About the HAUDENOSAUNEE
On this page, we share information about the Haudenosaunee, their culture, the colonial history, and the centuries-old relationship between the Netherlands and the Haudenosaunee. This encounter changed our lives, and we want to help raise awareness of their culture, worldview, and cosmology.
How we met
We shall know each other as brothers
We first came into contact with the Haudenosaunee during the creation process of the performance ATMEN (2023). In our search for new visions of the future, we were inspired by the Indigenous value of the interdependence of all species. This led to a spontaneous encounter with Neal Powless, the Indigenous trainer of the Dutch lacrosse team. He taught us about the gratitude ritual Ohen:ton Kariwatekwen, also known as “the words that come before all else.” In this ritual, all elements and forces of Mother Earth are thanked for their role in the universe. We translated these words into movement, making them part of ATMEN.
The connection continued to grow. In addition to being a trainer, Neal is also a storyteller and the founder of Indigenous Concept Consulting, an organization that shares Indigenous values with the world. At his invitation, we traveled to Syracuse (New York) in 2024 to get to know his community. There, we were welcomed with an Edge of the Woods Ceremony by a faithkeeper of the Mohawk people. Our eyes, ears, and throat were cleansed so that we could enter the community with an open and good mind. Afterwards, we were invited by Momma Bear—the head of the Mohawk Bear Clan—for a traditional dinner and a sweat lodge ceremony.
We immersed ourselves deeply in Haudenosaunee culture by attending gatherings (“powwows”), lacrosse matches, and visiting museums such as the National Museum of the American Indian and the Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center. During this trip, we met thought leader Michelle Schenandoah and playwright Ty Defoe, with whom we decided to create a performance together.
The Haudenosaunee
Neal, Michelle, and Ty belong to the Haudenosaunee: a confederacy of five, and later six, linguistically and ethnically related nations in North America and Canada. Haudenosaunee means “people of the longhouse,” referring to the elongated structures in which families and communities traditionally lived together.
The nations are: Mohawk (Kanien’kehá:ka) — Keepers of the Eastern Door; Seneca (Onöndowa’ga:) — Keepers of the Western Door; Onondaga (Onöñda’gega’) — Fire Keepers; Oneida (Onyota’a:ka); Cayuga (Gayogo̱hó:nǫ’); and Tuscarora (Skarù:rę’), known as the Younger Brothers, who joined in the first half of the 18th century.
To this day, the Haudenosaunee continue to fight for their right to exist, their sovereignty, and for recognition of the genocide committed against their people. They remain largely absent from political discourse and history education in the United States.
Websites
https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/
https://www.onondaganation.org/aboutus/
‘The words that come before all else’
An essential part of Haudenosaunee tradition is the practice of giving thanks and expressing gratitude, both in daily life and on special occasions. The Thanksgiving Address, also known as “the words that come before all else,” is spoken in Haudenosaunee languages at the beginning and end of social gatherings, ceremonies, council meetings, and at the start of the school day. It is not a prayer, but rather an expression of greeting and gratitude to the natural world.
The Indigenous author Robin Wall Kimmerer (Potawatomi) included the Thanksgiving Address in her book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Kimmerer is a botanist, writer, and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the State University of New York.
An ancient relationship
The relationship with the Haudenosaunee spans more than 400 years. With the arrival of the Dutch around 1624 via the Hudson River, European domination of the original inhabitants began. The Haudenosaunee welcomed the uninvited guests by making space for them in their home. For sixty years, the nations maintained a peaceful trade relationship, formalized in the Two Row Wampum.
This was followed by a dark period in which Indigenous people were systematically driven from their lands, stripped of their culture, and killed.
For a long time, Europeans failed to recognize the knowledge, customs, and wisdom of the original inhabitants. Indigenous people were portrayed as savage, ignorant, and animalistic. The understanding that Indigenous knowledge fosters a more balanced way of living with the Earth as our mother went unrecognized. Now is the time for us to listen and learn from the knowledge of those who came before us, in order to shape new stories for the future.
Two Row Wampum
“We will travel down the river of life side by side. Neither will attempt to steer the other’s vessel.”
To preserve their history, stories, and (moral) laws, the Haudenosaunee primarily rely on oral tradition. Important events and treaties are also recorded pictographically in belts made of shell beads.
The white belt with two purple rows visualizes the agreement to live alongside one another, without interference in each other’s culture, language, way of life, or cosmology. One purple row represents the Haudenosaunee in their canoe, the other the Dutch in their ships. The white space between them stands for Peace, Friendship, Forever. The Haudenosaunee regard the Two Row Wampum as the only agreement ever honored and respected by Europeans. This agreement remains valid and continues to hold great value as living heritage.
Interested in learning more?
The American podcast The Land You’re On (2023) is a 12-part series based on interviews and conversations with members of Indigenous communities and their allies. The series provides the context and perspectives needed to understand the complex history of the land we inhabit.
Produced by Access Audio, a storytelling initiative of the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University Libraries.
Rematriated Voices is een lokale televisie talkshow met Michelle Schenandoah. Productie: WCNY/PBS. Enkele afleveringen uit 2025 zijn online terug te kijken:
Rematriated Voices: Mother Law The Doctrine of Discovery
Rematriated Voices: First Environment
Rematriated Voices: Eve Meets Sky Woman
Rematriated Voices: Hidden Roots of Democracy
Rematriated Voices: Matrilineal Men
