Gayanashagowa (Great Law of Peace)

Runners shall travel day and night. The mourning relatives members of the same clan are consoled by the members of the clan that sits opposite to them at the Council Fire. They also do the running to distant chiefs. When their own chief dies, then the favor is returned. If a chief dies and there is no candidate qualified for the office in the family of the women title holders, the chief of the Nation shall give the title into the hands of a sister family Kentennonteron in the clan until such time as the original family produces a candidate, when the title shall be restored to the rightful owners.

No chieftainship title may be carried into the grave. The chiefs of the League may dispossess a dead chief of his title even at the grave. Each chief and each clan mother represent a 'family" or a political family in the Clan. Makes it easy to reach decisions in Clan Councils.

The Chieftainship Titles have been in existence since the Confederacy was founded and must not be buried. Should any man of the Nation assist with special ability or show great interest in the affairs of the Nation, if he proves himself wise and honest and worthy of confidence, the Chiefs of the League may elect him to a seat among them and he may sit in the Council of the League.

He shall be proclaimed a Pine Tree, sprung up for the Nation, and be installed as such at the next assembly for the installation of chiefs. Should he ever do anything contrary to the rules of the Great Peace, he may not be deposed from office - no one shall cut him down - but thereafter every one shall be deaf to his voice and his advice. Should he resign from his seat and title, no one shall prevent it. A Pine Tree Chief has no authority to name a successor, nor is his title hereditary. The women heirs of each head chiefs title shall be the heirs of war chiefs title of their respective chief.

The war chiefs shall be selected from the eligible sons of the female families holding the chieftainship title. War Chiefs ruled absolutely over the nations when the Iroquois Confederacy was formed. They all became part of the 49 Chiefs in the new order devised by Deganawida, Founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. They became Peace Chiefs and anew order for protection and defense was devised and the new category of War Chiefs established and they included Ayonwehs for the Mohawks, Kahonwaitiron for the Oneidas, Ayentes for the Onondagas, Wenens for the Cayugas and Shoreratowaneh for the Senecas and these new War Chiefs took instructions and directions from the former rulers of the Nations.

They are charged with the protection, defense and welfare of the people. These duties may take many forms, such as keeping the peace, teaching, speaking to the people, repossessing lost lands,. There shall be one War Chief for each Nation and their duties shall be to carry messages for their chiefs and to take up arms in case of emergency. They shall not participate in the proceedings of the Council, but shall watch its progress and in case of an erroneous action by a chief, the War.

Chiefs shall receive the complaints of the people and convey the warnings of the women to him. The people who wish to convey messages to the Chiefs of the League shall do so through the War Chief of their Nation. It shall always be his duty to lay the cases, questions and propositions of the people before the Council of the League. When a War Chief dies, another shall be installed by the same rite as that by which a Chief of the Council is installed.

If a War Chief acts contrary to instructions or against the provisions of the Laws of the Great Peace; doing so in the capacity of his office, he shall be deposed by his women relatives and by his men relatives. Either the women alone or the men alone or jointly may act in such a case.

The Great Law of Peace (Gayanashagowa)

The women title holders shall then choose another candidate. The people of the Clans here show their power. The women title holders are, of course, the Clan Mothers. When the chiefs of the League take occasion to dispatch a messenger on behalf of the Council of the League, they shall wrap up any matter they may send and instruct the messenger to remember his errand to turn not aside, but to proceed faithfully to his destination and deliver his message according to every instruction. If a message borne by a runner is the warning of an invasion, he shall whoop: If a human is found dead, the finder shall not touch the body, but return home immediately shouting at short intervals "Koo-weh!

These Clans distributed through their respected nations shall be the. There are clans other than these among the S Nations. The Europeans, not being members of any of these Clans, have no right to own any land in this part of the world. People of the Five Nations who are members of a certain clan shall recognize every member of the Clan no matter what Nation, as relatives. Men and women, therefore, who are members of the same Clan are forbidden to marry.

The lineal descent of the people of the Five Nations shall run in the female line. Women shall be considered the Progenitors of the Nation. They shall own the land and the soil. Men and women shall follow the status of their mothers. The women heirs of the chieftainship titles of the League shall be called Oyaner or Otiyaner for all time to come. The Clan Mothers shall be called Oyaner.

