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English Titles

		PEACE WALKER: THE LEGEND OF HIAWATHA AND TEKANAWITA C.J. TAYLOR ILLUSTRATIONS: C.J. TAYLOR TORONTO: TUNDRA BOOKS, 2004. 45 P. ISBN 0887765475 AGES 10 AND UP
Peace Walker: The Legend of Hiawatha and Tekanawita Source

Written and painted by C.J. Taylor, a self-taught artist of Mohawk heritage, Peace Walker: The Legend of Hiawatha and Tekanawita brings to light the great history of the Iroquois Confederacy. During the hard and cruel times when the Onondaga leader Atotarho was chief of the Five Nations, there was much suffering among the Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, Seneca and the Mohawk peoples, for Atotarho was an evil sorcerer. All feared him except Onondaga Chief Hiawatha, who wanted peace for his people. Atotarho sought revenge on the defiant and courageous Hiawatha; he had his family killed and his village destroyed.

Full of sadness, Hiawatha left on a long journey north, during which he met Tekanawita, a Huron wise man looking for peace. Together they defeated Atotarho and brought peace to their people and to the Five Nations.

Nine beautiful acrylic paintings depict the peace seekers, Chief Hiawatha and Tekanawita, as well as the cruel and blood-thirsty Chief Atotarho, at times represented as a snake or as a man among slithering creatures. The paintings provide a strong visual representation of the Iroquois Confederacy, the people of the Longhouse and the natural beauty of the land.

-JP