Creation & Confederation: The Living History of the Iroquois

Introducing a new book from The Wampum Chronicles!

CREATION & CONFEDERATION
The Living History of the Iroquois

by Darren Bonaparte

In addition to the wampum belts that form our archives, the People of the Longhouse have also recorded our history and culture in written documents. This Rotinonhsón:ni literary tradition reached its zenith in the 19th century, with the works of men like Joseph Brant, Major John Norton, David Cusick, J. N. B. Hewitt, Seth Newhouse, and John Arthur Gibson, to name just a few. They have preserved for us not only our creation story and epic of confederation, but the story of our own evolution.

About the Author

Darren Bonaparte is a Mohawk writer, artist, and storyteller from the territory of Ahkwesáhsne. He is the creator of The Wampum Chronicles website and a frequent speaker at schools and universities in the US and Canada. His writing has appeared in Aboriginal Voices, Native Americas, and Winds of Change magazines. In 2000, his community honoured him by electing him chief of the Mohawk Council of Ahkwesáhsne. He is the proud father of Jacob, Jade, and Elijah.

"Creation & Confederation" at Syracuse University

About the Illustrators

Some of the Mohawk artists contributing to this book are Dave Fadden, whose painting graces the cover, Natasha Smoke-Santiago, Teyowisonte Deer, Curtis Mitchell, Jr., and the author, Darren Bonaparte.

How to Order

Creation & Confederation: The Living History of the Iroquois is available in Ahkwesáhsne at Wild Bill's One Stop, Whispering Spirit, and The Akwesasne Library and Cultural Center Museum Gift Shop in Hogansburg. On the Canadian side of Akwesasne you will find it at the Canada Post Office and Kanonkwatseriio Medical Center in Kanatakon. It's also available at the Greenfire Gallery in the St. Lawrence Center Mall in Massena, Sharyn's Pantry at the Cornwall City Centre in Cornwall, Okwari Crafts, Tammy Beauvais Designs and Wolf's Den in Kahnawake, Iroqrafts in Six Nations, Buffalo Run Gift Shop in Salamanca, Wolf's Run Gift Shop and Seneca Nation Library in Cattaraugus, Six Nations Native American Craft Shop in Buffalo, Kanatsiohareke Gift Shop and Johnson Hall in the Mohawk Valley, and Hope Farm Press & Book Shop in Saugerties, New York. Other retail outlets will be posted here as soon as they become available. ( Dealer inquiries are welcome. Contact the publisher at 613-575-9985.)

We're also accepting orders via mail order and Paypal. Click here to visit our online bookstore!

Sample Chapters

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

I.    THE AGE OF CREATION

1.        The Valley of the Great Turtle
2.        Who Was Sky Woman?
3.        Have Astronomers Discovered Sky World?
4.        The Search for New World Symbols in Old World Mythology
5.        The Iroquois Literary Tradition
6.        The Children of Gaihonariosk
7.        The Golden Age of Giants, Monsters & Grand Confederacies

II.    THE AGE OF CONFEDERATION

8.        Dating the Iroquois Confederacy
9.        Thayendanegea on Confederation
10.      Teyoninhogarawen’s League Tradition
11.      Aionwà:tha and the Beautiful Talismanic Canoe
12.      Evolution of a Peacemaker
13.      Wilderness Messiah
14.      A Mischief Maker among the Wyandot
15.      Transplanting the Roots
16.      The Glooskap Legends

III.     THE WAMPUM CHRONICLES

17.    The Great Belts of the League
18.    The Aionwà:tha Belt: The Wampum that Inspired the Flag
19.    The Atotárho Belt: Presidentia of the Iroquois
20.    The Ever-Growing Tree Belt: A Prophecy in Wampum
21.    Raiders of the Stone Canoe

Media Center

For media release and downloadable photos of the author and book cover,
visit the media center.

If you've arrived at this page from a search engine,
click the graphic below to visit the Wampum Chronicles homepage.