Oyaner is derived from the word Oyana meaning "path ". Oyaner is the female "good path maker. Royaner means, "He makes a good path for people to follow. The women of the 48 now 50 noble families shall be the heirs of the authorized names for all time to come. When an infant of the Five Nations is given an Authorized Name at the Midwinter Festival or at the Green Corn and Strawberry and Harvest Festival, one in the cousinhood of which the infant is a member shall be appointed a speaker. He shall announce to the opposite cousinhood the names of the father and mother of the child together with the clan of the mother.

Then the speaker shall announce the child's name twice. The uncle of the child shall then take the child in his arms and walking up and down the room shall sing, "My head is firm; I am of the League. The "cousinhood" is the other Clan. The purpose of announcing the Clan of the mother is to point out the Clan of the child. A child is born a Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, etc. He is a Mohawk by blood and an Iroquois by law, for Gayanerekowa is also known as the Great.

Law, is the Constitution of the Kanonsonnionwe or the Iroquois Confederacy. By the same token, if an individual or a whole Nation leaves the Iroquois Confederacy and in time realizes their great error and decide to be reinstated, then would be required to go. If the female heirs of a title of a chief of the League becomes extinct, the title shall be given by the chiefs of the League to a sister family whom they shall elect, and that family shall hold the name and transmit it to their female heirs, but they shall not appoint any of their sons as a candidate for a title until all the eligible men of the former family shall have died, or otherwise have become ineligible.

If the Clan Mothers who hold a Royaner Title become extinct, the Chiefs of the Confederacy shall give the Royaner title to another of the three parties making up the clan, but they will not appoint a Royaner until all the eligible men in the former clan family have died. Which means that the Chiefs of the Confederacy can institute a new clan if necessary. If all the heirs of a chieftainship become extinct, and so all the families in the Clan, then the title shall be given by the chiefs of the League to a family of a sister Clan whom they shall elect. The chiefs shall take from a large clan and make a new clan or keep up the extinct clan so that the title shall not be lost.

If any of the Otiyaner women, heirs of a titleship, shall willfully withhold a chieftainship or other title and refuse to bestow it, or if such heirs abandon, forsake or despise their heritage, then shall such women be deemed buried, and their family extinct. The titleship shall then revert to a sister family or Clan, upon application and complaint. The chiefs of the League shall elect the family or Clan which shall in future hold the title. How political rights are lost by one of the three parties of a Clan when it's Clan Mother refuses to follow the rules of her position.

The Otiyaner women of the League, heirs of the chieftainship titles, shall elect two women of their family as cooks for the chief when the people shall assemble at his house for business or other purposes. When a chief holds a conference in his home, his wife, if she wishes, may prepare the food for the union chiefs who assemble with him. This is an honorable right which she may exercise and an expression of her esteem.

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The Otiyaner women, heirs of the chieftainship titles, shall, should it be necessary, correct and admonish the holders of the titles. Those only who attend the Council may do this and those who do not shall not object to what has been said nor strive to undo the action. When the Otiyaner women, holders of a chieftainship title, select one of their sons as a candidate, they shall select one who is trustworthy, of good character, of honest disposition, one who manages his own affairs, and supports his own family, if any, and who has proven a faithful man to his nation.

When the Clan Mothers "select one of their sons" it means one of the men in the Clan who has the proper qualifications.

Great Law of Peace

It does not necessarily mean one of their own natural sons, the Clan being a political family. When a chieftainship title becomes vacant through death or other cause, the Otiyaner women of the Clan in which the title is hereditary shall hold a council and shall choose one of their sons to fill the office made vacant.

Such a candidate shall not be the father of any chief of the League. If the choice is unanimous, the name is referred to the men relatives of the Clan. If they should disapprove, it shall be their duty to select a candidate from among their own number. If then the men and women are unable to decide which of the two candidates shall be named, then the matter shall be referred to the chiefs of the League in the Clan.

