Written by Maarten Oversier The hidden meaning of 400 years of friendship The Dutch and the - beyond historical facts

When the Dutch and the Mohawks first met at the east coast of

what is now the of America in 1613, they entered

into an alliance of friendship for ‘as long as the grass grows green,

the sky is blue and the rivers flow’. This year, exactly 400 years

later, we commemorate their pact, the ‘Two Row Wampum Treaty’.

Even at a governmental level this historical fact is acknowledged

– as is the fact (to a lesser extent) that we fail to meet the

commitments agreed upon in this timeless treaty.

1 However, what is passed over entirely is the deeper message that lies hidden in it. To what extent must the crisis deepen before we start seeing the enormous potential in this old friendship? Quite possibly it holds the key that may help redirect our present society, now caught up in turmoil.

Western people associate their identity with political and economical systems that now seem to have become meaningless. Our spiritual development, as a consequence, is still in its infancy. Luckily, a growing number of people start recognizing the fact that indigenous peoples from all corners of the world, by keeping their traditions, culture, knowledge and manners of living alive, may well provide an update for our spiritual poverty. Centuries ago, these civilizations saw in their prophecies and traditions the dawning of our current crisis. What they saw as well, was the need for people in our day and age to revive, as one, the original values in life, society is built. It seems as though all ancient civilizations by joining forces in friendship. In so doing, we may learn possess one part of a giant jigsaw puzzle, a puzzle that to understand the fierce processes of change currently points out to us that earth can’t be ruled by mere causing worldwide disruptions on many levels, and how technology and ratio. Over centuries our intellect has to deal with them. Could it be that our Dutch and Indian developed into a male, dominant ruler whose weapon is ancestors hid a key in an old treaty? A key revealing more the left hemisphere of our brain. He, however, is past his than just anecdotes about trade in beaver hides and peak, although he won’t admit to that lightly. ‘The end of mysterious bead necklaces? the world’ has become a popular phrase for a reason, no matter how over-simplified is has been explained and interpreted. The primeval puzzle As early as the days of Atlantis, people were building The very word ‘calendar’ immediately brings to mind the specifically shaped temples in order to guide cosmic association of a practical division of time. An ordering of energies orbiting planet Earth, and to store universal years, months, weeks and days emanating from a system knowledge for future times. Ages ago, civilizations created dating back to Roman times, when the word ‘calendar’ calendars containing incredibly precise instructions for us, meant ‘cashbook’. Once it becomes clear that the Maya people living in our current age. In different parts of the are in possession of calendars that chart matters far more world traditional medicine associations guarded their extensive, this concept is hard to grasp initially. Old ideas knowledge of healing and ceremony for future turned into convictions and need to be cracked, in order generations, other tribes passed on the knowledge of the to allow for different ways of thinking. Ours is an era that mind, the universe and the dream world through witnesses the massive collapse of old convictions. Our turbulent times. Telepathically ‘The Wise Ones’ were ‘crisis’ appears to be nothing but a turbulent period of connected both with each other and with extraterrestrial pregnancy out of which multiple new perceptions will be intelligences in a way which would embarrass our present born. The mother, sensing this beforehand, shakes off all gsm-network. They created and maintained a screen of lumber and makes way for her yet unborn child, as it won’t energetic fields around the planet, meant to protect be able to grow in a cradle of disruption. against destructive spheres of influence. In other words: Not only the Mayan calendar, also several other they were concerned about the health of Mother Earth’s mystical sources provide us with information that quite aura, as an energetic therapist might do in the case of differs from the information upon which our current human beings.

2 The representatives of these ancient nations – at times key figures from all corners of the world took the plunge referred to as ‘primitive’ by present day intellectuals – and traveled beyond the boundaries of their native soil know how important it is to support Mother Earth lovingly to share their knowledge, symbols, traditions and rituals. in this difficult phase of her evolution. Now more than Also, many reincarnated key figures participate once more. ever, we are living times of immense change. And the And they all serve the same purpose: to rouse people from storm hasn’t calmed down yet. The more pieces of the their players’ fuddle. puzzle we recognize and are able to connect, the sooner the larger picture will reveal itself, showing us clearly the Accidental discoveries? course we need to steer. Particularly during the last decades, all over ‘accidental’ and trendsetting discoveries concerning these keys are Monopoly made. One after the other shocking clue on heaven and In order to escape from the eye of the ‘all-seeing’ earth reveals itself, bringing entirely new insights. Take inquisition, the old Cathars hid their revelations on dark Egyptian pyramids, for instance. In core these structures practices of the mighty Catholic church in symbols and turn out to be immense councilors for mankind, rather secret messages. In doing so, the revelations became than ‘mere’ imposing memorial stones for Egyptian faraos, hints only to be understood by people of a specific level as we were taught in school. Indian dream catchers, often of conscience – the tribes and ancient civilizations didn’t misunderstood entirely, turn out to be wheels of medicine leave their precious clues to be understood easily. Also in containing a source of universal knowledge for everyone our age exist power empires that would rather not have to feed upon. People are more and more aware of the fact the primeval puzzle revealed, and therefore frustrate its that Mother Earth is lavishly covered in plants containing discovery. In order to keep people ignorant in this respect, ‘free’ healing power for every condition. And the beautiful they invented a game that is much like Monopoly. The wampum belts, symbolic bead belts of Canadian and game board is the earthly stage; its human inhabitants are American Iroquoian people, contain keys as well. It’s the players. Now that players are sufficiently entangled in buying, selling, debt and wealth and have by now fully and implicitly internalized the rules of the game, no-one realizes anymore that in fact they have fallen victim to the inventors of the game. Everyone has become dependent on the bank and with that, the goal is achieved. The inventors of the game are happy as long as everyone takes part in their game, and slowly they shrewdly adjust the rules, sending the players ‘back to start’ on a regular basis, and keeping them imprisoned in the game. However, behind this game of Monopoly hides a whole different truth. And now is the time to discover it.

