Over the course of 3 days, Theresa Bear Fox taught us a song which we presented to Sun and Moon at the time of the eclipse.
You can hear the song and see highlights of the journey of your wampum belt in the YouTube video.
We are grateful to the Rematriation team who facilitated the meaningful Rekindling The Fire Of Our Sisterhood gathering at Ganondagan Historical Site on the territory of the Seneca Nation.
Kahstoserakwathe (Paulette) created a very special podcast at the sisterhood gathering. Hear the voices of women who attended in this special podcast.
Hear the podcast on the Aunties Dandelion website: https://the-aunties-dandelion.simplecast.com/episodes/eclipse-2024-with-co-host-kaluhyanu-wes-michelle-schenandoah-rematriation-PIFU9tVK
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-aunties-dandelion/id1503856408?i=1000651775067
The Aunties Dandelion (TAD) is a media company informed by traditional Onkwehón:we (original peoples') teachings. They make films, a monthly podcast, and we educate through public presentations and consultation services. They're passionate about sharing stories and perspectives of Indigenous changemakers who connect us to our languages, places, and each other.
Website: https://www.theauntiesdandelion.com/
Full Solar Eclipse 2024
On April 8, 2024, all of our Haudenosaunee nations were on the exact path of a full total solar eclipse.
There is no evidence researched where this exact eclipse path has happened since the stories of Kayanarekówa and this path is not predicted past the year 3000.
See resource page and images/links on this page: Eclipse 2024
At the time that we joined together to ratify the Kayanarekówa (Great Peace), a total eclipse darkened the skies so deeply that the nocturnal animals woke to encircle and witness the calm of the people who unified under the Great White Pine. As our brother the Sun re-emerged from behind the kindness of Grandmother Moon, all Onkwehonwe were awakened with a new sense of unity and we intend to walk in that state of unity until the end of time.
This full solar eclipse was a monumental time for the Haudenosaunee reminding us of of why we put down our weapons and gathered under the Great Pine for the inception of the confederacy and the embracing of Kaianere'ko:wa/Kayannere'ké:wa/Gawyehnehshehgowa/Kayanla Kówa/Gayanesra:gowan, or Great Law of Peace.
It was a time to revisit the travels of Peacemaker, retell the story of Sky Woman and recapture the serenity of her descendant, Tsiokonsaseh (Mother of Nations, Mother of Peace).
In this dangerously violent world, it is a time to remind ourselves how we came to be of Good Mind. We call on her.
In it's totality, the eclipse path crossed Turtle Island; passing over Mexico, United States, and Canada. Maps are here.
Sun + Moon; An Eternal Relationship
This is a monumental love affair. As a full Grandmother Moon rises during the late evening of March 24 into the early morning hours of March 25, she will travel through Mother Earth’s penumbra, or the faint outer part of her shadow; a penumbral eclipse. She is dancing for Brother Sun! Playfully hiding before their intimate connection on April 8th.
She will eclipse both Mother Earth and Brother sun exactly 2 weeks apart! There is also a meteor shower on the next Full Moon (April). So this a lot to absorb and think about. I'll be very interested in how everyone responds, how the waters change and the people show up for each other.
Call for peace. Call for attention to the Sky World. Look up and acknowledge the messages from Spirit World. It couldn't be any clearer that we need to take action now.
World peace and heightened unity around loving the environment that sustains us is vital.
What can you do? INSPIRE others! If all you can do is worry about your little corner of the world then ask everyone to do the same - every safe & happy corner matters. Love your community, see everyone as valuable and give them all reason to contribute to making their space happy and safe.
See each other as the Moon sees the Sun; vastly different and equally important.
Konorunkwa, I adore you.
The oldest continuing democracy in the world is based on
a matrilineal order founded on a system of a foundational mother named, Tsiokonsaseh. Five warring nations united in peace over one thousand years ago.
"We, The Rotinoshonni, are a people who have continued to adhere to principles and philosophies entrenched within our very own existence, that of which is the Kaianerekowa, also referred to as the great law of peace or the constitution of the Haudenosaunne (Iroquois) Confederacy.
The Kaianerakowa or Great Law of Peace is a natural body of principles which is complete and supersedes that of the United States and Canada “De facto” Constitution. We have continued to adhere to the Kaienerekowa through our diplomatic relation and cycle of ceremonies.
We will forever, continue to uphold our responsibility of protecting the land and water for the use and enjoyment of our future generations, as long as the sun shines and the grass shall grow."
Haudenosaunee women have equal political power
in the governance of the people and absolute control over their bodies to choose if, when, and how they would birth. She is the foundational law that is central to all facets of society within the first democracy known to the world.
More than a century ago the suffrage leaders had never experienced such an equality. It was Haudenosaunee women who taught suffrage leaders the social safety, political power, and spiritual balance of gender equality. The suffrage diaries contain examples of independence and describe the ceremonies that grounded their vision and led the way to Seneca Falls.
Women ceremonies of the Haudenosaunee are as old as the moon and rarely shared
There is an underlying consciousness in the hearts of all people - all races, all religions, all spiritualities that recognize ONE MOTHER, the earth.
By restoring the heart of the Mother, we become ONE PEOPLE, ONE PLANET, with ONE PURPOSE.
Natural Law, Natural Order.
From the heart to the muscle.
When you live in a feminine world there is LOVE, there is EQUALITY, there is BALANCE…
NO MAN GOES HUNGRY.
Protect her and she will provide.
This is not a comprehensive list of images, language or research. Nor are the stories or descriptions written by scholars (with the exception of cited research links). This site is meant to be general information and condensed stories for those who are interested in beginning their learning journey and/or seek a better understanding of the 2024 eclipse and the matrilineal ways of the Haudenosaunee. You may also find spelling and language discrepancies, please encounter them with an open mind to the fluidity and complex nature of our dialects and language.
At the time that we joined together to ratify the Kayanare(n)kówa (Great Peace), some say that a total eclipse darkened the skies so deeply that the nocturnal animals woke to encircle and witness the calm of the people who unified under the Great White Pine. As our brother the Sun re-emerged from behind the kindness of Grandmother Moon, all Onkwehonwe were awakened with a new sense of balance and unity and we intend to walk in unity until the end of time.
Some kononkwe (women) are weaving the significance of the eclipse at the time of Kayanarekówa into the one that happened in 2024. In this world of war, we are reminded of the monumental role that Peace Mother, Tsiokonsaseh played in establishing unity, equality and peace among the nations.
We are calling in peace now and we are elevating Peace Mother and our voices to call for reunification.
Foundational to Haudenosaunee identity is the transmission of feminine knowledge, social structures and diplomacy and we have found a time and place to recapture that way of understanding; under the sky, hand in hand, in song and in a display of effeminate matrilineal power.
"Woman is the first environment. In pregnancy, our bodies sustain life. At the Breast of women, the generations are nourished. From the bodies of women flows the relationship of those generations both to society and the natural world. In this way the earth is our mother, the old people said. In this way, we as women are earth"
Katsi Cook, Mohawk Midwife, Akwesasne
