Lexicon

Our mother the Earth. The Earth and all plants that grow out of her are understood to be female, while men are associated with the sun and the stars. English

Native, original or real people. Literally, people who will always be part of creation, the original way, or the way of forever. Onkwehón:we:néha refers to Onkwehón:we language, customs and ways, while Onkwehón:wè:keh refers to their land. English

Life, both as the breath that animates the soul and the livelihood that sustains us and keeps us alive. English

I will make it right. Iroquoian languages contain no word for I’m sorry. Rather, this expression conveys a commitment and a responsibility to repair wrongs one has committed. This can be contrasted with the Christian-inflected sakatathré:wahte (literally, I hurt myself or I punished myself) meaning to repent or to confess. By admitting wrongdoings, the word enhskerihwakwatá:ko is opposed to iakonó:wen, a liar, literally hiding or bending over so that the truth cannot be seen. English

You come to understand. See the archive lonkwaka:raton / Sharing Our Stories for a story about the connection between understanding and resilience: https://www.sharing-our-stories.com/stories/our-strength English

Family, literally the gathering of all embers, in reference to the family’s hearth in the longhouse. The family is a fire created when each person (ohwá:tsire or ember) gathers with relatives to create a flame and intensify the heat. Families do not only include biological relatives, for example Mohawk members of the Wolf Clan are considered to be members of the same family as Wolf Clan members from other Rotinonhsiónni nations, and even from beyond the Iroquoian language group. English

One original house. The territory of the Rotinonhsiónni Confederacy is understood to be one longhouse, whose eastern door is guarded by the Kanien’kehá:ka and whose western door is guarded by the Senecas. At the same time, the real house extends to all of Turtle Island, with the sky as its ceiling, the Earth as its floor and the people as its walls. English

Precious. Connected to an understanding of love which is all the more cherished because it is rare and should not be taken for granted. See the lonkwaka:raton / Sharing Our Stories archive for a story about what is precious: https://www.sharing-our-stories.com/stories/priceless English

A man-made reality, a reality that only exists in the mind. As opposed to karihwí:io, that which is real, i.e., the natural world. The distinction between karihwiiostónhtshera and karihwí:io can be understood in parallel to two very different conceptualizations of nature as creation: the Christian-influenced notion of "the Creator" as a human-like entity (translated into Mohawk language as Shonkwaia’tíson, literally the one who made our bodies) versus the precolonial concept of sha’oié:ra, the way of creation, which sees creation as a self-generative process that is not directed by a human-like consciousness, and that is verifiably real. English

That which is real, the way in which things are real. Along with Skén:nen and Ka’shatsténhsera, Karihwí:io is one of the three pillars of the Kaianerehkó:wa. These are bound together, because it is necessary to work with the natural reality to gain strength and acquire peace. English

Life-givers, meaning women and mothers. O’nísta refers to the point where the umbilical cord is attached to the mother. In this sense, the connection between the women and Mother Earth is similar to the stem that connects the apple to the tree. Ka’nisténhsera have a power, a ka’shatstenhsera, that is rooted in the Earth. Wampum 44 of the Kaianerehkó:wa states that the women are “the progenitors of the soil” and its caretakers for the sake of the tahatikonhsontóntie, the children yet to come or the future generations. English

Power. One of the three pillars of the Kaianerehkó:wa. Ka’shatstenhsera refers to the inner power carried by every living creature to make life continue. As for human beings, their power is to be grateful for everything that sustains their lives. Ka’shatstenhsera is a willful desire to persevere by sharing our strength with all our relations. English

Let me tell you how it was told to me, let me tell you how I heard it, let me tell you my understanding. An opening statement in Mohawk oral tradition which situates knowledge in lived experience. English

I take all the goodness of myself, and I embrace you with all my goodness. Often translated as "I love you," this lovingfulness acts as a medicine by giving someone strength. It means to have the ability to show and to share the love that you have for your life experiences, the people that you know and the Earth where you are. Instead of presenting love as a passion or emotion, the Kanien’kehá:ka understanding of love involves a sense of responsibility and action, as it is so precious that one has to give the best of oneself to protect it. English

Thanksgiving address to the natural elements. Literally, the words that come before everything else. These words serve to open and close Rotinonhsiónni ceremonies, festivals and other political and social events. Giving thanks to the natural elements that sustain life constitutes the basis of Rotinonhsiónni spirituality. English

Life substance pervading all living beings, or the energy that invigorates one. More specifically, it means a power that humans share with non-human living beings. All the animals are understood to have their own orén:na, which they sing to communicate with the other elements of creation. English

Mind. Literally, it takes care of you, it watches over you. The mind is connected to all the elements of creation through its senses and emotions. If it is taken care of, it will provide the answers that will allow life to endure. English

satoyama

Literally, village-mountain. The liminal space between human settlements or domesticated land and wilderness or steep mountainsides. Analogous to forest commons around the world preceding capitalist enclosure, with a strong sense of blurring between the categories of domestic/human and wild/nature. English

sha’oié:ra

Way of creation forever, or direction of reality. Used in everyday language to refer to nature or the natural, in the sense of part of the order of things. The root -oie:ra, meaning direction, suggests a continuous temporality whereby nature never ceases to become itself. Referring to creation as a self-generative process, it refers to how the sun rises, the winds blow and the natural family of the universe — plants, animals, all that which supports life — endlessly grow together to ensure the continuity of life. English

Peace. One of the three pillars of the Kaianerehkó:wa. The root of this word is slow. As Tekarontakeh explains, Kaianerehkó:wa tradition says to go slowly and make sure, because the decisions that you make will be inherited by your children. English

Children yet to come, or those who will come forward to become the future generations. Literally, those whose faces are still in the ground. While they dwell within Mother Earth, the children-to-come are considered to be the true “owners” of the land, whose caretakers are the Ka’nisténhsera, the women life-givers. English

We are all free or we all carry ourselves. Given that the prefix tewa- encompasses everyone without exception, this means that freedom is a universal condition inscribed in nature. According to Tekarontakeh, Tewatatewenní:io contains the word tsi ní:io(ht), which means the way it is, in the sense of the way it arrived. English