In 1987, Cornell University held a conference on the link between the U.S. Constitution and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) which is the oldest living democracy and is still in upstate New York. The Haudenosaunee are a sovereign nation and travel on their own passport.

In 1988, Senate Resolution 331 acknowledged that, “The confederation of the original thirteen colonies into one republic was influenced…by the Iroquois Confederacy, as were many of the democratic principles which were incorporated into the constitution itself.”

​

Chief Lyons is co-editor of Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations, and the U.S. Constitution which has been adopted for courses at 12 universities. The Founding Fathers of the United States were inspired by 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.

See The Native American Source for the Declaration and the Constitution