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About Us
The Tree of Peace Society is a non-profit cultural and environmental organization founded in 1984
by Tekaronianeken, Jake Swamp, former Wolf Clan sub-chief of the Kanienkehaka (People of the Flint),
Mohawk Nation. Tekaronianeken, Jake Swamp with over thirty years as a
Mohawk sub-chief and representative on the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora) has offered a wide range of experience in indigenous,
environmental and social issues both locally and internationally. Jake Swamp founded the Tree of Peace Society, a 501(c) 3, non-profit
organization and the Tree of Peace Learning Center for Peace, Cultural and Environmental Studies, in an effort to
address current topics in environmental and cultural education. The 'Society' builds cross-cultural understanding between
Native and non-Native people, promotes environmental and social ethics, and works tirelessly to preserve the culture and languages
of the Haudenosaunee.
Our Education Goals come under the following headings:
· Native Cultural and Linguistic Expression and Preservation · Peace Studies and Reconciliation ·
Environmental Education · Respectful Cross-Cultural Dialogue The Tree of Peace Society has been
sanctioned by both the Mohawk Nation Council of Akwesasne and the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee as an effective means
of pursuing and implementing cultural and environmental education. The Tree of Peace Society organizes workshops around cultural
and environmental themes taught by Elders and other experts from the communities of the Haudenosaunee with contributions from
professionals in academic and related fields. While respectfully acknowledging cultural differences, The Tree of Peace Society
applies concepts and ideas in environmental and cultural education. One of the goals of The Tree of Peace Societies educational
activities is to illustrate how social and environmental education begins with establishing an sense of obligation and responsibility,
and respect for all beings and processes of nature. This goal is achieved in part by following the principle of thinking seven
generations into the future and giving thanks for all that contributes to the creation as guides to human thought and action.
For over
thirty years Jake Swamp has worked tirelessly for the communities of the Iroquois people and bridging cultural difference
- in the spirit of respectful dialogue and collective action - in addressing environmental and social problems. Beginning
in the summer of 2000 Jake has been an active participant in the National Conference of Community and Justice and met with
President Clinton and many other religious leaders to discuss reconciliation and cultural diversity. Jake was also among the
Iroquois delegations that addressed the United Nations Millennium Peace summit, August 2000.
Jake has inspired a new generation of Mohawk leaders and teachers who are now taking
the place of Elders in the communities of the Iroquois and was directly involved in the creation of the Akwesasne Freedom
School - a Mohawk language immersion school of critical acclaim that has been an inspiration to many First Nation peoples
in the United States and Canada. Jake has inspired hundreds of people of many races and culture through working with a number
of influential organizations. As result of his thirty years experience as a sub-chief of the Mohawk Nation and international
ambassador, Jake has been traveling around the world, planting "Trees of Peace" in diverse places such as Israel,
Australia, South America, United Nations, St. Johns' Cathedral in New York City and over twenty colleges and universities
in the United States and Canada. Through his tree planting efforts, Jake has inspired the planting of over 200 million trees.
Jake continues to inspire many college students of all races and backgrounds through his extensive lecturing schedule which
takes him to over 10 universities and other speaking engagements a year. Jake has appeared on the television program Five Hundred Nations,
which has become educational software; Ancient Prophecies which aired in 1994 on NBC, Finite Oceans which aired on the Discovery
channel in 1994; and educational display videos for the Carnegie Museum in Chicago. Jake is the author of the children's book
Giving Thanks, A Native American Good Morning Message (Lee & Low Books), which has been translated into five languages
and was featured on the PBS television show Reading Rainbow. Jake also authored The Peacemaker's Journey audiocassette produced
by Parabola Magazine (1996).
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