Face of the Nation

A sovereign nation resides next door, yet most Central New Yorkers know little about the people who comprise the Onondaga Nation. Folks like Andy Mager, co-coordinator of the Syracuse Peace Council, and Joe Heath, general counsel for the Onondaga Nation, are working to remedy this knowledge gap. It’s something they attribute to historically inaccurate information ingrained in the public psyche by schools and the government.

“There’s a piece of it that’s just plain racism,” Mager said. “We’re raised to think of natives as romantic and historic and not in a contemporary sense.”

In 2000 the SPC set up the Neighbors of Onondaga Nation (NOON) subsidiary to serve as a bridge between the Onondaga Nation and the larger local population. They gave presentations, distributed publications and completed other small-scale education programs. In March 2005, when the Onondaga Nation filed their land rights action in federal District Court against New York state, Onondaga County and the city of Syracuse, interest in the Nation’s culture and history reached a critical mass.

To accommodate the renewed interest, NOON set up a series of lectures from February to December 2006. The next event, titled “The Onondaga Nation and the U.S. Courts,” addresses the Nation’s land rights action. Speakers are Heath and Larry Hauptman, a distinguished professor of history at SUNY New Paltz. The lecture takes place Tuesday, July 11, 7 p.m., at Syracuse Stage, 820 E. Genesee St. Admission is free.

“What I intend to talk about is the racist way we’ve dealt with Native Americans in this country. It has been shameful in terms of genocides, ethnic cleansing and stealing land. And it goes on today {in the courts},” said Heath. “We’re hopeful that we can recover from those incredible rulings, when we think about justice.”

The Second Circuit Court of New York state recently dismissed a land claim by the Cayugas, while the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a land claim by the Oneidas. The Onondaga Nation case is still in its initial stages.

The Nation hopes for two things with their land action claim. First, New York state must admit that it took land illegally from the six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy: Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, Mohawk and Tuscarora. Second, that the aboriginal title still belongs to the Onondaga Nation. One misconception about the land action claim is that it would displace non-native residents should the courts find in the Nation’s favor. However, the Nation wants everyone to know they harbor no intention of evicting anyone from their home.

“They know what it’s like to have their land taken from you,” Heath said. “So that’s a significant difference from similar land claims. That’s been stressed in early sessions in the lecture series.” Instead, the Nation plans to use proprietorship to protect and conserve natural resources, secure a continuing source of revenue from the Nation’s lands and, ultimately, to achieve healing.

Whatever the courts decide, the Onondaga Nation still needs to repair damages done to them as a people. Healing requires contribution from all residents who are willing to recognize past wrongs and forge ahead in a new light.

“We’re a long way from doing justice,” said Mager. “We would like our community to look into our collective souls and make amends with the Onondaga Nation for crimes they have suffered. In order for people to be willing to do that, they need to understand why they ought to.”

For more information, call 472-5478 or visit www.peacecouncil.net/noon.