{"id":3923962,"date":"2026-02-17T09:02:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/sky-woman-the-overlooked-iroquois-influence-on-america\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T09:02:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:02:58","slug":"sky-woman-the-overlooked-iroquois-influence-on-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/sky-woman-the-overlooked-iroquois-influence-on-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Sky Woman: The Overlooked Iroquois Influence on America"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Iroquois<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Today, the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) culture teaches kids from birth about the Sky Woman, Mother Earth, and Grandmother Moon. The tribes instill a deep abiding respect for women who continue to uphold the Tree of Peace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s seldom taught in American classrooms is how the Iroquois Constitution, the Great Law of Peace (Gayanesshagowa) influenced our democracy and Constitution. Moreover, their way of life influenced the fight for women\u2019s equality.<\/p>\n

Thus, the Iroquois played a vital role in establishing our system of democracy.\u00a0Today, atop the Capitol Dome, a statue inspired by Native Americans stands overseeing all, like a Sky Woman.<\/p>\n

The Statue of Freedom<\/h2>\n

Since 1863, a bronze sculpture of a woman wearing a fur-trimmed robe has proudly stood atop the U.S. Capitol Dome. She\u2019s called the Statue of Freedom, created by American sculptor Thomas Crawford. Sadly, the sculptor went\u00a0blind and died<\/a>\u00a0suddenly at age 44, shortly after completing the plaster model from Rome, Italy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the statue\u2019s pedestal, the Nation\u2019s motto, E Pluribus Unum, \u201cout of many one,\u201d is written. On his deathbed in 1857, Crawford\u00a0named her America<\/a>. However, she came to be known as Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace.<\/p>\n

After many design changes, Crawford settled on a headdress influenced by \u201cthe costume of our Indian tribes.\u201d Atop her head, there is a nine star-studded Roman helmet with \u201can eagle\u2019s head and a bold arrangement of feathers.\u201d Some see the eagle as a reference to the\u00a0ancient\u00a0<\/a>Annunaki, often depicted with an eagle head on a human body.<\/p>\n

Ironically, a master craftsman and slave named Philip Reid helped cast the 20-foot tall statue dedicated to freedom. Fortunately, the year of her installation on the Capitol Dome, Reid was a free man. In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. So, Reid went into business for himself as a plasterer. (see video below)<\/p>\n

The plaster model for the statue is at\u00a0Emancipation Hall\u00a0<\/a>in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

See more from Today I Found Out:<\/em><\/p>\n

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