Keys and key figures

The clues handed to us by the ancient tribes are like keys to open spheres of experience making manifest the farce of the game. The so-called wisdom keepers, key figures in indigenous peoples, know this. For the purpose of the survival of mankind they were entrusted with the responsibility to guard over the original knowledge on life. Now that the world is under threat of reaching a deadlock by extreme quantities of rules (shrewdly replaced by laws), patents, restrictions and penalties, now that the Earth is exhausted and people are tired of the game, wisdom keepers present their knowledge. Over the past decades,

3 about time we Dutch strengthen the friendly ties with the one for each important, meaningful event. Wampum belts Iroquois and do our part in making the treaty vital and are seen as sacred power objects. They are keys in the dynamic once more. communication with ancestors and future generations – provided they are treated justly. The belts are made of beads of clam shell (wampum), which are said to contain Some thoughts on spirituality energetic powers that ‘remember the essential’. They Modern man – please, let it be ‘old fashioned’ soon – provide a communication platform between generations focuses on intellect and mental satisfaction. His is the not restricted by death. The seemingly simple symbols assumption that wisdom is gathered by sufficiently contain life values and lessons, and represent timeless studying matters intensively and repeatedly. He assumes information gathered over generations, preserved and the same applies to spirituality, which in his eyes is just guaranteed in its purest form. Because of this transmission another area of expertise to be ‘understood’. However, of the essence there is no need to re-invent the wheel time spirituality is a world of experience that can’t be truly and time again – knowledge may be used as a leg up to understood by merely defining it mentally. No matter to new incarnations. Currently chiefs bear the responsibility what lengths one might go to try and explain the taste of to translate the old messages to the present time. They an apple, the listener will still lack the actual experience. know wampum belts only bear truths that can never be The ‘thinker’, therefore, will not easily recognize the nature interpreted and used for political conflicts of interest. What and meaning of a key if he or she is face to face with it. could be their meaning now, four centuries later? Mind overshadows spiritual essence. Most frequently finds are studied and interpreted within existing paradigms, Holy secret with all their limitations. Next the findings are put into archives, and then disappear as archeologically fascinating ‘The sacred became the secret.’ Ken Maracle Haohyoh, items in a showcase, accompanied by a stack of facts on faith keeper of the Cayuga nation of Iroquois, summarizes the site of the find, its material and historical information. things poetically, and adds: ‘The spirit is captured in a tin’. However, the soul of the object remains preserved and We are discussing different views on Indian legacy as we inactive, much like a spirit in a bottle. cruise the Six Nations Reserve, some 120 kilometer south of Toronto, Canada, in his huge cylinder pickup truck. I feel as if we are galloping our horses over the dirt track, a trail The Two Row Treaty – the friendship treaty with of dust in our wake. ‘There is the rational and the spiritual the Dutch view. Some white people visiting, often know more facts The friendship treaty the Dutch and the Iroquois (or about the history of our peoples than we do ourselves,’ ‘Haudenosaunee’, as they call themselves) struck up Ken explains. ‘Most books on Indians are written by non- four hundred years ago contains an important key. The natives. Questioning the authenticity of their content is Iroquois Confederation consists of six influential tribes fully justified at times. The so-called facts in the books (the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and are based on interpretations, twists, trivializations and Tuscarora) and considers the treaty with the Dutch to concealing. They reveal nothing on the true experience be ‘mother of all treaties’. Whereas the Haudenosaunee of our rituals, our ceremonial songs, the honour and still consider this treaty to be very much alive, in the gratitude we feel deeply for our ancestors, our food and it has been reduced to an underappreciated tobacco or our tight connections with the Turtle, Deer, historical event, that we today hardly attribute essential Wolf, Hawk and Bear, who are our councilors.’ meaning to. ‘In our view Great Mystery runs through all of creation, The unique friendship was sealed honorfully with two from the tiny ant to the largest planet. One may write this wampum belts; the Two Row wampum and the Friendship down a hundred times without understanding the wampum. These magnificent bead belts still belong concept. Originally our culture had no script whatsoever, to the heart of the traditions of the Iroquois, traditions and this is for a reason: in our culture knowledge is confirming the dignity of these grand peoples. Over time embedded in a different way. Communicating by means of and under the most extreme conditions they remained the wampum quite differs from communicating through loyal to their old ways, as a result of which in essence they writing. The wampum expresses what words can’t express, haven’t been affected by the rules of the Monopoly game. the same way a dream does. Thousands of books have There are hundreds of different kinds of wampum belts, been written on the Wampum Treaty. We, however, still

