Draft Resolution to Renew the Two Row Wampum
WHEREAS the sovereign nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois or “People of the Long House”) lived sustainably in the region which now includes most of New York State for many hundreds of years before the arrival of European colonists; and
 WHEREAS in 2013 the Haudenosaunee together with their non-Native allies have chosen to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Two Row Wampum Treaty, the first agreement between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and European settlers; and
 WHEREAS as part of this commemoration the Haudenosaunee call on all New Yorkers to act as good environmental stewards; and
 WHEREAS the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s constitution, known as the Great Law of Peace, was first created on the shores of Onondaga Lake (in what is now Central New York) and eventually became a model for the Confederation of Colonies and the U.S. Constitution as recognized in the historical record andin Concurrent Congressional Resolution S.76 of 1987; and
 WHEREAS New Yorkers and others in the wider region greatly benefit from the many contributions of the Haudenosaunee and other Native peoples in culture, environmental understanding, political philosophy and spiritual awareness; and
 WHEREAS the Two Row Wampum Treaty began what was intended to be a Covenant of Friendship, symbolized by a silver chain linking our peoples together through a series ofagreements with the Dutch,British, French and the United States of America; and
 WHEREAS the Haudenosaunee have consistently and repeatedly sought to uphold the Two Row Wampum as the basis for relations among nations living in peace and friendship; and
 WHEREAS on September 13, 2006 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a resolution long-championed by the Onondaga Nation, which recognizes the “urgent need to respect and promote the inherent rights of indigenous peoples which derive from their political, economic and social structures and from their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies, especially their rights to their lands, territories and resources.”
 WHEREAS, despite the Two Row agreement, for centuries the Haudenosaunee and other Native people have been subjected to laws, activities, and actions to undermine their culture, spirituality, and way of life by ill-advised and intemperate government bodies; and
 WHEREAS, such actions are beneficial for neither the Haudenosaunee or the people whom such government bodies represent; and
 WHEREAS the Haudenosaunee and other native people have persistently maintained their spiritual and cultural practices and in some cases their traditional governing structure despite long-term efforts to subvert those practices; and
 WHEREAS the Haudenosaunee have consistently sought diplomatic means to resolve problems with neighboring governments and people; and
 WHEREAS the enter community name or title and the Haudenosaunee can both benefit from a mutualcollaboration and friendship to protect the environment on which we all depend; and
 WHEREAS the enter community name or title and the Haudenosaunee can both benefit from a respect for the culture, spirituality, and way of life of the Haudenosaunee and that of enter community name or title while traveling on their own mutual paths through life;
 IT IS HEREBY FURTHER RESOLVED, that enter community name or title :
Expresses support for the year-long Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign to Honor Native Treaties and Protect the Earth;
 Joins the Two Row Campaign’s call to keep hydrofracking out of New York State and expand other practices and policies to protect the environment;
 Calls on the citizens of enter community name or title to build positive and respectful relations with their Native neighbors and with all Native Peoples;
 Calls on the State of New York to renew and polish the Covenant Chain established by the Two Row Wampum Agreement and to work cooperatively with the Haudenosaunee and all Native Nations to redress the injustices which have occurred; and
 Calls on the United States government to fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
 AND MOVES ITS ADOPTION.
