The Two Row Wampum Treaty
The Two Row Wampum treaty belt, or Guswenta, is the Haudenosaunee record of the first treaty between Europeans (in this case the Dutch) and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, whose traditional lands extend throughout most of so-called New York State. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy (“People of the Long House”, also called Iroquois by French settlers) consists of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tonawanda Seneca, and Tuscarora Nations. These are all sovereign nations. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy issues its own passports and has never become part of the United States. The Onondaga, Cayuga, Tuscarora and Tonawanda Seneca nations also still follow their traditional forms of government and, unlike other Indian nations, they are independent of the U.S. government and its Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
The Two Row Wampum was agreed upon in 1613. This treaty emphasizes that the Haudenosaunee and the Europeans are equal but separate political entities and establishes a framework by which they can live in proximity and enter into an economic relationship. It outlines an inspirational vision of different sovereign peoples living together in friendship and peace on the same land.
The Haudenosaunee recorded the treaty in a wampum belt with three rows of white and two rows of purple beads made from quahog clam shells. One purple row represents the Haudenosaunee in their canoes and the other represents the Europeans in their ships, each carrying their way of life, culture and government (thus the Two Row Wampum). They agree in the treaty to travel down the river of life together, in peace and friendship forever, with neither attempting to steer the other’s vessel or damaging the shared environment. The parallel lines of purple beads never intersect, indicating that the Europeans and the Haudenosaunee will never interfere with each other’s affairs. The three rows of white beads represent peace, friendship, and forever. The purple rows begin on the left after a column of white beads, but extend off the end of the belt on the right, indicating that the belt remains unfinished. This symbolizes that this agreement is to last “as long as the grass is green, the water runs down hill and the sun rises in the east and sets in the west,” with each new generation adding to the agreement/belt.
The Two Row is the foundation on which all the other treaties made between the Haudenosaunee and European newcomers were based. The Haudenosaunee continue to uphold the Two Row and call on our people to get our governments to live up to its visionary, multicultural, ecological vision.
Check out this 9 minute video about the Two Row produced by Seneca educator Peter Jemison.
Learn more on our website.
Upcoming Events:
Witness to Injustice Experiential Workshop
Saturday, June 1, 1:30 to 4:30 pm
Erie Canal Museum, 318 Erie Blvd E, Syracuse, NY 13202
Witness to Injustice is a unique three-hour interactive group educational experience. It uses an experiential, participatory model to share the disturbing history of what Indigenous Peoples have experienced through colonization with a focus on the experience of the Onondaga Nation and other Haudenosaunee Peoples. The program seeks to foster truth, understanding and respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the part of the world now known as the United States; especially in the territory stewarded by people of the Onondaga Nation and other Haudenosaunee peoples. The program is facilitated by Onondaga Nation citizens and non-Indigenous allies. Witness to Injustice is a project of Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation / Syracuse Peace Council. The program is free and open to the public. Look for sign up information in coming months.
Monthly Events:
NOON Steering Committee Open Meeting. Next meeting Tuesday, October 24, 7-8:30 PM. Please contact Lee Cridland, Peace Council Staff, for more info.
Indigenous News:
Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ Legal Defense Fund Launches: Justice for an Indigenous People – Learn how to support their efforts to reclaim their sovereignty from a rogue “leader” supported by the U.S. government.
Indian Boarding School Bill Seeks to Create Accountability, Healing
In Upstate New York, Native Efforts to Protect Flora and Fauna Are Flourishing
The American Museum of Natural History to Close Exhibits Displaying Native American Belongings
‘Genocide Bowl’: Activists to protest Super Bowl teams
Lily Gladstone wins historic Golden Globe for best actress
Stand for Indigenous Land Justice: Stop STAMP – Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer calls on state and federal governments to stand behind their commitments to environmental justice, and stand with the Tonawanda Seneca Nation in their fight to STOP the STAMP. for the Big Woods, and for Indigenous land justice.
Lacrosse Is Coming to the Olympics. Will Its Inventors Be There? – The Haudenosaunee Team is not currently eligible for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Places to Visit:
Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center, 6680 Onondaga Lake Pkwy. Liverpool, NY 13088. Skä•noñh is a Haudenosaunee Cultural Center focused on telling the story of the native peoples of central New York. Now open from 10am-4pm Wednesday-Friday, and 11am-4pm on Saturday.
Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community, 4934 State Highway 5. Fonda, NY.
Ganondagan State Historic Site, 7000 County Road 41 (Boughton Hill Road) Victor, NY 14564. Bark Longhouse open May-October.
Seneca Iroquois National Museum, 82 W Hetzel St. Salamanca, NY 14779.
Iroquois Museum, 324 Caverns Road. Howes Cave, NY 12092.
About Us:
NOON works on the territory of the Onondaga Nation,
Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) is a grassroots organization of Central New Yorkers which recognizes and supports the sovereignty of the traditional government of the Onondaga Nation. A program of the Syracuse Peace Council, NOON supports the right of Indigenous Peoples to reclaim land, and advocates for fair settlement of any claims which are filed. We are always looking for more folks to join our work in Central New York. Learn more here.
Firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
We express our deep gratitude to the Onondaga Nation for caring for these lands, waters, and all our fellow beings since time immemorial.
We offer heartfelt apologies for the terrible violence that colonizers have carried out against the Onondaga People and Nation, including theft of land and attempted genocide. We are thankful for their perseverance and survival. We commit ourselves to working in solidarity with the Onondaga Nation to protect their sovereignty and create a shared, sustainable future for all life.
