Cornell University held a conference in 1987 on the link between the Iroquois Confederacy and the U.S. Constitution. The next year, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution recognizing the influence of the Iroquois League on the formation of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

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Chief Lyons is co-editor of Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations, and the U.S. Constitution. This book, written into the Congressional Record, presents the strongest case ever made for Native American sovereignty and has major implications for relations between Indian nations, the United States, and other nations. It has been adopted for courses at 12 universities.

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When the Peace Maker came to the Haudenosaunee, he instructed them in a democratic system of self-governing. The Founding Fathers of the United States used part of the Haudenosaunee tradition to form the U.S. government. The Haudenosaunee flag depicts the story of the White Roots of Peace and the foundation of Haudenosaunee Confederacy.