Haudenosaunee Boots at Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown

Cooperstown: Interior of Houdenosaunee Longhouse

Cooperstown: Otesaga Lake and Haudenosaunee Longhouse

Haudenousaunee and Two Row Flags at Onondaga Nation Before the Two Row Campaign Launch

Idle No More: Flash Mob in Syracuse Yesterday Evening

Haudenosaunee Give Thanks For Repatriation of Sacred Objects With Replica Wampum Belt

The Haudenosaunee Trail

Mohawk Bark House at Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown

This reproduction bark house is situated beside Otsego Lake.

Seneca Log House at Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown

The Fenimore Art Museum now has on its grounds an original Haudenosaunee building brought from Rochester and originally built at Tuscarora.

Crooked Arrows and Columbus

As we filed out of the world premiere of Crooked Arrows we noticed people leaving the OnCenter and walking toward Columbus Circle.

Columbus is mounted upon a pedestal. At the base of the pedestal are four shell fountains atop turtles. 

He faces the Catholic Church rather than the Onondaga County Courthouse.

The Doctrine of Discovery, several Papal Bulls issued in the mid to late fifteenth century, declared that any lands "discovered" where no Catholics lived were available for the taking. The inherent rights of indigenous people were meaningless.

Columbus standing high above turtles closely connected to fountains of water is a perfect metaphor for the history of conquest and wanton disrespect for people who had lived here for thousands of years.

Crooked Arrows

Much of the cast, directors, producers and others significant in bringing Crooked Arrows to Syracuse for its World Premiere at the OnCenter.

What brings this film to life is the authenticity of native culture including respect for elders, and the authenticity of the lacrosse. 

History as Written by the Dominant Culture

This plaque embedded in a rock in the Valley commemorates Sullivan's Campaign of 1779. General John Sullivan carried out George Washington's scorched earth policy intended to uproot and drive out the Haudenosaunee people from upstate New York. Sullivan's army burned crops, cut down orchards, destroyed dozens of villages, and ultimately caused the deaths of thousands of native people by starvation and freezing.

There is another sign identical to this one in Lodi. There probably are many more throughout the land between Rome and Niagara Falls. We also notice the ubiquitous yellow and blue signs that tell the same story.

One day all these signs will be part of a museum exhibit about historical signage and who decides what story to tell.