Arthur C. Parker

“ If we admit that the essence of Masonry lies in the practise of its moral and philosophical teachings, then we may be prepared to believe that these truths may be clothed in diverse raiment and colored by varied hues, these depending, like the color and fragrance of rose upon the air it breathes, the water it drinks and the soil from which it springs, as well as upon its tetrakinetic impulses. ”

“ Speculative masonry is so far interwoven with religion as to lay us under the strongest obligations to pay that rational homage to the Deity, which at once constitutes our duty and our happiness. It leads the contemplative to view with reverence and admiration the glorious works of creation and inspires them with the most exalted ideas of the perfection of the divine Creator.—Samuel Cole. ”

“ IMMORTALITY. One of the strongest beliefs of the red man was in a future life. Call the place of that life what you will,—the "World Beyond the Sky", the "Happy Hunting Ground", or the "Abode of the Creator",—to the red man it was heaven. ”

“ BROTHERHOOD. If there is one belief above another that affects the conduct of the Indian it is his belief in the universal kinship of all created things. Man was not only the brother of man because a supreme Father had created both, but every animal, plant and rock, as well as every force of nature was believed to sustain a certain relation to man. ”

“ A wolf lifted his nose and smelled blood. He howled to bring the pack and followed the scent to the body of a man. He looked and saw that it was Brother Friend whom he knew as Red Hand. He called in a different note and there came all the chiefs of the animals and even the chiefs of all the great plants and trees. They looked at the body of their friend. Then they held a council as to how he should be revived. "We will give the tip of our hearts and the spark from our brains," they said. ”

“ In America we are asked what the native Red Man has of Masonry and if he has signs, grips and words like those of the ancient craft. Oftentimes the question comes direct: "Are American Indians Masons?" Rumors have long been afloat that there are tribes that have Masonic lodges and that Masons traveling amongst them have been greeted by familiar signs and words and even led into lodges where ceremonies were conducted in due form. ”

“ Such is the Indian's Genesis, and though briefly told, there will be few who cannot see in it a wonderful symbolism and a real recognition of man's divine origin. The last great test of the Good Minded, we observe, is not alone to overcome earth and water and fire and air, which are material, but to banish evil and all its distortions.
By a series of religious tales, such as this, the Iroquois were taught the great essentials of moral life and a recognition of man's relation to his Creator. ”

“ Every relic that is found on the sites where once lived the primitive peoples of the world is a lost letter syllable or word. The archaeologist brings these parts together and is able to interpret in a measure the lost story of tribes and races.
It is most fitting that there should be a collection of ancient artifacts in the Buffalo Consistory. It gives the members a rare opportunity to read the life and to understand the thought of ancient man. The collection should grow and every friend of science should feel it a privilege to make the collection grow. ”

“ We have briefly outlined the essential features of the Indian's belief, but of the numerous customs and rites we have yet suggested little. Perhaps an outline of the religious rites of a single nation or stock will suffice. Let us take the Iroquois.
To the Iroquois the world was the handiwork of a Creator. He was known under various names,—Great Ruler, Good Mind, Sky Dweller, Creator. It was believed that life came to the earth from the heaven world in the form of a woman ready to give to life a girl child. ”

“ To the red man the creatures of the earth were kinsmen, but in a different form, as suited the Creator's purpose, and none might be destroyed without reason and sacrifice. Even the pharmaceutical plants of the forest were not taken without a thank offering and the planting of the seed in the hole from which the root or stem had been pulled.
This feeling of fraternity worked out in many other ways, as by the organization of numerous fraternities and societies, by the knitting of the clan system and by the ties of a complex social organization. ”

“ The Indian, it will be seen, had his form of the plumb, the level, the square and the compasses.
There will be some who will state that the Indians never made objects that reveal craftsmanship but that such things are the work of the "mound builders." Such persons are not well informed of modern research, for if they were they would know that the mound builders were Indians and that the old time theory of the mysterious "Mound Builders," is an exploded myth. ”

“ Whether our American Indians in their native life are capable of becoming Masons must be determined by an examination of their beliefs. Whether they have a form of inherent or natural Masonry must be determined by an examination of their fraternities and secret organizations. We must also make this examination if we are to discover whether or not they have an accepted Masonry built up through the practise of the rites that we observe. ”

“ But we may perhaps understand our Masonry better if we understand more of the Indian's Freemasonry.
First let us examine the inherent capacity of the higher members of the various Indian tribes to receive the teachings of Masonry, and such of their fundamental beliefs as may be in harmony with it. With the Iroquoian family of Indians at least, the sacred number is four. We find that there are four basic beliefs of the Iroquois. Other tribes and nations of Red Men held these same truths as supremely evident.
1. GOD. The Red Man believed a Supreme Deity. ”

“ When it is gone they shall be no more. Go and found an order that shall know all this wisdom and preserve in the bonds of faithful brotherhood the mysteries, the chants and the will to perform the task of spreading the knowledge of the kinship of all created things. ”

“ The Masonry of the Indians as builders and as philosophers dealing with moral truths grew out of their experiences with nature and with the actions of human kind. The wise men of the tribes knew that a band of men pledged to uphold morality and to enact rituals showing its advantages would constitute a dynamic influence. ”

