Influential pws: Dekanawida
- Stamily
- May 9, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 22
Written by Jurjen
Did you ever hear of Dekanawida or, his nickname, "the Peacemaker"? Probably not. But after reading this text, you’ll come to know him as one of the foremost peacemakers of the 15th century, who, by the way, had a stutter as well.
Dekanawida is the founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. This was a unity between five and later six Native American nations. These six tribes were the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, Mohawks, and Tuscarora people. The Iroquois played for 200 years an important role in the North American colonial policy, until the American Revolution, where they chose British sides and lost most of their territory after the war. As of today, there are still around 60.000 Iroquois.
Dekanawida’s name means “Two River Currents Flowing Together”, which also reflects his mission to bring together people from warring tribes. He called, besides for unity, also for the end of cannibalism. Native Americans saw him as a spiritual leader or a prophet. Even today there are members from the Bahá’í Faith, who recognize Dekanawida as a Manifestation of God.
Deganawida was a great preacher, but because of his stutter, he used his follower Hiawatha as his main spokesman. Together they teamed up and brought unity. So, even though he had a stutter, he didn’t give his life-mission up and became a real influencer.
Note: Unfortunately, we don’t know much more about Deganawida’s personal life, as there is not much written history about him. It is even unsure when he exactly lived. However, his stutter has been mentioned in history.
Sources
C. Buck et al. (2015) Two Peacemakers: Baha’u’llah and Deganawida. From: https://web.archive.org/, last visited: 9/5/2020
Ellen Lloyd (2019). Hiawatha And The Legendary Great Peacemaker – Native American Heroes Who Founded The League Of The Iroquois. From: Ancientpages.com, last visited: 9/5/2020