On November 22, 1993, Indigenous leaders gathered for the United Nations Cry of the Earth Conference in New York City. The Haudenosaunee was represented by Tadodaho Leo Shenandoah (1915-1996), Clan Mother Audrey Shenandoah (1926-2012), Chief Jake Swamp (1940-2010) , and Faithkeeper Oren Lyons (1930-).
“It is prophesied in our Instructions that the end of the world will be near when the trees start
dying from the tops down. That’s what the maples are doing today. Our Instructions say the time
will come when there will be no corn, when nothing will grow in the garden, when the water will
be unfit to drink…We were instructed to carry a love for one another and to show great respect
for all beings of the earth…In our ways, spiritual consciousness is the highest form of politics…We
must live in harmony with the Natural World and recognize that excessive exploitation can only
lead to our own destruction. We cannot trade the welfare of our future generations for profit
now…We must stand together, the four sacred colors of man, as the one family that we are, in the
interest of peace. We must abolish nuclear and conventional weapons of war…We must raise
leaders of peace. We must unite the religions of the world as the spiritual force strong enough to
prevail in peace. We are the spiritual energy that is a thousand times stronger than nuclear
energy. Our energy is the combined will of all people with the spirit of the Natural World, to be
of one body, one heart, and one mind for peace.”
–Leon Shenandoah, Tadodaho
“When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know the
faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget
them.”
–Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper, Onondaga Nation