The Jan. 1 article, "Is wampum proof of deal?" misses the essence of the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign: It is about respect, friendship and our common future.

The Two Row Wampum belt explains how relations between our peoples should be, traveling down the river of life together linked by a silver covenant chain of peace and friendship forever, recognizing that we each have our own culture, laws, government, language, etc. The agreement is that we will not steer each other's vessels, nor harm that river of life. It means respecting each other's sovereignty and respecting the environment. As we face the impacts of climate change, fracking and other pollution, this agreement is worth remembering.

This belt and its formal words (paraphrased here) have been passed down generation to generation by the Haudenosaunee, for whom it carries huge importance as the basis of diplomatic relations in the past, today and for the future. With our campaign, we hope to educate everyone and foster better understanding and dialogue. Our campaign is not a reenactment of the treaty signing. It is a renewal of peace and friendship, and an enactment of the imagery carried in the oral tradition.

The controversial Dutch-language Van Loon document is irrelevant. Evidence of the Two Row and Covenant Chain of Friendship were documented long before this document came to light, such as in 1924 when Onondaga Chief Jesse Lions took the Two Row to Washington, D.C., and in the 1744 Lancaster treaty proceedings printed by Benjamin Franklin, among others.

Historians argue over the date of the first treaty in the 1600s. In 1614 the first Dutch settlement, Fort Nassau, was built near the site of Albany. It could not have been done without diplomacy with the Haudenosaunee. Thus, we feel 2013 is a valid date for honoring the 400th anniversary of relations and agreements between our peoples. Please join us.

Lindsay Speer

The writer is a member of the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign

Steering Committee