Kelsey Leonard contributes to new book on the Two Row Wampum

This story was written and originally published by the Faculty of Environment.

How can we cultivate relationships that are founded on peace, respect and friendship today? Deyohahá:ge: Sharing the River of Life is a new book that offers insights from the Covenant Chain-Two Row Wampum, known as the “grandfather of the treaties.” Famously, this Haudenosaunee wampum agreement showed how Indigenous Peoples and newcomers could build peace and friendship by respecting each other’s cultures, beliefs, and laws as they shared the river of life. 

Written by members of Six Nations and their neighbours, this book introduces readers not only to the 17th-century history of how the Dutch and British joined the wampum agreement, but also to how it might restore good relations today. Many Canadians and Americans have never heard of the Covenant Chain or Two Row Wampum, but 200 years of disregard have not extinguished the covenant. Understanding this foundational wampum is important because it is resurging in our communities, institutions, and courthouses—charting a way to a future. 

The writers of Deyohahá:ge: explore eco-philosophy, legal evolution and ethical protocols of two-path peace-making. Dr. Kelsey Leonard in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, contributes a thought-provoking chapter that challenges readers to reconsider what they know of wampum and justice.

“All together, the chapter aims to show that wampum justice does not equate with punishment, war, or money, but rather truth,” she writes. “From truth flows peace, love and friendship – the pillars of Indigenous nationhood.”

The book was published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press and is now available.