Dekanawida, a semilegendary Native American leader, is credited with helping unite the five Iroquois tribes of northern New York in the late 1500s. According to legend, Dekanawida (whose name means "two rivers flowing together") a Huron prophet, was born near present-day Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Because of warnings that he would bring ruin to his people, his mother tried to drown him several times. However, on each occasion, he miraculously survived and reappeared the next morning lying next to her.
As an adult, Dekanawida left the Hurons and went south, where he met another legendary Indian figure, Hiawatha. Together with Hiawatha, he is credited with founding the Great League of the Iroquois, joining in a confederacy the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Onondagas, and Senecas. Considered the theoretician of the two leaders, he was also one of the first of the Pine Tree Chiefs, chosen by merit rather than by heredity. The two men developed a plan for uniting the five Iroquois nations into a single confederacy. According to legend, Dekanawida came up with the idea but was a poor speaker, so Hiawatha became the spokesperson. The Iroquois Confederacy later served as a model for founders of the government of the United States.
He is also listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.
Friday, March 14, 2008
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