4 understand that this treaty needs to be maintained one specific book in the rows of books around me: a through times, whilst others lost track of that in the book on the meaning of ‘Wampum Belts’ written by a millions of letters.’ Haudenosaunee! A whole chapter is dedicated to the relationship between ‘The Dutch and the Iroquois’. It contains an old Iroqrafts, the power of Indian art illustration of two narrow rows of tiny purple beads For protection, a homemade medicine wheel and the rear running parallel through a ‘river’ of white beads, each row end of some deer antlers hang from the rearview window, representing the life flow of one nation next to the other, dangling back and forth severely as we drive though a with all accompanying meanings. I wonder how this might deep dent. Does it protect? If so, what does it protect? relate to the status quo of our relationship in 2013. In spite And how does it work? Who knows? The fact that it works, of the fact that through the centuries several attempts however, is a fact amongst indigenous peoples. Are they were made to revive the connection, its friendship crazy? Or did the average modern human being at some potential hasn’t been fully realized. The only thing we point take a different turn in the development of his soul? Dutch became really good at, became the main issue: Did we continue on a road where we only take non- investigating and discussing the original intention of the material matters seriously if they appear to be provable treaty. And in the mean time, financial and political by scientific research? Considering the heaps of energy conflicts determine who our friends and enemies are and money we spend on this search for evidence, could worldwide. The true value of our old friendship treaty it be that underneath all that hides some kind of chronic seems to have been forgotten… uncertainty? Ken and I are heading for Iroqrafts, the place for The Cayuga Longhouse anyone looking for anything related to the culture of Iroquoian Indians. Here one finds a variety of stunning While driving to the Cayuga Longhouse, Ken and I artistic products, next to wolves’ hides, coyote hides, elaborate on the subject. All tribes of the confederation bearskins and porcupine headdresses. A separate section also go by the name of ‘People of the Longhouse’ – as is reserved for an array of amazingly pretty colored beads all of them have longhouses. Irreverently put, they are in hundreds of little containers, should one want to create community buildings derived from the original housing of a specific object in order to accentuate ‘the power of one’s the Haudenosaunee. Members still gather in longhouses own personal medicine’. For Iroquois these are the for special meetings, traditional ceremonies and so- ingredients for the ancient transmission of generations. called ‘socials’. Slowly I go quiet. My eyes wonder off to The legacy of a lovingly cherished and rich culture that no-man’s land and I think back on the Times survived giant storms, and would have long perished had article of 1893 I read on the plane. It was on a delegation it not been for its strong spiritual foundation. of white people invited to visit a longhouse in the Six Nations reserve in good faith some hundred years ago. After the visit, several holy artifacts were missing. The The Dutch and the Iroquois Council of Chiefs then decided resolutely that from Inside the store I nose about and explore the extensive, that moment on, no non-Iroquois would be permitted admirable book section. My attention is drawn to entrance to longhouses. Ken opens the eastern door of

5 the Cayuga longhouse and beckons me in. Hesitantly I with respect to individual differences. Friendships of this shuffle through the doorway of the old wooden building caliber serve the bigger picture – as all is connected. We that is impressive in its simplicity. I wonder if he knows are there for each other in case of need. And need there is, the newspaper article as well. My breath is high as I take these days. We are lost and need each other to find in the cool smell of the space, two wood-burning stoves direction.’ Wow, I feel how the spirit of the longhouse bring standing across from each other in the center. I smell the life to these words. A form of communication that varies scent of wood fire, and that of air that is pleasantly stale. and plays with time. Almost embarrassed I realize that I am given the chance to connect with something very elementary: here resides True friendship takes guts the pure soul of an ancient nation. I hear the voices of the ancestors and feel the power and the magic of the More concretely? Anyone lucky enough to know true grand ceremonial turtle rattles, deer antlers and head friendship, knows being a friend takes guts. Its very dresses with beautiful eagles feathers decorating the essence is growing towards each other, onto each other. walls. Together they form a timeless unity. I wonder if there At best we may learn from a spiritually developed, cultural might be a deeper message hidden in the fact that I am people, with an exceptionally precious, rich and inspiring given the opportunity to be here. heritance. We may learn from them on the many secrets Surrounded by this intangible atmosphere, words nature and the spiritual world contain, and that we know come to mind Mohawk-grandmother Sarah once said to so little about. Magnificent teachings like the one of the

