For Educators and Students

HAUDENOSAUNEE GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is pleased to bring this guide to you. It was written to help provide teachers with a better 
understanding of the Haudenosaunee. It was written by staff at the Museum in consultation with Haudenosaunee scholars and community members. Though much of the material contained within this guide may be familiar to you, some of it will be new. In fact, some of the information may challenge the curriculum you use when you instruct your Haudenosaunee unit. It was our hope to provide educators with a deeper and more integrated understanding of Haudenosaunee life, past and present. This guide is intended to be used as a supplement to your mandated curriculum. 

There are several main themes that are reinforced throughout the guide. 
We hope these may guide you in creating lessons and activities for your classrooms. 

The main themes are:

  • The Haudenosaunee, like thousands of Native American nations and communities across the continent, have their own history and culture. 
  • The Peacemaker Story, which explains how the Confederacy came into being, is the civic and social code of ethics that guides the way in which Haudenosaunee people live — how they are to treat each other within their communities, how they engage with people outside of their communities, and how they run their traditional government. 
  • Haudenosaunee people give thanks everyday, not just once a year. The Thanksgiving Address, or Gano:nyok, serves as a daily reminder to appreciate and acknowledge all things. The Gano:nyok reinforces the connection that people have to the world around them. Portions of this address are introduced in this guide. 
  • Haudenosaunee culture, like all cultures, is dynamic and has changed over time. ​

Support Our Outreach

​In gratitude for your (potential) contribution, we would like to explain what this means to our mission and our culture, which in turn enriches the understanding of all who are touched by our programs.
 
We seek to create a conscious awareness of the importance of the Virginia Indians, past and present.  The legacy of this body of people is present with us today on many levels. This legacy that has passed to us offers an example of a system of living in harmony with nature along with a lifestyle imbued with the values of family, community, and connection to the Earth.
 
As an extension of our living history, we believe in and recognize the importance of nature in art. The arts so poignantly and powerfully reflect the connection of all people to the land.  This is especially critical in the education of youth as it allows them to participate, and continue in, the tradition of appreciating nature (enough to one day save its future). It enables future generations of all backgrounds to connect to the living land they live and grow on. Exposure to nature through art is like a magical lens through which people of all ages and especially youth may see the fabric that binds us all together as we live as one human race on the one home we call the Earth.  
Pay Pal
or 
Mail Checks or Money Orders to:
Please consider mailing a check to avoid Pay Pal Fees to:
​Sanctuary on the Trail at P.O. Box 123 Bluemont VA 20135.
Knowing the value of nature helps to further the appreciation for the indigenous people who served to protect and watch over it. This cultivates a positive awareness of the depth of indigenous culture. That is why our support to teachers is so important and can make such a great difference to the children they teach.
 
At this time more than ever, we are at risk of losing the understanding of indigenous ways of life and what they stand for.  The impact of funding cannot be over-stressed in its ability to help.  It provides to us the support necessary to enable the educational development for both teachers and students.  It provides the means of preserving a heritage valuable to all.