| Kayanerenkó Wa: The Great Law of Peace Contributor(s): Williams, Kayanesenh Paul (Author) |
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ISBN: 0887558216 ISBN-13: 9780887558214 Publisher: University of Manitoba Press OUR PRICE: $37.00 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 2018 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Law | Indigenous Peoples - History | Native American - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies |
| Physical Information: 1.2" H x 6.7" W x 9.6" (1.90 lbs) 472 pages |
| Themes: - Ethnic Orientation - Native American |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Several centuries ago, the five nations that would become the Haudenosaunee -- Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca -- were locked in generations-long cycles of bloodshed. When they established Kayanerenk wa, the Great Law of Peace, they not only resolved intractable coinflicts, but also shaped a system of law and government that would maintain peace for generations to come. This law remains in place today in Haudenosaunee communities: an Indigenous legal system, distinctive, complex, and principled. It is not only a survivor, but a viable alternative to Euro-American systems of law. With its emphasis on lasting relationships, respect for the natural world, building consensus, and on making and maintaining peace, it stands in contrast to legal systems based on property, resource exploitation, and majority rule. Although Kayanerenk wa has been studied by anthropologists, linguists, and historians, it has not been the subject of legal scholarship. There are few texts to which judges, lawyers, researchers, or academics may refer for any understanding of specific Indigenous legal systems. Following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and a growing emphasis on reconciliation, Indigenous legal systems are increasingly relevant to the evolution of law and society. In Kayanerenk wa Great Law of Peace Kayanesenh Paul Williams, counsel to Indigenous nations for forty years, with a law practice based in the Grand River Territory of the Six Nations, brings the sum of his experience and expertise to this analysis of Kayanerenk wa as a living, principled legal system. In doing so, he puts a powerful tool in the hands of Indigenous and settler communities. |
Contributor Bio(s): Williams, Kayanesenh Paul: - Kayanesenh Paul Williams has been involved in protecting and explaining Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe and Wabanaki land, environmental and cultural rights for forty years, as negotiator, lawyer and historian. |