The History Lab
← Unit 1 sources

PRIMARY SOURCE TEXT

Excerpt from the Great Law of Peace

I am Dekanawidah and with the Five Nations' Confederate Lords I plant the Tree of Great Peace. I plant it in your territory, Adodarhoh, and the Onondaga Nation, in the territory of you who are Firekeepers.

Roots have spread out from the Tree of Great Peace, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. The name of these roots is The Great White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength.

Great Law of Peace, as recorded and translated by Arthur C. Parker (1916), sections 1–2

The Great Law was first preserved through Haudenosaunee oral tradition. This is a short excerpt from one English written version, so historians should study it alongside Haudenosaunee explanations.

SOURCE 04 · Oral tradition recorded in writing

Words from the Great Law of Peace

Date & context
The Great Law was preserved orally for generations before written versions were recorded. Its founding date is debated; the Tree of Peace artwork shown here is modern.
Where
Haudenosaunee Confederacy

The Great Law of Peace is the constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. It explains the roles of leaders, councils, clan mothers, and nations while emphasizing peace, responsibility, and careful decision-making.

Learn from the Haudenosaunee source: Onondaga Nation; artwork by Oren Lyons ↗

STEP 1: OBSERVE · QUESTION 1 OF 2

What does the speaker say is being planted?