Shé:kon yónnhe ne Kayanerekó:wa tahnon ka’nikonhrí:yo; Rotinonhsyóni wa’ontateri’wanontonhse’ tsi yontatekwenyénhstha’ raotiríhwa, 1924–1977 The Great Law of Peace is Still Alive and Well; the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Asked Them to Respect Their Business, 1924–1977

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the non-linear and often backwards development of universal human rights for Indigenous peoples in twentieth-century North America. It criticizes the failure of international bodies dedicated to upholding the so-called universal human right to self-determination in the wake of a Canadian military coup at Six Nations of the Grand River in 1924. By assessing the legal grounds upon which the Haudenosaunee Confederacy has repeatedly argued the need for international intervention, to both the League of Nations and the United Nations, the article asserts that international law has perpetually denied the Confederacy equal nationhood status on the world stage, despite meeting all recognized (and quasi-legal) criteria.