They shall decide which candidate shall be named. If the men and women agree to a candidate, then his. If the sister clans confirm the choice, they shall refer their action to the chiefs of the League who shall ratify the choice and present it to their cousin chiefs, and if the cousin chiefs confirm the name, then the candidate shall be installed by the proper ceremony for the conferring of chieftainship titles. Again, "one of their sons" means the eligible men of the Clan. A large bunch of shell strings, in the making of which the Five Nations League Chiefs have equally contributed, shall symbolize the completeness of the unions, and certify the pledge of the Nations, represented by the chiefs of the League of the Mohawk, the Oneida, The Onondaga, the Cayuga, and the Seneca, that all are united and formed into one body, or union, called the Union of the Great Law which they have established.

And the chief whom the Council of Firekeepers shall appoint to speak for them in opening the Council shall hold the strands of shell in his hands when speaking. When he finishes speaking, he shall place the strings on an elevated place or pole so that all the assembled chiefs and the people may see it and know that the Council is open and in progress.

Five strings of shell tied together as one shall represent the Five Nations. Each string shall represent one territory and the whole a completely united territory known as the Five Nations Territory.

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Five arrows shall be bound together very strong and shall represent on Nation each. As the five arrows are strong bound, this shall symbolize the complete union of the nations. Thus are the FiveNations completely united and enfolded together, united into one head, one body and one mind. They, therefore, shall labor, legislate and council together for the interest of future generations. When the Confederacy was formed, Deganawida actually demonstrated by taking one arrow and breaking it in half.

Then he took five arrows and tried to break it to show how strong the Five Nations can become. There are now the Five Nations League Chiefs standing with joined hands in a circle. This signifies and provides that should any of the chiefs of the League leave the Council and the League, his crown of deer's antlers, the emblem of his chieftainship title, together with his birthright, shall lodge on the arms of the union chiefs whose hands are so joined. He forfeits his title and the crown falls from his brow, but it shall remain in the League.

A further meaning of this is that if, at any time, anyone of the chiefs of the League choose to submit to the law of a foreign people, he is no longer in but out of the League and persons of this class shall be called, "They have alienated themselves" Tehonatonkoton.

Likewise, such persons who submit to laws of foreign nations shall forfeit all birthrights and claims of the League of Five Nations and territory:. This means that the Indians who follow the laws made by foreigners and it includes Canada's Indian Act and the United States Federal Indian Law have alienated themselves from their own nations. That is why an Indian such as a Mohawk who voted in the elections devised by the Canadian or United States governments have to be reinstated in a special ceremony to regain their lost Iroquois citizenship which they lost by the simple act of voting in the Canadian Band Council or United States Tribal Council elections, as well as voting in Canada's national or the United States national elections.

A bunch of wampum strings, three spans of the hand in length, the upper half of the bunch being white and the lower half black, and formed from equal contributions of the men of the Five Nations, shall be the token that the men have combined themselves into one head, one body and one thought, and it shall symbolize their ratification of the peace pact of the League, whereby the Chiefs of the Five Nations have established the Great Peace.

The white portion of the shell strings represent the women and the black portion of men. The black portion, furthermore, is a token of power and authority vested in the men of the Five Nations. This string of wampum vests the people with the right to correct their erring chiefs. In case a part of the chiefs or all of them pursue a course not vouched for by the people and heed not the third warning of their women relatives Wasenensawenrate.

Then the matter shall be taken to the general council of the Women of the Five Nations. If the chiefs notified and warned three times fail to heed, then the case falls into the hands of the men of the Five Nations. The War Chiefs shall then by right of such power and authority, enter the open Council to warn the chief or chiefs to return from their wrong course.

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If then an answer is returned in favor of justice and in accord with the Great Law, then the Chiefs shall individually pledge themselves again, by again furnishing the necessary shells for the pledge. Then shall the War Chief or Chiefs exhort the chiefs, urging them to be just and true.

At this point, the War Chiefs shall drop the bunch of black wampum and the men shall spring to their feet and club the erring chiefs to death. Any erring chief may become submissive before the War Chief lets fall the Black Wampum. The Black Wampum here used symbolizes that the power to execute is buried, but it may be raised up again by the men. It is buried, but when the occasion arises, they may pull it up and derive their power and authority to act as here described. So is the right to decide on war. The "War Chief shall order his men. A broad belt of wampum of thirty-eight rows, having a white heart in the center, on either side of which are two white squares all connected with the heart by white rows of beads shall be the emblem of the Five Nations.

