today, we ask all soldiers to be
brave. Follow the will of the people. Lay down your arms. Do not follow the
commands of tyrants.

POWER:

We have the power to stop the war.

RIGHTEOUSNESS:

According to our law, war must never be used for the mass-destruction of
other nations. The soldiers must listen to the people. They must not take
part in the war. They must pay attention. They must obey their own hearts
and do what is morally right. George Bush and Tony Blair only have power if
other people give it to them.

We don't want young men and women to follow military orders into an abyss -
an abyss of environmental destruction and death.

George Bush and Tony Blair are violating the Great Law of mankind by not
consulting the people. They are making decisions in private. They are
considering only their own interests. They are not respecting the
sovereignty of other people. They are taking unilateral action and demanding
support. They are rattling their sabres without opening the door to
egalitarian discussion. They are taking aggressive actions against other
states when they should be sending out invitations and welcoming people to
talk about matters of mutual concern.

Remember, true democracy does not stem from one man alone. George Bush is
only the commander in chief of the United States army. Tony Blair is only
the Prime Minister. In a true democracy such a person cannot decide the
agenda and lead the discussion. Among our people, a war chief cannot even
take part in the discussions of the people. He can only take direction. He
only has the power to carry out the will of the people.

We call on the American people to reclaim democracy and overthrow tyrannical
power. We call on the people of Britain to let Tony Blair know that you do
not agree - Raise your voices!

We have a term in our language, "te ho te ri wa kwen ten", which means "they
have pushed matters to a ridiculous extreme putting everything out of
balance". This is the kind of time we are living right now.

To all our relations, to the natural world, to all spirits in the universe,
we send out our invitation. We must polish the covenant chain together. We
must remove the tarnish and all dark thoughts. We must link our hands
together in friendship. We must keep balance in the world.

Kahn-Tineta Horn, Haudenosaunee, grandmother, mother

Kahente Horn-Miller, Haudenosaunee, mother

Karonhioko'he, daughter

Kokowa, daughter

Grace Li Xiu Woo, sister, aunt and cousin.

If you want to join hands with us, please sign and send this message to
George Bush, president at whitehouse.gov; Tony Blair, uk at un.int; the
United Nations Security Council, chinamission_un at fmprc.gov.cn,
france at un.int, president at gov.ru, Temporary UN Security Council members,
Pakistan at un.int, spain at un.int, contact at germany-un.org, and anyone else you
would like to join our circle of peace and friendship. We would especially
like to invite Sadaam Hussein to join our circle too. Please pass along his
email address to us.

orakwa at paulcomm.ca

****************************

I hope you will take a moment and read this, it is also part of my Cree
teachings. In Unity, Shirl


Moccasin Makers and War Breakers
A call to action by the women of the world.
We have the power to stop the war!

"Before the men can go to war, the women must make their moccasins."

In the tradition of our ancestors, it was customary for the women to make
the moccasins worn by the men who were going to war. If the women did not
want war, they did not make the moccasins.

Our ancestors belonged to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Europeans called
them Iroquois.

We overcame a horrible legacy of war and violence when Deganawida, the
Peace Maker, gave us our Great Law of Peace. The United States Senate
has acknowledged that our law served as a model for the Constitution
of the
United States (U.S. S. Con. Res. 76, 2 Dec. 1987). The U.S. Constitution
was, in turn, a model for the Charter of the United Nations. Our law is the
basis of modern international law.

The Americans copied our laws and customs, but they did not understand them.

Our ancestors recognized the sovereignty of all men and women by solving
community conflicts through discussion in a People's Council. In our
tradition, three criteria must be kept in mind through all deliberations:

1) Peace: meaning peace must be kept at all costs.

2) Righteousness: meaning decisions must be morally right taking into
consideration the needs of seven generations to come.

3) Power: meaning the power of the people must be maintained including the
equal sovereignty of all men and all women.

Conflicts between nations were also resolved through diplomacy and
consensus. War - or the use of violence- was only a last resort. Even then,
the women and children of the opponents were spared.

Throughout, our ancestors always respected the other nation's different
customs, laws and ways of life, whether they approved of them or not. They
would work out agreements on how to live side by side. Therefore we have
stood by and not become involved in this current conflict. But we see now
that it has gone too far. Innocent lives and mother earth is at stake. As
women and caretakers of this earth, we have decided to speak up.

According to the law of our ancestors, the soil of North America is vested
in the women. Serious decisions about warfare had to involve the other half
of the people - the women - the bearers of life, the nurturers of the earth.

We are now facing an unnecessary war.

We have a duty to use our power to do good. We have decided to remind all
humanity of this important truth. War cannot happen without the support of
women.

We ask the women of the world to come forward and play their rightful role
as the progenitors, the creators of all men, of all humanity, the caretakers
of the earth and of all that lives upon it.

As women, we know the pain and suffering of childbirth. We feel a deep loss
when our children die. This understanding compels us to act to stop the
destruction of lives. The children must not suffer. Not our children. Not
the children of anyone we disagree with. We respect the sovereign and sacred
right of each individual to live on this earth.

We ask you, the women of the world, and the men who support us, to come
forward and stop this madness.

This decision to go to war will cause the deaths of thousands of innocent
men, women and children. It is a decision that has been made primarily by
men without the input of the people of the nation, without the input of the
women.

Most of these men have grandmothers, mothers, wives, girlfriends, sisters,
aunts, daughters, nieces, granddaughters, nannies, etc. We are asking all of
these women to put pressure on these men - men like President George Bush,
Colin Powell, Senator Rumsfeld, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Saddam Hussein,
Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Ariel Sharon, the Palestinians, the North
Koreans and anyone else who is involved in causing the current threat to
destroy the world.

Women, bring your men to their senses.

Women, remember your power. Remember your responsibility.

Every person has personal power. We must all use our power to do good.

We must stop the war.

We must maintain the Peace.

We must hold back the moccasins.


Kahn-Tineta Horn, Mohawk mother & grandmother

Kahente Horn-Miller, Mohawk mother

Karonhioko'he, Daughter

Kokowa, Daughter

Grace Lix-xiu Woo, Aunt & Sister

To send comments or for more information, please contact
orakwa at paulcomm.ca