"These two films - MOHAWK WISDOM KEEPERS and IROQUOIS SPEAK OUT FOR MOTHER EARTH - are a priceless record of the teachings of ancient wisdom in relation to contemporary times, and will be as useful to future generations as they are to us today." Eric Noyes, American Indian Institute. Bozeman, Montana

In this quietly powerful film by Danny Beaton, four Elders of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Six Nations Confederacy) speak in a clear, frank and rational language of the environmental crisis and what is needed to seriously begin to deal with it by reminding us to see our planet as our relative, as our Mother, as many earth-based cultures do. These elders tell us, such a shift can motivate behaviour change and begin to heal the rift in western civilization between human and nature. The elders unfold their stories carefully, while viewers see for themselves their calm, centered, informed and deeply human concern about civilisations' global assault on the earth.

The first speaker, CLAYTON LOGAN from the Wolf Clan of the Seneca Nation, is a Ceremonial Leader of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. He speaks about the difference between the way his ancestors lived and how people live now.
The next speaker, AUDREY SHENANDOAH, is a Clan Mother of the Eel Clan, Onondaga Nation. Her message is that it is up to the people how long we will live on this planet. She gives thanks for the sun, the moon, thanks for the wind and the rain. For we elders, she affirms, "The Earth is sacred, and every spot is sacred, not just sacred sites because 'something happened' there, but every place is sacred because 'something happened' everywhere."
CHIEF OREN LYONS is Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation Wolf Clan. He begins by speaking of the dysfunctional nation and the dysfunctional world we now live in. Lyons' message is that we humans need balance, and common sense, and leaders with courage and conviction.
JOHN MOHAWK is an Elder of the Turtle Clan, from the Pinewood Community in Cattaraugus Territory. Mohawk, who is Seneca, has also taught American Indian Studies at the State University of New York. He argues that Western Culture has sought to impose its will upon the natural world.

Long ago, the constitution of the United States of America was inspired and influenced by the wisdom of the Iroquois Great Law of Peace, with its system of checks and balances. Now it is time once again to listen to the wisdom of these contemporary elders of the Iroquois Confederacy.