Hochul visits Onondaga Nation territory, 1st NY Gov. to do so in 50 years

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Governor Kathy Hochul visited the Onondaga Longhouse Wednesday, marking the first time in 50 years that a sitting New York state governor visited the Onondaga Nation on Indigenous land.

Hochul’s visit comes after the Onondaga Nation reached an agreement between themselves, New York state and the federal government in June 2022 to return over 1,000 acres to the Nation in central New York’s Tully Valley.

Chief Tadodaho Sid Hill of the Onondaga Nation wrote in the release that he hopes the conversation with Hochul will begin a “fruitful dialogue” to restore peace and justice between the Nation and New York state.

“Dialogue is always essential to respectful government-to-government relations, and we agree that the return of 1,000 acres at the headwaters of Onondaga Creek is a long-overdue recognition of the need to reverse the environmental degradation of the land and waters that have sustained our people long before the Europeans settlers first arrived,” Hill wrote in the release.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated in December 2017 that Honeywell contributed hazardous substances which resulted in the contamination of Onondaga Lake and the surrounding area. Honeywell signed a consent decree in 2018 to transfer the 1,000 acres from the company to New York state before it was then returned to the Nation as part of the Onondaga Lake Natural Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Plan.

The Onondaga Nation land return is one part of 18 total remediation projects New York state mandated Honeywell complete. Onondaga Nation members previously told The D.O. they were unsatisfied with the state’s handling of the return process.

Hochul and Onondaga Nation Leaders — including Hill, representatives of the Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers — addressed ways both the Onondaga Nation and the New York state government can collaborate together. Dialogue included potential investments in education and health care, according to the release.

“The Onondaga Nation hopes that this meeting will hasten the process of truth and healing between our two governments, as we work towards lasting justice, peace and respect for all who inhabit this area that is the homeland of the Onondaga Nation and its people,” Hill wrote.