The Great Law of Peace

“The Great Law of Peace” or “Gayanashagowa” was passed down orally along and through wampum belts for many centuries by the Haudenosaunee (“People of the Longhouse” or Iroquois). Since the nineteenth century, there have been. Many English versions published. For this edition, we have been many English versions published. For this edition, we have used the Arthur C. Parker version of the Great Law of Peace published in 1916 in the “New York State Museum Bulletin.” Parker’s work is widely regarded as one of the most important versions of the Great Law of Peace, as i was based on extensive fieldwork and consultations with Haudenosaunee, as well as the key principles and values that underpin their system of governance. Furthermore, Parker’s work has served as a primary source for subsequent studies of the Haudenosaunee, and their legacy, including discussions of the influence of the Great Law of Peace on the U.S. Constitution and other democratic systems of governance. As such, the Parker version of the Great Law of Peace remains an invaluable resource for scholars, researchers, and anyone interested in history and culture of the Haudenosaunee people.

We have included in this book the 117 laws themselves and not the narrative that precedes the laws. Versions of the narrative can be found online.

For the cover, we have chosen the traditional Haudenosaunee Colors of white, which represents peace, and purple, which represents chaos. The border on the cover was inspired by a wampum belt pattern.