Tree of Peace Society

The Tree of Peace Society is a Native-led peace, cultural education, and ceremonial organization founded in 1984 by Mohawk leader Chief Jake Swamp. Its work centers on planting trees in significant public places as living symbols of peace, unity, reconciliation, and the continuing relevance of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy, Great Law of Peace. The society is headquartered on the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation in Hogansburg, New York, in a region adjoining Quebec and Ontario along the St. Lawrence River. The society's central tradition draws on the Haudenosaunee account of the Peacemaker, also identified in the tradition as Aiionwatha or Hiawatha, who brought the Great Law of Peace to formerly warring nations in what is now New York State. The confederacy originally brought together the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations, with the Tuscarora joining later. In the founding story, weapons of war were buried beneath a great tree, creating a lasting image of collective security, political unity, and the rejection of violence. The Tree of Peace Society uses the tree as a public-facing emblem of those principles while presenting the ceremony as rooted in a specific Indigenous tradition rather than as a generic environmental activity. Since its founding, members led by Chief Jake Swamp have planted trees at public institutions and other locations considered meaningful to peace, democracy, education, or intercultural understanding. Documented examples include a planting near Constitution Hall in Philadelphia in 1986 and a ceremony at Shasta Hall at California State University, Sacramento, on April 10, 1986. Chief Jake Swamp also participated in international and cross-cultural tree-planting activities, including a planting on the Smithsonian Mall during the United States Bicentennial period and work associated with a Tree of Peace project in Hawaii between 1990 and 2009. The society's activities combine public ceremony, historical interpretation, and educational outreach. A typical ceremony may involve gathering participants in a circle, music or drumming where appropriate, readings concerning the Great Tree of Peace, and symbolic acts connected to unity and peace. Educational materials emphasize that the original Haudenosaunee ceremony and its sacred dimensions cannot simply be reproduced by people outside the relevant Indigenous communities. This distinction is important to the society's cultural positioning: it shares the values and symbolism of the Great Law of Peace while acknowledging the authority and specificity of Haudenosaunee tradition. The organization was incorporated in New York State on October 17, 1994, as a foreign not-for-profit corporation. In this context, foreign is a legal classification rather than an indication that the society is based outside the United States; the classification relates to the legal treatment of an organization connected with a sovereign tribal community. No reliable public information in the supplied sources identifies a commercial product portfolio, public-company ownership, revenue, or stock-market listing. The society is best understood as a cultural and educational nonprofit whose principal offering is its ceremonial, interpretive, and peace-building work.

The Tree of Peace Society emerged in 1984 around the leadership of Chief Jake Swamp, a Mohawk cultural figure associated with the public presentation of Haudenosaunee teachings on peace and political unity. Its work is based on the Great Tree of Peace tradition connected with the formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. According to the tradition described by the organization, the Peacemaker brought the Great Law of Peace to nations that had been in conflict and established a framework in which the nations could unite under a common law and shared political responsibilities. The burying of weapons beneath a great tree became a powerful symbol of the decision to end warfare and maintain peace. The society translated that symbolism into a continuing public practice: planting trees at locations where the message of peace, democracy, education, or Indigenous contribution could reach broad audiences. Two early documented plantings took place in California and Pennsylvania in 1986. On April 10 of that year, a Tree of Peace was planted at Shasta Hall at California State University, Sacramento. The society also planted a tree near Philadelphia's Constitution Hall. These events connected an Indigenous peace tradition with civic and educational settings in the United States. The organization's activities later extended beyond those early American examples. Chief Jake Swamp was described as traveling internationally to plant Trees of Peace, including a planting on the Smithsonian Mall during the United States Bicentennial period. The symbolism of that event highlighted the relationship often drawn between the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace and discussions of constitutional government in the United States. A separate record identifies a Tree of Peace project in Hawaii operating from 1990 through 2009. The society was formally incorporated in New York State on October 17, 1994. Its incorporation as a foreign not-for-profit corporation reflected a legal structure associated with tribal sovereignty considerations, rather than a relocation outside the United States. The headquarters is located on the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation in Hogansburg, New York, near the international border region of Quebec and Ontario along the St. Lawrence River. Alongside ceremonial plantings, the society's work has an educational dimension. Explanatory materials describe the historical and cultural meaning of the Great Tree of Peace and provide guidance for communities interested in holding related public events. Such guidance may include forming a circle around a tree, using appropriate music or readings, and selecting symbolic objects connected with peace and national unity. The available material also stresses that sacred Native American practices should not be treated as interchangeable public-event scripts: non-Iroquois participants cannot simply replicate ceremonies belonging to Haudenosaunee communities. This combination of public outreach and cultural caution is central to the society's identity. The supplied references do not establish a complete account of the organization's later administration, finances, membership, or current program schedule. They also do not document a conventional commercial product line. The Tree of Peace Society is therefore most accurately characterized as a nonprofit cultural and educational society whose principal historical contribution has been to make the Tree of Peace a visible symbol in public places while explaining its Haudenosaunee origins.

• 1994

  New York incorporation

  [1]Tree of Peace Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The society was incorporated in New York State on October 17 as a foreign not-for-profit corporation.

• 1990

  Hawaii project begins

  [2]The Tree of Peace in Hawaii, 1990 thru 2009trackingproject.org

  A referenced record identifies a Tree of Peace project in Hawaii operating from 1990 through 2009.

• 1986

  Public plantings in Philadelphia and California

  [1]Tree of Peace Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The society documented tree-planting activities near Philadelphia's Constitution Hall and at Shasta Hall at California State University, Sacramento.

• 1986

  Sacramento ceremony

  [1]Tree of Peace Societyen.wikipedia.org

  A Tree of Peace was planted at Shasta Hall on April 10, 1986.

• 1984

  Society founded

  [1]Tree of Peace Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Tree of Peace Society was founded under the leadership of Mohawk chief Jake Swamp.

A Native-led cultural and educational organization that uses ceremonial tree planting to communicate Haudenosaunee teachings about peace, unity, collective responsibility, and the rejection of violence.

• 1984Tree of Peace ceremonial planting program

  United States · Canada · International locations

  The society's continuing program plants trees in significant public locations to represent Haudenosaunee teachings concerning peace, unity, and collective responsibility.

  Outcome. The program established the society's principal public activity and extended the Tree of Peace symbol to civic, educational, and international settings.

  Source

1. 1Tree of Peace Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Tree of Peace in Hawaii, 1990 thru 2009trackingproject.org