Little Hills and Beautiful Basket
The Story of Grand Council at Onondaga
by Dehowӓhda·dih- Brad Powless
“Watch out Little Hills!” said Harvest Leaves.
Little Hills wasn’t paying attention. She was busy practicing her dance moves for the upcoming green corn ceremony.
Little Hills lives in the homeland of the Onondaga. Where the council fire for the entire Haudenosaunee burns.
“Where are you off to?” she hollered to Harvest Leaves who was running and was carrying two strings of wampum in his hand.
“Nation business. I’m off to invite the Cayuga and the Seneca to Grand Council. Cool Water is heading east. He is going to invite the Oneida and the Mohawk,” said Harvest Leaves as he turned around the corner of the longhouse and ran toward the setting sun.
Little Hills watched as she saw Harvest Leaves as he got smaller and smaller as he ran across the corn fields then disappeared into the woods towards the setting sun.
“Ohh,” whispered Little Hills quietly to herself. “I love Grand Council time.”
Little Hills knew exactly where to go next. She ran as fast as she could to see her Clan Mother, Beautiful Basket. Beautiful Basket was the Turtle Clan Mother of the Onondaga people. She had a lot of responsibility and duties but always found time to talk to little Feather. Although Beautiful Basket wasn’t actually Little Hills’ grandmother, she treated her as if she was, just like all of the children who lived in Little Hills’ longhouse.
“Clan Mother!” Little Hills ran up to Beautiful Basket and gave her a big hug. “Is it true that we are going to have a Grand Council?”
Beautiful Basket brushed her silvery hair back behind her ear and gently reminded Little Feather, “Is that how we greet each other Little Hills? Our Elder Brother, the sun, greets us every day with gentle warmth. It is a good lesson to learn.”
She was right. Little Hills and Beautiful Basket greeted each other, expressing their thankfulness that they were well and were able to enjoy the gifts the Creator has given.
“Yes Little Hills,” her Clan Mother began. “You did see our runners leave for the other Good Men of the Haudenosaunee to come to Onondaga for a Grand Council.”
“Why? It must be important for the other leaders to come and meet,” said Little Hills.
“That is true,” answered Beautiful Basket. “Our brother, the Mohawks, have an issue for all of our fires. They have encountered new people living in the woods along the River that Flows Both Ways.”
“New people? Like babies?” inquired Little Hills.
Beautiful Basket laughed, “No, no. It’s people that we’ve never seen before. These new people look and talk differently. They behave differently than we do. And the Mohawks believe that they want to stay.”
“They want to live in our longhouses?” wondered Little Hills.
“We will find out in ten days when the Grand Council begins,” replied her Clan Mother. “Now aren’t you supposed to be doing your chores?”
Little Hills Feather quickly skipped out of the longhouse, but the thoughts of Grand Council filled her head. She loved seeing the different Good Men from the other nations when they came to Onondaga. They spoke different languages than the Onondaga, but mostly she could figure out what they were saying.
There are 50 Good Men of the Haudenosaunee: fourteen from Onondaga, nine from Oneida and from Mohawk, ten from Cayuga, and eight from Seneca. The Onondaga village was busy preparing for all of the people coming for the Grand Council. But every now and then, Little Hills would see Beautiful Basket in deep and quiet conversations with Equal Words. Equal Words was the leader of the Turtle Clan; he was a Good Man. He was selected by Beautiful Basket to be their voice in council. He was a great, thoughtful speaker, but he also knew how to make Little Hills laugh. She thought that he truly was a good man.
The day of the Grand Council finally was here. The Good Men from all of the nations have arrived. Some of them brought their families on the trip. Onondaga was bustling with energy, just like Little Hills imagined. The Good Men and the Clan Mothers began to gather inside the longhouse. Little Hills snuggled alongside Beautiful Basket’s dress and slipped into the longhouse to listen.
Among the fourteen Good Men sitting as Firekeepers of the Grand Council was Equal Words. He was sitting next to Tadodaho, the overseer of the Grand Council. Tadodaho welcomed the Other Good men with our Thanksgiving Address. He gave thanks to all of the gifts the Creator has given us and reminded the Good Men to use a Good Mind in making decisions for the future generations of the Haudenosaunee.
Now the meeting could begin. Tadodaho spoke for the Firekeepers, the fourteen Good Men of the Onondaga. He announced that, if the council agreed, we will hear from the Mohawk.
Sitting together are the Mohawk and Seneca Good Men. They are the Older Brothers of the Haudenosaunee. Together they sit on one side of the fire. A speaker is chosen for the Older Brothers. Today, he is a Good Man from the Seneca. After a brief discussion, he stood up and sent a message across the fire that they would hear from the Mohawk.
On the other side of the fire sit the Younger Brothers, the Good Men of the Cayuga and the Oneida. They listened to what the speaker of the Older Brothers said. They then began to discuss what they heard among themselves. Then an Oneida Good Man stood up; he stated across the fire that they had agreed to hear what the Mohawks had to say.
The Older Brothers received what the Younger Brothers had to say. After a brief discussion among the Older Brothers, the Seneca speaker then reported to the Firekeepers that they, too, agreed with the Younger Brothers to hear what the Mohawks had to say.
