thanks Andy for resending the link. As a student of the Iroquois Confederacy, I’m always so heartened to see people honoring the oldest living participatory democracy. Indeed the US Constitution was modeled after the Iroquois model of governance thanks to Benjamin Franklin - a quaker. During the Constitutional Convention, Franklin left the window open so that the Iroquois could hear the proceeding and then counsel Franklin in the evening. Unfortunately, our white forefathers left out the rights of women, children, people of color and mother earth herself. Slavery remained intact. Franklin understood the seeds of conflict sown, but went as far as he could with his peers. The story is told in the book, Franklin listens when I speak. It can be purchased tribe of two press . com
Unfortunately, even after feeding George Washington at Valley Forge and sharing their wisdom with the US government, white encroachment continued after the founding of the U.S. In an attempt to survive, the Iroquois decided to try becoming more recognizable to white people. They decided to formally denounce their ‘old way of decision making’ and move to the majority rule practiced by the US. The Keeper of the Old Ways was Bright Spring. She fled for her life and was saved and protected by Quakers living nearby that she knew. Ultimately she adopted a quaker man to be the next keeper of her 10,000 year old oral history. So the link between Quakers and Iroquois is strong. I would attach the story, but it won’t let me include a google link