ABSTRACT
About forty generations ago, the Iroquois of upstate New York received a message of peace, power and unity that formed the basis of what is called The Great Law of Peace. This Great Law served as the founding constitution for the Six Nations Iroquois confederacy. The oral tradition surrounding the formation of this confederacy and its procedural requirements were encoded in a series of sacred belts and strings of tubular shell wampum beads assembled about 1,000 years ago. Messages, beliefs, and hopes were spoken into these belts as a way to preserve their power for future generations. Through this wampum, the Iroquois were connected to previous generations and acted as a cultural bridge to future ones.