Little Hills watched as Equal Words and the other Good Men from Onondaga talked among themselves. Tadodaho then stood up to say that the Council was of One Mind; the Firekeepers had also agreed to listen to what the Mohawks had to say.
“Why don’t we just let the Mohawks talk?” asked Little Feather to Beautiful Basket.
“This is the process that the Peacemaker gave us so long ago,” Beautiful Basket quietly instructed. “It is our way that our leaders are of one mind to make decisions. It is a very important step in making mindful decisions.”
A Mohawk Good Man rose as the longhouse grew silent in anticipation about what he would say about the people who arrived on the river. As he spoke about the new people that the Mohawks saw, Little Hills’ head was full of pictures of wonderment. He told about what these new people looked like: Their skin was the color of strawberry flowers, they had long hair on their faces, spoke in different words he had never heard before, they wore hats made of shiny rocks, they carried thunder sticks, and their vessels were so large that large skins caught the wind to push their vessel quickly through the river.
The Mohawk speaker then asked the Younger Brothers if they should drive these people away or begin peace talks with these new people. The Mohawk speaker said that they might have some useful things to trade. The Mohawk speaker sat down and Little Hills saw the Younger Brothers immediately begin to talk quietly about what they just heard. During that time, the Onondaga Firekeepers and the Older Brothers patiently waited.
The Cayuga speaker for the Younger Brothers stood up and began to speak. Little Hills didn’t understand what he was saying. When he finished sending their decision across the council fire to the Older Brothers, Little Hills quickly and quietly asked Beautiful Basket, “What did he say?”
As the Older Brothers were now in discussion among themselves on what the Younger Brothers had said, Beautiful Basket explained:
“Our Younger Brothers suggest that we continue the ways that the Peacemaker laid out before us. The Peacemaker instructed us that if people want peace, they can find it here under the Great Tree of Peace. If these new people are willing to follow the ways of the Haudenosaunee, they can stay. They also reminded us, if there is to be an agreement, that it is our custom to make a wampum belt for our future generations to remember what occurred.”
“What will the wampum belt look like Beautiful Basket?” asked Little Hills.
“Not so fast Little Hills,” said Beatiful Basket. “The other benches have yet to have their say on the matter.”
Just then, the Seneca speaker for the Older Brothers stood up. He recommended to the Firekeepers that they accept the Younger Brothers’ decision that had been sent across the fire.
The Onondaga Firekeepers then began to discuss what the Elder Brothers and the Younger Brothers had agreed upon. Little Feather watched as Equal Words listened and then shared his ideas with the other Good Men from Onondaga. Tadodaho then stood up an addressed the entire Council:
“The Younger Brothers and Older Brothers have agreed that the Mohawks should begin to talk to these new people to see if they are agreeable to the Great Peace that the Peacemaker has given us. We accept this decision as well. We should listen well to each other to make sure we make a wampum belt that represents our agreement. Now our Council is of One Mind. Go back to your council fires to share what took place today.”
Little Hills was excited and a little nervous. Would these people understand us? Would they leave or would they stay?
“What do you think will happen?” asked Little Hills to Beautiful Basket.
“I think Equal Words and I will be talking soon about today’s meeting and what to do next for the best for the people and our children not yet born,” said Beautiful Basket.
“I think there will be peace,” said Little Hills.
“We all hope so,” said Beautiful Basket as they walked out of the longhouse together. “But let’s eat. All of this thinking has made me hungry.”
Little Hills hugged her Clan Mother and smiled, “I’m hungry too, but I can’t wait to dance tonight. Do you think we will have a social dance?”
“Yes, Little Hills, we will dance,” said Beautiful Basket smiling. “Everyone knows how much you love to dance, especially Harvest Leaves who told me how much you like to practice.”
About the story:
The Onondaga sends out a runner with an invitation wampum to each of the other Nations. The runner hands over the wampum announcing the matter that will be discussed to each Nation. The Nations then bring the wampum back to Onondaga.
In the language of the Onondaga, the male leaders of the clan are called Hoyá•ne’ or Good Men or Chiefs. They make decisions for the people and are the voice of their clans. The Good Men are to keep in mind the future as their decisions that are to be made will benefit the Seventh Generation yet unborn.
Clan Mothers are important in Haudenosaunee culture. A clan is passed down through the mother, therefore the Clan Mother considers all in her clan to be part of her family. Clan Mothers have the responsibility of raising Good Men of their clans. Each works in Council with her Good Man to speak for their clan.
The Grand Council has three benches, the Firekeepers (14 Good Men), the Older Brothers (18 Good Men), and the Younger Brothers (18 Good Men). When a matter comes before a bench, the bench must all agree on their decision before it gets sent to the next bench. A bench can disagree on a decision and restart the process, but must give a good reason to do so. If a decision requires a longer thought process, the Council will sleep on it before a decision is made. Once a speaker has the floor, he cannot be interrupted with questions or remarks until he sits and yields the floor.
In 1613, the Dutch and Haudenosaunee made an agreement called Ga•sweñta or the Two Row Wampum. This agreement described how we are to live forever side by side down the river of life—neither one trying to steer the other’s vessel for as long as the grass grows green, the water runs downhill, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The belt is white with two purple rows running side by side.
All of these events continue to occur at Onondaga when the Grand Council meets.