The Great Law of Peace: Native American Ideas and the U.S. Constitution
Updated: 3 days ago
Grade Level: 6-12
Duration of Video 1: 9 minutes, 59 seconds
Duration of Video 2: 10 minutes, 13 seconds
Themes:
Native American Heritage Month
Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Great Law of Peace
Hiawatha
The Great Peacemaker
Native American Government
U.S. Constitution
Civic Ideas
Unity and Peace
Representation
Resilience
Multiple Perspectives
American Democracy
US History
The Hiawatha Belt symbolizes the unity of the five original nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy under the Great Law of Peace. Source: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain, CC0).
Description:
These videos introduce students to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Great Law of Peace. Teachers may want to explain that Haudenosaunee is the name many members use for themselves, while Iroquois Confederacy is a term often used in historical sources. The videos discuss how Native American systems of government influenced American thinkers. Note: Frame the lesson around connections, influence, and civic ideas, since historians debate the exact degree of direct influence on the U.S. Constitution.
Lesson Plan:
🎯 OBJECTIVES (SWBAT)
Identify the Haudenosaunee Confederacy as a Native American confederacy with its own system of government.
Explain that the Great Law of Peace helped unite separate nations under shared principles.
Describe how ideas such as peace, unity, council government, representation, and shared responsibility appear in the videos.
Explain how Native American systems of government influenced some American thinkers.
Compare civic ideas from the Great Law of Peace with ideas later seen in the American government.
Reflect on why Native American history and government are an important part of American history.
🧰 MATERIALS:
Student Worksheet 1: Timeline: The Great Law of Peace and the U.S. Constitution (Printed or digital copy for each student)
Student Worksheet 2: Questions About the Great Law of Peace and the American Government (Printed or digital copy for each student)
Video 1: Hiawatha — The Great Law of Peace — Extra History, Part 1
Video 2: Hiawatha — Government for the People — Extra History, Part 2
SMART Board or computer and projector
Pens or pencils for students
Post-it Notes (3” x 3” or larger), one for each student
📋 LESSON FLOW
Hook
Teacher writes on the board:
Can different nations stay separate and united at the same time?
Ask students: What makes it hard for different groups of people to work together?
What kinds of rules, agreements, or leaders might help separate groups live in peace?
Discuss.
Teacher says:
Today we are going to learn about the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Great Law of Peace. We will think about how Native American ideas about peace, unity, and government connect to American democracy.
Inform
Teacher says:
Before we watch the videos, read this short timeline with your seat partner. It will help you understand the order of events and ideas. As you read, underline one event or idea you already know about and circle one event or idea you want to understand better.
Reunite the class, and say:
The Great Law of Peace is an important Haudenosaunee system of government and law that helped separate Native nations work together in peace.
Question Before Watching the Video
Teacher says:
As you watch both videos, think about this: What idea from the Great Law of Peace do you think most connects to American democracy? We will discuss this after the videos.
Watch
Show Video 1: Hiawatha — The Great Law of Peace — Extra History, Part 1
Then show Video 2: Hiawatha — Government for the People — Extra History, Part 2
Discuss
Ask:
What idea from the Great Law of Peace do you think most connects to American democracy? Explain.
Allow several students to respond.
Possible student answers may include:
Separate nations working together
Leaders meeting together in council
Solving conflict through peace
Balancing local identity with shared unity
Using laws or agreements to guide government
Giving people a voice through representatives
Creating unity without erasing differences
Teacher says:
The important idea is not that one government was exactly the same as another. The important idea is that Native American nations had sophisticated systems of government, and some of those ideas helped influence American thinking.
Seat Partner Work
Hand out Student Worksheet 2: Questions About the Great Law of Peace and the American Government.
Teacher says:
Please work with your seat partner to answer these questions. Use evidence from the videos and timeline to explain your thinking.
Students complete the worksheet with a seat partner.
Share
Reunite the class.
Go over Student Worksheet 2: Questions About the Great Law of Peace and the American Government.
Closing Activity
Teacher says:
Native American history is not only about the past. Native nations created systems of government, law, diplomacy, and peace that shaped life on this continent long before the United States existed.
Hand out a Post-it Note to each student.
Ask students to write an answer to this question on their Post-it Note:
Why is it important to learn about Native American contributions to the American government?
Have students post their notes on a designated wall or SMART Board space and encourage them to read to themselves the answers of their peers as well.
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