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Five Nations Iroquois Confederacy
The Flag of the Five Nation Iroquois Confederacy
Many viewers of the Animal Planet TV series Whale Wars have asked what the purple and white flag is that we fly on the Steve Irwin.
The answer is that it is the one flag that we are most proud to have been given permission to fly: The flag of the Five Nations Iroquois Confederacy.
Back in 2007, the Japanese strategy was to threaten and bully any nation where a Sea Shepherd ship was registered to remove the flag. As a result we lost our Canadian registry on the Farley Mowat and our British Registry on the Robert
Hunter. We were denied the registry of the Cayman Islands and our Belize registry lasted a mere 9 days until they buckled under Japanese pressure.
We were flagless and then the Mohawks at Kahnawake invited Captain Paul Watson to visit them to accept the flag of the Five Nation Iroquois Confederacy.
On June 18th, 2007, the Mohawk Traditional Council presented the flags and the registries for both the Farley Mowat and the Robert Hunter to Captain Watson.
Unfortunately, most nations refuse to accept the registry. The Sea Shepherd ships were able to secure Dutch registry shortly thereafter.
But we regard our ships to be legally registered with the Dutch Registry and as honorary registered ships of the Mohawks.
Captain Paul Watson was also presented with a traditional Iroquois shirt made by and presented to him by the women of the longhouse up the hill of the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation.
 
We have flown the Iroquois flag on Operation Migaloo and Operation Musashi and millions of people have seen it flying from our mast on Whale Wars.
This is a very great honor. The Sea Shepherd vessels are the first sea-faring ships to ever fly the symbol of the Five Nations Confederacy presented by the sovereign Mohawk Nation of Turtle Island.
We consider Kahnawake to be our spiritual home and we are honored to receive the blessings of the people of this great nation.
The Dalai Lama
His Holiness
The Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama greets Paul Watson
A message from the Dalai Lama . . .
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