Native American Contributions to Government and Medicine

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Native American ideas helped to shape the American government, and native discoveries about medicine have helped to heal people around the world.

Government

The American Founding Fathers took some concepts about government from the Native Americans of the Northeast, particularly the Iroquois Confederacy or League of Nations.

• What was the Confederacy?

For an introduction, watch the video below.

The video mentioned that the Founding Fathers used the League of Nations as a template for the U.S. Government.

• Which parts of it did they use?

The following video tells the story from the Native American point of view, beginning with Dekanawida, the Oneida leader known as The Great Peacemaker.

Of course, there were many other thinkers, like the Puritans, and ideas, like European political theory, which influenced the Founding Fathers as they wrote the Constitution.

However, many historians believe that the idea for the structure of our federal government, with the states each having separate powers from the national government, seems to have come from the Iroquois Confederacy.

At a meeting of the governing council of Pennsylvania in 1744, Chief Canassatego of the Onondaga suggested the colonists model their government on that of the Iroquois.

Not many of the leaders were willing to listen to his ideas, but Benjamin Franklin was. In 1754, he used it as a model for a plan for the colonies.

Later, founding fathers James Madison and James Monroe visited the Oneida Chief, Grasshopper, to learn more about the Iroquois Confederacy. James Madison and Grasshopper had a strong friendship.

The next video tells how Hiawatha helped Dekanawida form the Great Law, which brought peace to the Six Nation tribes and influenced Benjamin Franklin and the writing of the Constitution.

• Do you agree that the U.S. Congress had a good reason to acknowledge and thank the Iroquois Confederacy?

Medicine

Modern doctors can thank Native Americans for many of their ideas about healing, as well.

All native tribes had healing remedies using plants, herbs, and roots. These were used as part of healing rituals and ceremonies. When Europeans arrived, they were often amazed at the Native American's ability to heal sickness and even perform surgery.

Many modern medicines are based on those used by native healers. Some experts believe that almost 100 drugs prescribed by doctors today come from plants first used by native medicine men and women.

It's difficult to know because the native remedies were not written down. For many years, the American government forbade native tribes to practice their religious healing ceremonies. Much of that knowledge has been lost.

Native Americans have always believed that health is more than just ensuring the body functions properly. It is a part of overall well-being and strength, so mental and spiritual health are as important as physical health. People around the world have widely accepted this idea.

• Do you agree that being mentally and spiritually healthy helps one avoid illness or overcome it more quickly?

Now that you've learned about Native American contributions to government and medicine, move on to the Got It? section!

You'll test your knowledge of who did what there, and answer some short essay questions.