The first of the squares on the left represents the Mohawk Nation and its territory, the second square on the left and near the heart represents the Oneida Nation and its territory, and the white heart in the middle represents the Onondaga Nation and its territory. It also means that the heart of the Five Nations is single in its loyalty to the Great Peace, and that the Great Peace is lodged in the hear meaning with Onondaga League Chiefs and that the Council Fire is to bum there for the Five Nations.

Further it means that the authority is given to advance the cause of peace whereby hostile nations out of the League shall cease warfare. The white square to the right of the heart represents the Cayuga Nation and its territory and the fourth and last square represents the Seneca Nation and its territory. White here symbolizes that no evil nor jealous thoughts shall creep into the minds of the chiefs while in Council under the Great Peace, White the emblem of peace, love, charity, and equity surrounds and guards the Five Nations.

Then shall the Chiefs convene in Council and discuss the impending evil. When all the truths relating to the trouble shall be fully known and found to be truths, then shall the people seek a tree of Kahnonkaahkona, the great swamp elm tree and when they shall find it they shall assemble their heads together and lodge for a time between its roots. Then, their labors being finished, they may hope for happiness for many more days after.

This is ancient man's way of warning the people to be ever on the alert to danger, discuss it and do something about it. When the League of the Five Nations Council declares for a reading of the belts of shell to mind these laws, they shall provide for the reader a specially made mat woven of the fibers of wild hemp. The mat shall not be used again, for such formality is called "honoring the importance of the law. The reading of the Great Law from the Wampum is very important and honorable. Some Indians won't read the Great Law in its written form because it says it should be recited every five years from the Wampum records.

That's the way it had to be done originally because there was no written language. Now that there is a written language, Deganawida would have certainly recommended and urged that the people read the Great Law often. There are chiefs who don't even know when they are violating the law because they refuse to read it in its written form.

Should two sons of opposite sides of the Council Fire agree istawa in a desire to hear the reciting of the laws of the Great Peace and so refresh their memories in a way specified by the Founder of the League, they shall notify Atotarho. He shall consult with five of his cousin chiefs and they in turn shall consult with their eight brethren. Then should they decide to accede to the request of the two sons from the opposite sides of the Council Fire, Atotarho shall send messengers to notify the chiefs of each of the Five Nations. When all have come and have assembled, Atotarho, in conjunction with his cousin chiefs, shall appoint one chief who shall repeat the laws of the Great Peace to the two sons.

Then the chosen one shall repeat the laws of the Great Peace. Atotarho's "five cousin chiefs" means those who sit opposite him in the Onondaga Council. It would seem that the Wampum reader repeats, that is, reads the Great Law twice, once to the two sons and then to everybody. At the ceremony of the installation of chiefs, if there is only one expert speaker and singer of the Law and the Song of Peace to stand at the Council Fire, then when this speaker and singer has finished addressing one side of the Fire, he shall go to the opposite side and reply to his own speech and song. He shall act for both sides of the Fire until the entire ceremony has been completed.

Such a speaker and singer shall be termed "Two-faced" because he speaks and sings for both sides of the Fire. People can become lax and negligent and suddenly find themselves without the right kind of speakers and singers. I, Deganawida, and the United Chiefs, now uproot the tallest tree skarenhesekowa and into the hole thereby made, we case all weapons of war.

Into the depths of the earth, down into the deep underneath currents of water Tionswatetsien flowing to unknown regions we cast all the weapons of strife. Thus, shall the Great Peace be established and hostilities shall no longer be known between the Five Nations, but peace to the United People. The Five Nations buried their weapons of war so they'll never fight and kill each other again and they haven't.

They only unbury the war club to execute a traitor. However, they did not bury the hatchet to all their enemies for they fought numerous wars and battles after the Iroquois Confederacy was founded and the Great Law was established. The father of a child of great comeliness, learning, ability or specially loved because of some circumstance may, at the will of the child's Clan, select a name from his own the father's Clan and bestow it by ceremony, such as is provided. The naming is only temporary and shall be called, "A name hung about the neck. Should any person, a member of the League of the Five Nations, especially esteem a man or a woman of another Clan or of a foreign nation, he may choose a name, bestow it upon that person so esteemed.

