In ancient times, Indigenous Peoples had trade routes around the world.  This enabled a sharing of goods, culture, and languages between the different Nations.

For many centuries, trade and established relationships flourished throughout the Americas.  West Coast Indigenous Peoples traded with Mexico, Hawaii, Polynesia, and Japan—East Coast trading with Canada, tribes further down south, tribes to California, and Mexico.

Among those ancient relationships, some East Coast tribes formed an alliance in which the Iroquois, Lenape, and Cherokee were linked through trade, alliances, and understanding.

The Lenape were considered the Grandfathers.  Other tribes would seek their wisdom in settling disputes.  If the Lenape were unable to quell any violence that occurred, the Lenape would send a messenger to what we now call the Iroquois, who would send their warriors to quell the violence.  They were more of a military power and considered a great army.  At that time, they were called the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.  It is their true name that has carried them from ancient times into modern times.

This partnership existed for years until the arrival of Europeans in the Americas.  We all learned of how the United States Government, from the beginnings of the country to modern times, committed acts of genocide against the Indigenous populations of the USA.  Stole Indigenous Lands and forced the remaining tribes onto reservations or into cities.

The actions of the USA government destroyed the alliances and relationships that Tribes had established.  It was divide-and-conquer that led the Tribes to no longer trust each other.

However, in the 1900s, one SandHill Chief never gave up on the dream of re-establishing relationships with the Iroquois Confederacy.  Chief James Lone Bear Reevy reached out to the Iroquois throughout the 1960s and 1970s to heal the division between the two nations.

He would often attend the Central Fire at the Grand Council of the Onondaga in hopes of repairing the damage Europeans had done to their relationships.

Unfortunately, it was neither the right time nor the right place for unification.  The SandHill Lenape Chiefs, who came after Chief Lone Bear, continued his quest for reunification.

Historical events do not happen one by one.  They occur simultaneously, though no one at that time is necessarily aware of them.

In 2012, a very small federation was born at the United Nations in the northeastern USA.  It was called “The Federation of Aboriginal Nations of America” (FANA).  By 2015,  FANA had been approached by indigenous tribes in the Americas and Hawaii.  These alliances resulted in changing the Federation’s name  from “the Federation of Aboriginal Nations of America” to” The Federation of Aboriginal Nations of the Americas.”

Since that time, FANA has entered into global treaties and/or alliances with Indigenous populations in Canada, Central and South America, and Africa.

As word of FANA’s achievements spread from 2012 to 2015, the Minister of International Affairs, Principal Chief Dr. Ronald Yonaguska Holloway, and other members of FANA were invited to attend international meetings with other Indigenous Nations and Organizations.

It was through these meetings and events that some members of the Iroquois Confederacy began to monitor FANA’s movements.  They also attended the same events and meetings.

Unbeknownst to the public, over the past few years, FANA’s Ambassador SandHill Red Chief Lance Red Hawk Shauger and Sonohse:’s Turtle Clan member John Skenandore of the Wisconsin Oneida Nation had been corresponding with each other.  They originally met on a social media site where the Great Peace was being discussed.

Out of that chance meeting, they discovered that they had much in common and began to speak earnestly about developing political strategies, restoring indigenous communities to reflect their culture, improving education, and developing economic enterprises that would benefit the members of FANA and other members of the Iroquois Confederacy.

These discussions attracted other leaders and representatives from Indigenous Nations affiliated with the Iroquois and FANA.  They were  Kawenniiosta Jock; Kaʼnistėnhserá of the Orenrehkowa Wolf Clan Family- a member of the Mohawk Tribe; and Kanerahtiio, also known as Roger Jock, of the Rotisken’rakehte Rahstawenserontha Bear Clan Family - also a member of the Mohawk Tribe; Principal Sachem Dr. Ronald Yonaguska Holloway, Minister of International Affairs of the Federation of Aboriginal Nations of the Americas; and Chief Ambassador Douglas Scott, Ambassador to the Commonwealth for the Federation of Aboriginal Nations of the Americas.

It was through the steady and careful guidance of FANA’s Minister of International Affairs, Principal Sachem of the Sandhill Raritan Lenape, Dr. Ronald Yonaguska Holloway, with FANA’s Eastern Ambassador and Nimmoug Congress third seat holder- Sandhill Raritan Lenape Red Chief Lance Red Hawk Shauger, that they truly began concentrating on forging a unification with the Iroquois League.

Due to the diligence that Lance Red Hawk Shauger gave in attempting to reunite the historical relationship that the Lenape and the Iroquois once shared, and in cooperation with The Federation of Aboriginal Nations of the Americas and sponsorship of the SandHill Band of Raritan Lenape and Cherokee Indians, the two Mohawk Clans and the Oneida Clan have been granted observer status within the Federation.

It is hoped that these clans will serve as a bridge to resolve the tensions between the Lenape and the Iroquois, as Chief Reevy had hoped to achieve.

When Red Chief Shauger was asked to comment, he said, “Reuniting our traditional Big House and Longhouse communities is vital.  The reunification of our sovereign Clans, as brothers, builds a bridge to economically empower our Nations.  By uniting and empowering our Clan Mothers again, together as family, we are reawakening an ancient civilisation that for a time had slipped into sleep.  Today, the structure once described as The Rome of the New World is stirring once more.  This will likely have ripple effects for language, culture, history, and economic self-sustainability.  It can lead to educational facilities for future generations and universities accredited with our unique cultural curricula.  These things were once denied to Native and First Nations peoples under law until 1968.  Our Nations, and more importantly our Clans, are reunited joining in our prayers and teachings of peace and harmony as we close divisions that colonial powers created through disease, conquest, and long-term divide and rule strategies.”

When H. E. Ambassador Gerren O’Neill was asked to give a statement, he said: The growing role of the Federation of Aboriginal Nations of the Americas shows that Indigenous institutions are not relics of the past, but living systems capable of shaping the future of diplomacy, legal order, and international cooperation.”

This shows that FANA is part of the movement, launching a new look at international law, resulting in the rise of what would be considered ancient Indigenous law and political traditions.

FANA has begun to heal the rifts between Indigenous Nations that evolved from the time that the Europeans and the new United States foisted upon the indigenous peoples of the world.

The presence of FANA brings to the world stage a rebirth of international law, launching international communications with indigenous peoples worldwide to address the economic needs, traditions, education, and culture of national and international indigenous populations.

I also wish to make it known that SandHill War Chief Lance Shauger is no longer the Eastern Ambassador. He has been appointed Special Representative to the Iroquois Nations.

He will report directly to FANA’s COS, Douglas Scott, who reports to FANA’s Minister of International Affairs, Principal Sachem Dr. Ronald Yonaguska Holloway.

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Please click the link below to read the Press Release published in the Brussels Morning News regarding this momentous historical event.

https://brusselsmorning.com/ustomary-international-law/96042/