Iroquois Legends

In an ancient time, the Haudenosauneewere ruled by warfare and anarchy, and people lived in fear and hunger, preyed upon by powerful warriors and tyrants.

One day, a canoe made of white stone carried a man, born of a virgin, across Onondaga Lake to announce the good news of peace had come, and killing and violence would end. “Peace,” he said, “is the desire of the Holder of the Heavens. Peace comes when people adopt the Creator’s mind, which is reason.”

For years The Peacemaker traveled teaching the Path of Peace—that “all people love one another and live together in peace.” One by one he convinced each person, village and nation to accept his teaching. Hiawatha, an Onondaga, was his spokesman.

Onondaga Creation Story, Oral History

The Onondaga (Onöñda’gega’ or the People of the Hills) are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy.

In the beginning of the earth there was no land, just water.Birds and animals were just swimming around never having any land to rest upon. Skyland was way above this and in Skyland there was a Great Tree that was loaded with seeds.

Keywords: Origin of the Iroquois Nation iroquois nation six nations Iroquois legend american indian oral histories origin myth folklore five nations Tuscaroras Mohawks Oneidas Onondagas Cayugas New York Indians spirits of the sky world Pennsylvania indians southeastern Canada tribes oral creation story indigenous peoples myths legends About 1390, today’s State of New York became the […]