The naming shall be in accord with the ceremony of bestowing names. Such a name is only temporary and shall be called, "A name hung about the neck". A short string of shells shall be delivered with the name as a record and a pledge. This type of name giving is more serious as a string wampum and a pledge are involved. Should any member of the Five Nations, a family or a person belonging to a foreign nation submit a proposal for adoption into a clan or one of the Five Nations, he or she shall furnish a string of shells, a span in length, as a pledge to the Clan into which he or they wish to be adopted.

The Chiefs of the Nation shall then consider the proposal and submit a decision. Any member of the Five Nations, who through esteem or other feelings, wishes to adopt an individual, a family, or a number of families, may offer adoption to him or them, and if accepted, the matter shall be brought to the attention of the Chiefs for confirmation and the Chiefs must confirm the adoption. Anyone may adopt a person or many persons but must get official sanction by the Rotiyaner in Council.

Henceforth let no one of our Nation ever mention the original name or nation of their birth. To do so will hasten the end of our peace. The name of the adopted person's nation or birthplace must never be mentioned as it causes trouble or end of the peace. When a person or family belonging to the Five Nations desires to abandon their Nation and the territory of the Five Nations they shall inform the chiefs of their Nation and the Council of the League of Five Nations shall take notice of it. When a person or any of the people of the Five Nations emigrate and reside in a distant region away from the territory of the League of Five Nations, the chiefs of the Five Nations at will may send a messenger carrying a broad belt of black shells and when the messenger arrives, he shall call the people together or address them personally, displaying the belt of black shells and they shall know that this is an order for them to return to their original homes and to their Council Fires.

The soil of the earth from one end to the other is the property of people who inhabit it. By birthright, the Onkwehonwe, the original beings, are the owners of the soil which they own and occupy and non other may hold it. The same law has been held from the oldest times. The Onkwehonwe legal opinion is that the natives of America were the first humans on this land.

The originated in the land they live on and occupy and no foreigners have the right to take over the land. The so-called "conquest of America" is simply a bare-faced robbery of Indian land. The Great Creator has made us of one blood and of the same soil he made us, and as only different tongues constitute different nations, he established different hunting grounds and territories and made boundary lines between them. Each nation has a boundary line to stay within. Also no race of people has a "God given" right to invade other races.

When any alien nation of individual is admitted into the League, the admission shall be understood only to be a temporary one. Should the person or nation create loss or do wrong, cause suffering of any kind to endanger the peace of the League, the League statesmen shall order one of their War Chiefs to reprimand him or them. If a similar offense is committee, the offending party shall be expelled from the League. When a member of an alien nation comes to the territory of the League and seeks refuge and permanent residence, the Statesman of the Nation to which he comes shall extend hospitality and make him a member of the Nation.

Then he shall be accorded equal rights and privileges in all matters except as mentioned here. No body of alien people who have been adopted temporarily shall have a vote in the Council of the Chiefs of the League, for only they who have been invested with chieftainship titles may vote in the Council. Aliens have nothing by blood to make claim to a vote and should they have it, not knowing all the traditions of the League, might go against the Great Peace.

In this manner, the Great Peace would be endangered and perhaps be destroyed.

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The word "vote" is used here to mean "voice" as there is no voting or balloting in the National or Grand Councils of the Five Nations. Only the Rotiyaner have a voice in the Councils unless an individual is asked to speak by the Rotiyaner. When the chiefs of the League decide to admit a foreign nation and an adoption is made, the chiefs shall inform the adopted nation that its admission is only temporary. They shall also say to the nation that it must never try to control; interfere with, or injure the Five Nations, nor disregard the Great Peace or any of its rules or customs.

In no way should they cause disturbance or injury. Then shall the adopted nation disregard these injunctions, their adoption will be annulled and they will be expelled. The Tuscaroras were admitted into the Iroquois Confederacy in and given apiece of Oneida territory. It was too close to white settlements and they asked for land further away and were given land in Seneca territory. They are not a foreign Indian nation. They had found their way back to their own people. A different situation would exist if an alien Indian nation living in their own territory asked to join the Iroquois Confederacy which was the original plan of Deganawida, to have all Indian nations unite in one big alliance.

