Kenneth Deer: Two Row Wampum welcomed in Netherlands

The Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign landed in The Netherlands.

In a ceremony under a Tree of Peace in the center of the Hague, Onondaga Faithkeeper Oren Lyons presented a replica of the Two Row Wampum to the Ambassador for Human Rights of the government of the Netherlands.

Lyons said, “The Dutch were the first to come to our territories and request a trade agreement. Our leaders observed that you were not going home any time soon. They suggested that rather than just a trade agreement, we should establish a relationship. This resulted in the Guswenta (the Two Row Wampum treaty). You in your ship and we in our canoe flowing side by side down the river of life in Peace, Friendship, for as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, as long as the waters flow downhill, and as long as the grass grows green. This is the grandfather of all subsequent treaties in North America.”