“He organized the families into the clans, and then he set up the leaders of the clans. He established that the league of peace would be matrilineal and that each clan would have a clan mother. Thus, he established in law the equal rights of women. He raised the leaders of each clan, two men, one the principal leader and the second his partner. They were to work together for the good of the people. He called these two men “Hoyanah” or the “good minds”, the peacemakers: and they were to represent their clans in council. This, he established the principle of representation of people in government. Henceforth, he said, these men will be chosen by the clan mother, freely using her insight and wisdom and ratified by full consensus of the clans, chiefs and Grand Council of Chief of the Five Nations.”
What they never told us
By Oren Lyons
with the resources of the
American Indian Law Alliance
March 26, 1993
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