One Hundred Years of Haudenosaunee Interventions at the United Nations

As Hoyaneh, a Chief of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council, I am accountable to the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation) and Haudenosaunee citizens within the Circle Wampum to uphold the peace. My responsibility is to represent the title family of Deskaheh of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (Cayuga Nation) Bear Clan, politically and spiritually. I am also responsible for maintaining our ceremonies, languages, customs, laws, and treaties with other nations and for upholding the Good Message and the Great Peace Law of Peace. In 1923 the Haudenosaunee Confederacy sent Deskaheh Levi General to the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, the precursor to the United Nations, to assert our authority as a sovereign nation. For over a hundred years we continue to seek this recognition at the United Nations and other international interventions. As a Haudenosaunee titleholder, I work to ensure our sovereign recognition in Canada and the United States including upholding UNDRIP - United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the United Nations in 2007. The work of Deskaheh Levi General in 1923 laid the groundwork for UNDRIP. These ideas were captured in a recent exhibition; Deskaheh in Geneva 1923-2024: Defending Haudenosaunee Sovereignty (2023-25) — this and current actions will be discussed.