Seventh Generation Principle

What Is It?

The seventh generation principle is a Haudenosaunee concept and way of life. It states that actions and decisions must be made with concern for the well-being of those seven generations into the future. It is one of the structuring principles of the constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of the six indigenous nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora.

What Does it Do?

This principle can help shape decisions and sensibilities, both as individuals and communities. This principle asks for empathy and imaginative understanding and moves away from individualistic considerations, short-term timeframes and pure reason to the extent that there is no separation felt between oneself and other generations. This is articulated in the following quote from Seneca Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan Oren Lyons:

“The law says if you poison the water, you’ll die.

The law says that if you poison the air, you’ll suffer.

The law says if you degrade where you live, you’ll suffer…

If you don’t learn that, you can only suffer.

There’s no discussion with this law.”

Note that the use of this tool may have different applications for indigenous people, particularly Haudenosaunee, and others. For Haudenosaunee and other indigenous people it can reaffirm and provide continuity to identity in addition to serving as a guide for decisions, as it might for someone outside that culture. One similar tool developed in the tradition of western law is the concept of generational fairness (aka intergenerational equity). 

How Can It Be Accessed?

Oren Lyons, as well Scott Stevens (Mohawk scholar and advisor to Toolshed), have both identified the seven generations principle as something from Haudenosaunee culture that can be translated into various cultural traditions to address ecological crises and social equity.

Articles on contemporary use of this principle within Indigenous nations and communities (beyond the Haudenosaunee) can be found here and here.

Some scholars argue that the Haudenosaunee Confederacy – “the oldest living democracy on earth” – was the basis for several fundamental articles of the U.S. constitution. Read more about this in an article by Terri Hansen.

For a map of ancestral lands in North America see this resource. (Crucial for orienting yourself).