May Day–Haudenosaunee Flag, Five Nations Flag. Photo by Flickr user Ryan [Metrix X]. May 1, 2013. Used under Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy lived across upstate New York and established Gayanashagowa (the Great Law of Peace), a governing framework passed down through centuries. It is often described as one of the longest continuous systems of participatory governance in the world, established in 1142. Its structure and principles have frequently been discussed in relation to the development of democratic ideas in the United States.

Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk), Onyota’a:ka (Oneida), Onondowa’ga:’ (Seneca), Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga), Onoñda’gegá’ (Onondaga), and Skarù:ręˀ (Tuscarora) were the six nations a part of the Confederacy. Though the original five —the founders of how the government operated— left out Skarù:ręˀ (Tuscarora) since they joined in 1722.

Territories of the People of the Long House in 1720. Map: Henry Louis Morgan. Geography and Map Division. 

They acted as six independent nations under one central government. They had representatives, called sachems. They met at the Grand Council of the Confederacy, where they debated and discussed a wide variety of issues, but a key difference in their form of government and the United States was that they debated until they reached a unanimous broad agreement that all nations agreed on (rather than the 51% “majority decides” from the United States).

A lot of what we see in how the United States operates its government, we also see in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The key fundamental ideas of the United States Constitution were influenced by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Key ideas that we see between the two include a central form of government, states having independence, a federalism approach, checks on power, representatives making decisions together, and more.

It’s also important to note that these ideas were not only influenced later by the Constitution itself, but also earlier during the formation of colonial unity and resistance to British rule. Even before Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” pushed the idea of independence from Britain, colonial leaders were already exploring ways of organizing cooperation between separate colonies, and working with the confederacy.

Even before the revolutionary war we saw influence. In the Albany Congress of 1754, where representatives from several colonies met with Haudenosaunee Confederacy leaders during negotiations —related to the French and Indian War— we saw early influence that they had on the colonies.

During this time, Benjamin Franklin played a major role in proposing the Albany Plan of Union. Franklin was aware of Haudenosaunee governance through treaty councils and diplomatic interactions, and he referenced their system when discussing the need for colonial cooperation. While the Albany Plan itself was not adopted, it shows that ideas of union among separate political bodies were already being seriously considered in relation to Indigenous political models.

During this time, Benjamin Franklin played a major role in proposing the Albany Plan of Union. Franklin was aware of Haudenosaunee governance through treaty councils and diplomatic interactions, and he referenced their system when discussing the need for colonial cooperation. While the Albany Plan itself was not adopted, it shows that ideas of union among separate political bodies were already being seriously considered in relation to Indigenous political models.

At the time, colonial representatives, including members of early congressional assemblies and later the First Continental Congress, attended treaty councils with Haudenosaunee leaders. They observed Indigenous diplomacy firsthand and recorded aspects of how the Confederacy functioned.

Even after the United States declared independence in 1776 and enacted its first centralized government under the Articles of Confederation, the structure of that government reflected ideas of union among independent states. The Articles focused heavily on state independence and a weak central government. While this system ultimately failed, it still shows an early attempt at creating a unified political structure without eliminating local sovereignty, that had major similarities to the Haudenosaunee.

The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to the creation of the United States Constitution, which shifted toward a stronger federal system. However, the core idea of balancing independent states with a central governing authority remained central to how the United States operates today. This idea is parallel to the way the Haudenosaunee Confederacy balanced independent nations within a shared council system.

The United States was also shaped by political ideas, including European Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, and documents like the Magna Carta. However, early American leaders had extensive direct contact with Indigenous political systems through treaty negotiations and diplomacy in North America.

In Sept. 1987, the United States Congress passed a resolution recognizing the influence of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy on the development of American government. The resolution stated that the original framers of the Constitution, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, were aware of the concepts, principles, and governmental practices of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy and that they held admiration for these systems.

This recognition is important because it formally acknowledges that Indigenous governance was part of the political environment that shaped early American thought. It does not suggest that the United States copied the Haudenosaunee system directly, but it does confirm that their political structure was known, observed, and considered during the formation of American government.

In the end, the United States Constitution was influenced by a wide range of sources. Indigenous systems like the Haudenosaunee Confederacy provided real-world examples of how independent nations could unite under a shared governing structure. Because of this, the Haudenosaunee should be credited properly on their influence on how the United States government operates today, and everything the U.S. adopted.