They never got beyond Five Nations. The Tuscaroras were not given a voice in the Grand Council and all other Indian nations seeking admission were given protectorate Indian nation status with no voice nor power in the Confederacy. This is not what Deganawida had in mind. Had his plan been followed, there would now be a mighty Iroquois Confederacy of more than nations with a country of its own. The missionaries take the credit for this failure to create a pan American Confederacy. They say they went all over America to all Indian nations and spread propaganda against the Iroquois Confederacy, especially against the Mohawks whom they consider the most militant and most able organizers.

Actually, it was the elitist Five Nations Chiefs who are responsible for the weakness of the Confederacy today. Whenever a foreign nation enters the League or accepts the Great Peace, the Five Nations and the foreign nation shall enter into an agreement and compact by which the foreign nation shall endeavor to persuade the other nations to accept the Great Peace. Skanawati shall be vested with a double office, duty and double authority.: One half of his being shall hold the statesman title and the other half shall hold the title of War Chief. In the event of war, he shall notify the five War Chiefs of the League and command them to prepare for war and have the men ready at the appointed time and place for engagement with the enemy of the Great Peace.

At the time the Confederacy was formed, all chiefs were war chiefs and this included Skanawati, Tekarihoken, etc.

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After the new order of things, the War Chiefs became apart of the National and Grand Council until they died and afterwards, the War Chiefs became a separate entity. When the Council of the League has for its object the establishment of the Great Peace among the people of an outside nation and that nation refuses to accept the Great Peace, then by such refusal they bring a declaration of war upon themselves from the Five Nations. Then shall the Five Nations seek to establish the Great Peace by a conquest of the rebellious nation.

There have been times when people were made good by force. No doubt the rebellious nation was acting aggressively. When the men of the League, now called forth to become warriors, are ready for battle with an obstinate opposing nation that has refused to accept the Great Peace, then one of the five War Chiefs shall be chosen by the warriors of the League to lead the army into battle. It shall be the duty of the War Chief so chosen to come before his warriors and address them. His aim shall be to impress upon them the necessity of good behavior and strict obedience to the commands of the War Chiefs.

He shall deliver an oration exhorting them with great zeal to be brave and courageous and never to be guilty of cowardice. At the conclusion of his oration, he shall march forward and commence a War Song and he shall sing:. The warriors choose the War Chief and they also choose which of the War Chiefs to lead them in the war. When the warriors of the Five Nations are on an expedition against the enemy, the War Chief shall sing the War Song as he approaches the country of the enemy and not cease until his scouts have reported that the army is near the enemy lines when the War Chief shall approach with great caution and prepare for the attack.

An Indian war is not all work and no play. There is entertainment before the action and after. When peace shall have been established by the termination of the war against a foreign nation, then the War Chief shall cause all the weapons of war to be taken from the nation. Then shall the Great Peace be established and that nation shall observe all the rules of the Great Peace for all time to come. Today many people prefer to call Columbus Day "Native American Day" to acknowledge the many thousands of natives who were in America before it was "discovered.

Many people today claim that America was founded on "Christian Values" though history shows that the conditions of "discovery" by Columbus and Conquistadors were far from the principles taught by Christ according to the New Testament. Currently, America spends 10 times more on military and war than on healthcare, housing, and education. We hear people talk of tax-dollars going towards healthcare, housing and education as if it is socialism, but we never hear of war as a socialist plot or an entitlement Regardless, I find it comforting and ironic to know that the founding principles of our republic were based on liberty and peace.

Their hearts shall be full of peace and good will, and their minds filled with a yearning for the welfare of the people of the League. With endless patience, they shall carry out their duty. Their firmness shall be tempered with a tenderness for their people. Neither anger nor fury shall find lodging in their minds and all their words and actions shall be marked by calm deliberation.

It also makes me wonder what our elections or foreign policy would be like today with that kind of respect, honor and statesmanship? Is it possible to love America, our roots and also recognize that we are part of a global community? Our polluted air and water flows across nation borders unrestrained, and our corrupt banking practices have shaken the foundation of the worlds economy.

Can we re-vision America and our planet with respect for the past while simultaneously incorporating peace along with the true ideals of liberty that include a responsibility to the greater community? Social, environmental, and economic responsibility to the whole would be an expression of ethical values regardless of any particular religion who claims to hold itself as virtuous. Strands of indigenous wisdom remain and are still strong in all of the Americas.