We, the People, to Form a Union, to Establish Peace, Equity, and Order": The Great Law of Peace (Gayanashagowa) — Origins, Legal Architecture, and Constitutional Legacy

This paper presents a comprehensive forensic-historical and academic examination of the Gayanashagowa — the Great Law of Peace — the foundational constitutional instrument of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Six Nations: Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, Seneca, and Tuscarora). The inquiry proceeds along three axes: a forensic-academic reconstruction of the Great Law’s origins and oral transmission lineage; a primary-source comparative analysis between the oral tradition record and the written colonial transcription record; and a documented evidentiary bridge establishing the influence of Haudenosaunee constitutional principles upon the formation of the United States Constitution. The paper includes forensic linguistic comparison of the Great Law’s foundational phrase with the U.S. Constitutional Preamble, analysis of U.S. Senate Concurrent Resolution 331 (1988), and legal standing implications for Aboriginal American nations under equity jurisdiction. Published under PAAN Ministries.