Anthropology

of the influence of the Iroquois Confederacy on the union of the 13 English colonies and the origin of the eagle clutching 13 arrows in the Great Seal of the US. This info is available at a number of Internet sites.

In 1744, delegates from 3 English colonies met with delegates of the Iroquois Confederacy at Lancaster, PA to establish a treaty agreement to buy land from the Iroquois and to get Iroquois loyalty against French attacks in the French and Indian wars.

The most respected Iroquois delegate, Chief Canassatego of the Onondaga nation, was concerned that the English did not have sufficient unity and organization to deal with the French. He advised the English delegates that they should form a union like the Iroquois had done. He told them that their union allowed each tribal nation to govern itself, but created a solid front as one nation against outsiders.

Canassatego used a single arrow to demonstrate his point. He snapped it in two, easily. Then he held 6 arrows together, to represent the 6 nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (the Tuscaroras had joined the original 5). He could not break the 6 when bundled together.

The English delegates gave the minutes of the meeting to Benjamin Franklin to print copies. Franklin was impressed with Cannasatego's advice. He tried, unsuccessfully, to get a union started, called the Albany Plan. But, a few years later, the colonies were more agreeable to a union, just prior to the American Revolution. Later, when symbols were chosen for the new United States, the eagle clutching 13 arrows was chosen. The eagle was an Iroquois symbol of their unity. They envisioned an eagle at the top of a tree keeping guard over the territory of the Confederacy to warn them of danger from the outside. The arrows represent the strength in unity.