“ The Iroquois was religious in every act of his life, for was not the Creator in all that he had created? Sin thus became a thing that man could commit against himself, against his fellows, human and non-human, and against the interests of the tribe. It was not believed that the Creator could be sinned against for he was above an injury by man. ”

“ The Great Architect of the Universe to the Indian was the Maker of All.
2. MORALITY. The practise of virtue was demanded of every red man. He must be just in his dealings with his fellows, truthful, charitable, considerate. He must also be stoical, slow to anger and slow to admit of personal discomfort. He must at all times recognize his dependance upon the Maker of all and was taught to enter upon no great or important undertaking without first thanking the Maker for the strength that gave him power to perform the deed he willed. Thus the Pawnee sang in his ritual ”

“ Masons are thus taught that there is an inherent Masonry in men capable of becoming Masons and that there is an inductive Masonry into which inherent Masons are led, to be taught the special principles of Masonry by means of such rites as the experience and the wisdom of our ancient brethren have deemed as truly Masonic in the accepted sense. ”

“ When Good Minded returned to the Earth Island and told his Grandmother, the Sky Woman, where he had been and what power he had received, Bad Minded became very jealous and by an ingenious plan sought to destroy him. But after a lengthy battle the Bad Minded was vanquished and put in a deep cavity in the earth along with all the perverted and distorted creatures he had made from the good creatures. And the evil creatures were banished because they chose to be evil rather than as they had been created. ”

“ Here the honest student may observe these rites and determine whether a people whose religious heritage is what we have described may be called "pagan" or not. Is there not something racialy heroic in this stand of the Senecas to preserve that which is distinctive of their people? Yet, slowly, but surely the old life is fading and in time it will all be gone. The Senecas will have succumbed to the heat of the melting pot. ”

“ They were thus able to build up a compact form of government and to evolve a well knit system of social organization.
In digging into the earth where once arose these ancient towns of the red men we discover the durable artifacts made by their craftsmen. Working only with tools of stone and bone they made many beautiful objects, the form and symmetry of which excites the admiration and applause of modern observers. The archeological museums of America contain numerous examples of the Indian's handiwork. ”

“ In the ritual the members impersonate the brother-friends who gave of their lives. In the mystic square in the darkness we hear their voices. The call of the birds is heard and the shrill call of the Guide bird comes toward morning to herald the promise of day. ”

“ We also have a religion which was given to our forefathers and has been handed down from father to son. We worship in that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive, to love one another and be united.—Red Jacket. ”

“ Among many of the Indian tribes there were ceremonial societies and fraternities that exercised a considerable influence. The Jesuits in their missionary tours among the Hurons early in the 17th century made note of the cofraternities among the tribes of Canada. In later years the publications of several learned societies and institutions have given us the records of ethnologists and anthropologists by which we learn of the very great number of native societies, associations and fraternities. ”

“ Yiewanoh, who has passed through the initiation of the Ancient Guards, tells us the story of Red Hand.
It is a night of darkness inpenetrable. There is no sound save the waterfall and the river. In the forest the Leader, patient and listening, is waiting for the sign promised him. ”

“ But, we may well believe that in some instances at least the ignorance of the informant or of the inquirer or both led to the failure to discover a statement of a Supreme Power. And, thirdly, sad to say, in some cases there seems to be a prejudice against admitting that natural man can know of one God, in order to emphasize the degradation of the unregenerate. ”

“ It is more than probable that the diversified customs, institutions and religions of the several nations of the world are less dissimilar in their origin than is often imagined. The differences arose in the progress of time, the shifting scenes of climate, condition and event. ”

“ Every man and Mason who places into this Foundation a stone assists in building a real temple wherein will be preserved the truths that antiquity has left as our inheritance. We who have the fragments of missing history have this opportunity. It is a Masonic opportunity to which the writer as a student of anthropology, respectfully invites your interest. ”

“ No animal was killed in a wanton way and every animal slain for meat or pelt was propitiated by a chant asking its pardon for the deed, since it had seemed a necessity for the hunter to have the meat and skin of the "brother." ”

“ Every stranger who came with honest intent found a welcome and a home. There was no hunger that all did not share, no feast that was not open to everyone. No orphan need fear the lack of home or care for his clansmen provided for him. Among many tribes the custom of having a sworn brother was observed. Each was responsible for the punishment of any encroachment or injury upon the other. Companies of these brothers often united in associations, which in no uncertain sense were fraternities.
How Did American Indian Freemasonry Originate? ”

“ Indians built the mounds and made all aboriginal artifacts found in them. Documents have been discovered that prove that the French and Spanish explorers saw the Indians erecting mounds. All archeological authorities now know that America had no "mysterious race that was vanquished by the Indians." ”

“ It would be an interesting thing to trace out the various forms of religious belief held by the American natives, but though there are those competent to write upon this subject, it is so vast in its extent that no individual writer has yet dared the attempt. ”

“ The Indian's knowledge of form is proven by an inspection of their implements. They produced polished spheres, oviods, crescents, circles, squares, circular disks, triangles, hemi-spheres, pyramids, etc. ”