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FIRST NATIONS

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Bianca
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« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2009, 11:31:55 am »









Example to the United States



The Iroquois nations' political union and democratic government has been credited as one of the influences on the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution.

However, there is heated debate among historians about the importance of their contribution.

Historian Jack Rakove[ writes: "The voluminous records we have for the constitutional debates of the late 1780s contain no significant references to the Iroquois."

Researcher Brian Cook writes:

"The Iroquois probably held some sway over the thinking of the Framers and the development of the U.S. Constitution and the development of American democracy, albeit perhaps indirectly or even subconsciously... However, the opposition is probably also correct. The Iroquois influence is not as great as [some historians] would like it to be, the framers simply did not revere or even understand much of Iroquois culture, and their influences were European or classical - not wholly New World."

However, Cook concedes that much of the heated debate around the influence of Amerindians on the United States Constitution amounts to academic knee-jerk reactions and protectionist turf-wars. Cook further notes "The National Endowment for the Humanities rejected a number of research proposals that dealt with the Iroquois influence theory... [and] Johansen's first book on the Iroquois influence, Forgotten Fathers, was ordered removed from the shelves of the bookstore at Independence Hall."



Although their influence is hotly debated, it is a historical fact that several founding fathers had direct contact with the Iroquois, and prominent figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were closely involved with the Iroquois. Whether this was purely politics for protection or true admiration, perhaps can never be fully determined.

In 2004 the U.S. Government acknowledged the influence of the Iroquois Constitution on the U.S. Framers.

The Smithsonian Institution also noted the similarities between the two documents, as well as the differences.

One significant difference noted was the inclusion of women in the Iroquois Constitution, one group among many that the framers of the U.S. Constitution did not include.
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