me, seated at her kitchen table during a visit to Six ‘Tree of Peace’ or the ‘Big Law on Peace’, upon which the Nations. ‘Seven generations ago, our ancestors prayed for Haudenosaunee base their world of thought, contain human beings living in these current times. They did universal values and may serve as a great stimulus for tobacco offerings for them as they knew Planet Earth and many a civilization. its inhabitants were to face challenging times. They knew, And vice versa? Firstly, why don’t we, Dutch people, just as we knew about the arrival of Columbus through begin by publicly and internationally acknowledging the our dreams.’ Grandmother might know. For years she Iroquois as our comrades and allies, on the basis of a traveled the world with Sun Bear, Black Elk, Grandmother century old treaty. Does the lowest country in the world Twylah, Grandfather Tlakaelel and many, many other key dare speak up for a blessed people with a golden heart? figures. ‘People rich in matter are spiritually poor,’ Admitting to the fact that we do not shun to broaden our grandmother proceeds. ‘In being the way they are, they spiritual horizon, shows guts. Openly admitting to the fact obtained powerful positions and now misgovern the that we doubt maintaining international relationships world. ‘Grandmother pours some more tea. ‘The value of solely based on the fact that they serve EU interests, shows friendship sealed by the Two Row is eternal – also the one courage as well. After all, these relationships don’t bring between our people and the Dutch. Originally, its purpose the peace we so long for, but rather force us to continue was to exchange the best of both to feed the friendship, playing Monopoly.

6 And secondly, within this very international community, exchanges with the Haudenosaunee might be organized the Iroquois deserve some upgrading. What the Iroquois for the young and the old. A Dutch-Iroquoian longhouse really draw attention to, evokes matters other parties in which nothing is forced upon people and in which we would rather not discuss: sensitive matters dealing with may re-live and celebrate the joy of a vintage friendship, not observing many treaties. No, theirs is a position far with a knowing wink to our ancestors. from ideal and the fifty chiefs are drowning in bureaucracy In this new definition of the Two Row, in which forced upon them. Acquiring full status in national policy, resonate the original values and which reflects the dawn defending land rights (although their reservations are of a new era, we find the key at last. A key to open the bolt reduced to the size of stamps on the map), passport issues in which the light is on the true meaning of friendship. The (embarrassingly enough, a Haudenosaunee passport is power that is released in this, may work miracles – and of not considered a valid travel document internationally), these we could use a few these days. At the same time we retaining people’s spiritual morale (which took a terrible herewith give a message to the many similar bonds knock in recent years) – all these are everyday issues. Tax existing between indigenous tribes and modern nations benefits for fuel and tobacco, in the meantime, are meant worldwide. to palm people off and distract the attention from real Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’ is often interpreted focus points. wrongly. Not the strongest people survive, but the ones best able to cooperate in changing living conditions. Within this concept spiritual attunement is necessary, The Dutch longhouse which is exactly what indigenous peoples teach us. The During the summer of 2006, after sharing a sweat hut crucial question is: what is the value of four hundred years ceremony in the Netherlands, a Mohawk architect, a of friendship between the Dutch and the Haudenosaunee? Cayuga faith keeper and a Seneca grandmother had a The answer lies within the Two Row Wampum and is vision, together with some Dutch people. What they saw, revealed on all car plates in Ontario, Canada, the original was an Iroquoian longhouse built in the Netherlands, with habitat of the Iroquois: ‘yours to discover’. architectural characteristics from both cultures. By now this vision has been translated into a plan that is becoming more and more concrete. During various visits to the Haudenosaunee, the initiative was received with curiosity By Maarten Oversier, www.maartenoversier.nl and interest by several chiefs and official representatives. This strengthens our faith in a Dutch ‘Langhuis’, serving as Editor: Brenda van Dijk, www.duidelijkverhaal.nl a spiritual embassy and a new start for a friendship grown wiser through four centuries of experience. The longhouse Thanks to Leo van de Vlist, director of NCIV, would represent an ancient treaty we almost forgot about. Centre For Indigenous Peoples in the Netherlands. Within the vision of a new era, encounters, activities and www.indigenouspeoples.nl

Maarten Oversier is

reincarnation therapist,

and has a practice in

Roden. His website is:

www.maartenoversier.nl.

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