Onondaga Nation - People of the Hills
Onondaga Nation - People of the Hills: HISTORY- Birth of a Nationby Oren Lyons
Over a thousand years ago on the shores of Onondaga Lake, in present day central New York, democracy was born.
The Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and the Mohawk people had been warring against each other and there was great bloodshed. These people (the 5 nations) had forgotten their ways and their actions saddened the Creator. The Creator sent a messenger to the people so that the five nations could live in peace. The messenger is referred to as the Peacemaker.
The Peacemaker carried the powerful words of peace to the five nations. The Peacemaker traveled in a stone canoe to show to these troubled people that his words are true. In order for the Creator's message to spread, the Peacemaker sought out the warring leaders of the people of the five nations. In searching for these people, the Peacemaker came upon a woman. This woman had no alliances but did provide shelter and food for the men as they passed to war upon each other. The Peacemaker told her about the message and that her actions were also saddening the Creator. After listening to the message she agreed to follow the message. The Peacemaker set aside a special duty for the women of the five nations (Clan Mother). The Peacemaker then traveled to all of the nations spreading his words of peace.
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Over a thousand years ago on the shores of Onondaga Lake, in present day central New York, democracy was born.
The Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and the Mohawk people had been warring against each other and there was great bloodshed. These people (the 5 nations) had forgotten their ways and their actions saddened the Creator. The Creator sent a messenger to the people so that the five nations could live in peace. The messenger is referred to as the Peacemaker.
The Peacemaker carried the powerful words of peace to the five nations. The Peacemaker traveled in a stone canoe to show to these troubled people that his words are true. In order for the Creator's message to spread, the Peacemaker sought out the warring leaders of the people of the five nations. In searching for these people, the Peacemaker came upon a woman. This woman had no alliances but did provide shelter and food for the men as they passed to war upon each other. The Peacemaker told her about the message and that her actions were also saddening the Creator. After listening to the message she agreed to follow the message. The Peacemaker set aside a special duty for the women of the five nations (Clan Mother). The Peacemaker then traveled to all of the nations spreading his words of peace.
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The Onondaga Nation is a member of the
Haudenosaunee (“People of the Long House”), an
alliance of native nations united for hundreds
of years by traditions, beliefs and cultural values.
Also referred to as the Iroquois Confederacy or
Six Nations, the Haudenosaunee consist of the
Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca,
Onondaga Nation's and Tuscarora nations.
Oren Lyons is the Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Onondaga Council of Chiefs of the Hau de no sau nee (ho dee noe sho nee), of the Onondaga Nation of the Hau de no sau nee (meaning People Building a Long House). Born in 1930, he was raised in the traditional life ways of the Hau de no sau nee on the Seneca and Onondaga reservations. In 1982 he helped establish the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations where he has participated in the Indigenous Peoples Conference in Geneva, an international forum supported by the United Nations' Human Rights Commission. He is a principal figure in the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders, a council of traditional grassroots leadership of North American Indian nations.
As Faithkeeper, he is entrusted to maintain the customs, traditions, values and history of the Turtle Clan and uphold Gai Eneshah Go' Nah, the Great Law of Peace of the Hau de no sau nee while representing the people's message from the Hau de no sau nee to the World Community in every aspect as deemed necessary by the Onondaga people. In 1992 he was invited to address the General Assembly of the United Nations and open the International Year of the World's Indigenous People at the United Nations Plaza in New York. During that year he organized a delegation of the Hau de no sau nee to the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro and was invited by UNCED Secretary General Maurice Strong, to address the national delegations.
Co-editor with John Mohawk of Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations, and the U.S. Constitution (Clear Light: 1992), publisher of Daybreak, a national Native American magazine, Oren Lyons conscientiously and steadfastly honors and serves life's needs and the needs of the seventh generation, clearly and incisively addressing such essential issues as Spirituality, Natural Law, and the Ethics of Authority. He is Professor of American Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo where he directs the Native American Studies Program and teaches undergraduate courses in Surveys of Native American History and a Native American Studies Colloquium. He is a Principal faculty member for over forty Master degree committees and five Doctoral Degree Committees. Topic of research supervision includes Native American Education, Native Legal Situation with the Federal Government and the Canadian Federal Government, Economic Development on the Native Territories and Sovereign Issues in the International Perspective, Native American Health Issues, Native American Cultural and Artistic Expression.
Haudenosaunee (“People of the Long House”), an
alliance of native nations united for hundreds
of years by traditions, beliefs and cultural values.
Also referred to as the Iroquois Confederacy or
Six Nations, the Haudenosaunee consist of the
Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca,
Onondaga Nation's and Tuscarora nations.
Oren Lyons is the Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Onondaga Council of Chiefs of the Hau de no sau nee (ho dee noe sho nee), of the Onondaga Nation of the Hau de no sau nee (meaning People Building a Long House). Born in 1930, he was raised in the traditional life ways of the Hau de no sau nee on the Seneca and Onondaga reservations. In 1982 he helped establish the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations where he has participated in the Indigenous Peoples Conference in Geneva, an international forum supported by the United Nations' Human Rights Commission. He is a principal figure in the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders, a council of traditional grassroots leadership of North American Indian nations.
As Faithkeeper, he is entrusted to maintain the customs, traditions, values and history of the Turtle Clan and uphold Gai Eneshah Go' Nah, the Great Law of Peace of the Hau de no sau nee while representing the people's message from the Hau de no sau nee to the World Community in every aspect as deemed necessary by the Onondaga people. In 1992 he was invited to address the General Assembly of the United Nations and open the International Year of the World's Indigenous People at the United Nations Plaza in New York. During that year he organized a delegation of the Hau de no sau nee to the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro and was invited by UNCED Secretary General Maurice Strong, to address the national delegations.
Co-editor with John Mohawk of Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations, and the U.S. Constitution (Clear Light: 1992), publisher of Daybreak, a national Native American magazine, Oren Lyons conscientiously and steadfastly honors and serves life's needs and the needs of the seventh generation, clearly and incisively addressing such essential issues as Spirituality, Natural Law, and the Ethics of Authority. He is Professor of American Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo where he directs the Native American Studies Program and teaches undergraduate courses in Surveys of Native American History and a Native American Studies Colloquium. He is a Principal faculty member for over forty Master degree committees and five Doctoral Degree Committees. Topic of research supervision includes Native American Education, Native Legal Situation with the Federal Government and the Canadian Federal Government, Economic Development on the Native Territories and Sovereign Issues in the International Perspective, Native American Health Issues, Native American Cultural and Artistic Expression.
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