Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation

"Please join us in urging DEC to deny the Greenidge Bitcoin mining facility's Title V air permit. If they fail to do this, New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection act is dead. Greenidge is not an outlier, it's a new business model for similar facilities across New York State. It has to stop here."

The revelation that the bodies of 215 Indigenous children were found recently in unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, ...Canada breaks our hearts. Children, far from home, often kidnapped from their families and communities, were taught that their community's religious and cultural practices were backward. We grieve for this tragedy, but we are not surprised. Such boarding schools were part of the broad effort to destroy Indigenous communities across Turtle Island, including our Onondaga neighbors. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Onondaga young people were taken from their homes and sent to Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, PA , Thomas Indian School in Irving, NY, Mush Hole Indian Residential School in Brantford, Ontario and others. General Richard Henry Pratt who founded the Carlisle school in 1879 described the goal of the school to "Kill the Indian: Save the Man. They did this by cutting the children's traditional long hair and taking their clothes. Students were beaten for speaking their native language; physical and sexual abuse were rampant. Part of a broader policy of cultural genocide, the schools would have been successful were it not for the fierce resilience which has persisted through Haudenosaunee and other indigenous cultures. While some indigenous languages have been lost, language reclamation is well underway at Onondaga and elsewhere. Students at the Onondaga Nation School study their Onondaga mother tongue as well as English. Adult language education is also strongly supported. The brutal legacy of the residential schools is one of many practices which require our attention. Taking this history seriously calls on us to look at how to repair the damage we have caused to our Onondaga sisters and brothers (along with all other Indigenous Peoples). The 215 children buried in mass graves have yet to receive a proper burial or honoring by their families. Here in New York State there are thousands of unmarked burial sites where Native people were laid to rest in traditional ways. Sadly, New York State is among just a handful of states which don't protect these unmarked burial sites. As a result, remains of Native peoples can be unearthed without any recourse, unless the project involves federal funding. Rectifying this injustice is one of the many steps we can take to recognize the terrible harms which have been inflicted and seek a more respectful and just future.

Join NOON in supporting the traditional Gayogohó:no'! #gayogohono #haudenosaunee #sovereignty #ReMatriation https://www.givegab.com///neighbors-of-the-onondaga-nation

The Onondaga Nation’s and the Haudenosaunee’s Historical Connection to Lake Ontario May 24, 2021 by Onondaga Nation

Announcement: On June 6th at 3pm, Nekanhsakt: Friends of kwehw is sponsoring a virtual presentation of Witness to Injustice. Witness to Injustice is a uniqu...e interactive presentation and teaching tool that helps participants deepen their understanding about the European colonization of Turtle Island and the denial of Indigenous peoples’ nationhood throughout U.S. history up to the present time. Using participatory education to explore the shared history that non-Native people rarely learn in school or other settings, Witness to Injustice aims to foster truth, understanding, and respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the part of the world now known as the United States; with a focus on the territory stewarded by the Onondowaga People and other Haundenosaunee peoples. We hope this program will stimulate deep discussion and reflection, and will point the way toward ongoing steps to righting the wrongs which have been done. Join Nekanehsakt, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation and Haudenosaunee facilitators as we participate in learning and dialogue through this virtual presentation. Please register below to receive a Zoom link for this webinar. Registration is limited. Fee: $15- Your fee will be used to support the facilitation of this exercise. Payment can be payable to paypal for [email protected] or check payable to Nekanehsakt sent or dropped off to 420 Connecticut ave, Buffalo, NY 14213 Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us//tZIpf-uopzkiG9dqNWcGGsvS0Fq_MVnyb After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. For more information on the Blanket exercise- https://www.kairoscanada.org and https://vimeo.com/129161339

NOON organizers Lindsay Speer and Andy Mager will present a presentation via ZOOM about How to be an Ally to Indigenous Peoples as part of the online Plowshares Craftsfair tomorrow, Sunday, December 6 at 3 pm. You can join in at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82118948933

Thanksgiving Circle of Peace and Hope Thursday morning at 10 am, via zoom. Register at the link below. https://zoom.us/.../tJ0sdOqoqz0qHtJgwbrhD64rDMGBwaBi8adi

A little levity... particularly for those of a certain generation.

Sharing a post from Mohawk educator and activist Doug George-Kanentiio. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2783901515270710&id=100009526674224

It's good to read this article and see that Ruth Bader Ginsburg later understood the terrible error she made in Oneida v. Sherrill. Unfortunately, it's now Supreme Court precedent, but our support for Onondaga Land Rights and that of our Haudenosaunee and Native Nations must continue! Thanks to @Doug George Kanentiio for sharing this with us. https://www.independent.co.uk//ruth-bader-ginsburg-supreme

Another example of the amazingly broad influence of Onondaga Faith keeper Oren Lyons. https://www.marinij.com//marin-activist-tells-of-famous-a/

Mark your calendars!

Thank you to all who have worked so hard for this change, including Onondaga! https://www.syracuse.com//walsh-to-remove-columbus-statue-

Indigenous Peoples Day will soon be here, as we wait for an update from Mayor Ben Walsh on the Columbus statue in Syracuse. It's a great season to educate yourself. https://www.google.com//italian-americans-dont-need-columb

Here's a recent statement from our friends at the Resilient Indigenous Action Collective. Mayor Ben Walsh has said he'll release an update about the future of "Columbus" Circle sometime this week.

A very important event, coming up before Indigenous Peoples Day! If you have not yet learned about what the new US government did to the Haudenosaunee people, this is a great opportunity to understand more of our shared history. Thank you to Indigenous Values Initiative, Skänoñh - Great Law of Peace Center, and Syracuse University.

Indigenous Values Initiative hosted a powerful 3-week web conference in August, Mother Earth's Pandemic. Their Youtube page is organized by session and features many different speakers from around the world, and there is extra content! These videos are essential to anyone's fuller understanding of the Doctrine of Domination and how it has affected all our lives. https://www.youtube.com/c/IndigenousValuesInitiative

https://www-syracuse-com.cdn.ampproject.org//haudenosaunee

Thank you to the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs for sharing their clear perspective on the need to remove the Columbus monument from the center of Syracuse. It is the responsibility of those of us in the other row of the Two Row Wampum Treaty - those of us who are Syracusans - to advocate that their voice be heeded and that the monument come down very soon. https://www.onondaganation.org//onondaga-nation-statement/

LIVE from the steps of City Hall Syracuse: Hiroshima Day 75th Anniversary

Mother Earth’s Pandemic: The Doctrine Of Discovery will offer panel discussions and perspectives from indigenous peoples in a virtual conference from 6 to 9 p.m. on August 6, 13 and 20. Panel discussions will feature activists like Tink Tinker and a keynote by Turtle Clan Faithkeeper and Syracuse University’s first native graduate, Oren Lyons. Panel discussions will be followed by small group discussions. Registration is open at https://indigenousvalues.org/mother-earths-pandemic/. It is open to the public and participants can attend one virtual conference for $10, two for $30 or all three for $50. https://news.syr.edu//oren-lyons-58-h93-headlines-august-/

The recent Supreme Court ruling opens up the door for reconsideration of the Onondaga Land Rights Action and other Indigenous land claims/rights actions. Here's a 6 minute interview with Joe Heath about the case and its implications. https://spectrumlocalnews.com//-landmark--scotus-ruling-co#

Great commentary by NOON members Phil Arnold and Sandy Bigtree.