A Clan Mother's Call: Reconstructing Haudenosaunee Cultural Memory (SUNY series in Critical Haudenosaunee Studies)

Addresses the importance of Haudenosaunee women in the rebuilding of the Iroquois nation. Indigenous communities around the world are gathering to both reclaim and share their ancestral wisdom. Aware of and drawing from these social movements, A Clan Mother’s Call articulates Haudenosaunee women’s worldview that honors women, clanship, and the earth. Over successive generations, First Nation people around the globe have experienced and survived trauma and colonization. Extensive literature documents these assaults, but few record their resilience. This book fulfills an urgent and unmet need for First Nation women to share their historical and cultural memory as a people. It is a need invoked and proclaimed by Clan Mother, Iakoiane Wakerahkats:teh, of the Mohawk Nation. Utilizing ethnographic methods of participatory observation, interviewing and recording oral history, the book is an important and useful resource for capturing “living” histories. It strengthens the cultural bridge and understanding of the Haudenosaunee people within the United States and Canada. Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: The Call of the Earth Mother -- The Call of the Earth Mother -- 1 Setting the Context -- 2 The Epoch of Sky Woman -- The Creation Story -- Sustaining Creation (The Three Sisters) -- 3 Clans and the Epoch of the League -- Haudenosaunee Clans -- How a Clan Mother Came to Be -- 4 Crossover Ceremonies -- Life Stages -- Healing through Ceremony -- The Crossover Ritual for Young Women -- The Crossover Ritual for Young Men -- 5 Indigenous Strategies in the Global Arena -- Our Oldest Home -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1: Letter to Jeanette Rodriguez from Wakerahkats:teh, Bear Clan Matron -- Appendix 2: Tasks and Responsibilities of a Clan Mother -- Notes -- Works Cited -- About the Authors -- Index