Read to Me from… The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address (2019)

From EarthToTables.org: The Haudenosaunee Confederacy (known as the Iroquois Confederacy in French or as Six Nations in English) begin every gathering by offering greetings and thanks to all the elements of life that sustain us. This ritual brings everyone into the space with a good mind, ready to listen and learn.

Here, Mohawk language professor Ryan DeCaire and Mohawk food leader Chandra Maracle offer the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen or Thanksgiving Address in both Mohawk and English.

On Read to Me, we practice the essential, joyous skill inside great writing — listening. We listen for what we love in the work, and then put words to why it's so, so good

Today, we revisit a 2019 episode on the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World, also called, in Mohawk, Ohénten Kariwatékwen: Words Before All Else.

This Address’s legacy is much bigger than the United States Thanksgiving tradition. People of the Haudenosaunee nations recite it before ceremonial and governmental meetings. Their civic life grows again and again from acknowledgment of the natural world, relationship to it, and gratitude for it.

Is it ok for a white reader, which is me, to recite and explore the Address? Yes. There is ample documentation that the Haudenosaunee nations offer it broadly to the world.

Thank you to the bevy of voices who helped me recite the Address in 2019. You remain magical.

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Excerpted from HaudenosauneeConfederacy.com.

Called the Iroquois Confederacy by the French, and the League of Five Nations by the English, the confederacy is properly called the Haudenosaunee Confederacy meaning People of the long house. The confederacy was founded by the prophet known as the Peacemaker with the help of Aionwatha, more commonly known as Hiawatha. The exact date of the joining of the nations is unknown and said to be time immemorial making it one of the first and longest-lasting participatory democracies in the world.

The confederacy, made up of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, was intended as a way to unite the nations and create a peaceful means of decision making. Through the confederacy, each of the nations of the Haudenosaunee is united by a common goal to live in harmony. Each nation maintains its own council with Chiefs chosen by the Clan Mother and deals with its own internal affairs but allows the Grand Council to deal with issues affecting the nations within the confederacy.

Ohénten Kariwatékwen translation from EarthtoTables.org. There are a number of variations.

Each day, when there is an important matter at hand, we must give thanks. We will give thanks for all he has created and prepared for us here on the earth and in the sky. This is called the matter before all else. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the people on the Earth, that they are still tending to their responsibilities so that peace can be possible on earth. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the earth, that in her kindness she still continues to provide us with her strength, for this is what we need to continue to live peacefully upon her body. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the water, that we still have waters to cool our bodies, quench our thirst, and wash away pollutants in the earth. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of fish that live in the water, that they still clean the waters, and that we are able to use their meat to sustain us. So let it be in our minds

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of plants growing on the planet: the grasses, roots, and shrubbery, that we depend on when we are in hunger, and that heal us when we are ill. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of insects. He has created many different types of insects on the earth. They are connected to the beautification of the earth, so that things may come along peacefully. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of sustainers, to the many kinds of fresh foods that grow in the gardens we plant. We also give thanks to the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of berries (hanging fruits) of the earth in which we eat, that we use to make juice, and that we use to sustain ourselves. We also give thanks to the strawberry, who was chosen by the creator to be the leader of the berries/fruit. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many forests, and the leader of the trees, the maple. That we are still able to use it to make our homes, to keep us warm when it is cold, and that we are still able to use it to sustain ourselves. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of birds on the earth, and the leader, the eagle. That we are still provided with their strength. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of animals that wander the forests. That we still see them running about the forests, that they are still us with their skin, and their meat to sustain ourselves. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the four winds: north, south, east and west. That they are still working together so that we can breathe. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to our grandmother the moon, that her face still illuminates the night, making sure that it will be peaceful here on earth. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to our elder brother sun, that he is still providing us with his strength. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the stars that shine in the sky, that they still show us the way we should go when we are lost. So let it be in our minds.

We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the creator. We remember that he is the one that created and prepared everything we depend on to live. This is why we bring our minds together to thank him. So let it be in our minds.

Now I have put the words of thanksgiving through.

If I have forgotten anything, it falls to each of you here to continue to complete it. Now it is time for us to open up the matter, and start the matter at hand.