The Iroquois Confederacy was one of the world’s great democracies, serving as a model that inspired the founders of both the United States and Canada. C. J. Taylor has drawn on her Mohawk heritage and versions of the story she has gathered from elders to tell the story of the Confederacy of Five Nations (which became six after European contact) and of the heroic peace walker, Hiawatha, in powerful prose and dramatic art. Hiawatha’s story has been told in many versions, but none have the ring of authenticity and passion of C. J. Taylor’s remarkable book.