Haudenosaunee Welcome introduces new students to ancestral land, honors its sanctity
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As the sun set behind Hendricks Chapel, members of the greater Syracuse community and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy gathered for the Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering. It was hosted by Diane Schenandoah, a sculptor and spiritual leader at Barnes. She said the gathering helps remind the Syracuse University community to respect the land on which the campus resides and the indigenous people who live there.
“This is the Onondaga Nation land, and this is the capital of the Confederacy,” Schenandoah said. “So it’s very important that people … know where they’re coming to study, and who they should be studying, or at least know about when they come here.”
The Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering is an annual event welcoming students, faculty and staff onto the Haudenosaunee land. The ceremony featured traditional addresses, focusing on respecting the different parts of nature that make the Earth so special, Schenandoah said.
Tracy Shenandoah, Onondaga Nation spiritual advisor, began the ceremony by delivering a traditional Thanksgiving address. The address is shared during all Haudenosaunee gatherings and is a direct address to the “Natural World.” When speaking, Shenandoah thanked all forms of life-sustaining energy in the world and recognized how everything on earth is connected and should be equally respected.
“All these different plant lives, the Creator gave them their special duties to sustain good life on Earth,” Shenandoah said. “So in that direction (towards the earth) we gather our minds and we think.”
The idea of respecting all of the living things that inhabit the earth is a deep belief among the Haudenosaunee people, and Shenandoah’s words presented each part of the world as singular and important. Throughout the address, he took time to honor and respect the different gifts from the sun, plants, animals and stars.
He particularly shared his love for the sustenance that is provided to us from naturally occurring resources, especially corn, beans and squash, which he referred to as “the leaders.”
“Now we direct our minds to the life-giving foods the Creator planned on the Earth. Every day we receive nourishment from them to sustain our health and our strength,” Shenandoah said.
In addition to honoring the Haudenosaunee culture, the gathering was a place for members of the community to gather and learn from each other. Dalton Adams, a sophomore at SUNY ESF studying conservation biology, said he enjoyed many of the Haudenosaunee events that Barnes held last year.
Along with members of the Haudenosaunee, the Welcome Gathering was attended by members of neighboring tribes including the Mohawk Nation.
Cassandra Roshu | Photo Editor
Adams attended the Welcome Gathering to gain a deeper understanding of the Haudenosaunee culture and learn more about one central New York’s culture. He hopes other students will choose to learn more about the Haudenosaunee and Onondaga Nation in order to truly respect the land around them.
“We can really garner a deeper understanding of one another because community and peace are really the goal of what everything should be,” Adams said. “By being involved in ceremonies like this and going to activities on campus, we can really foster that understanding of the relationship.”
The ceremony was concluded by a keynote address from Charlie Patton, faithkeeper of the Mohawk Nation, a neighboring tribe in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Patton’s words highlighted the importance of upholding traditional indigenous values, and how he has seen their culture change over time.
Patton said there were times when the Haudenosaunee language had been pushed to the side and people did not feel comfortable in properly representing their ancestry. He said that continuing to speak the languages that the Creator gave to all indigenous peoples is vital in keeping their culture alive and a significant part of the world.
Although many of the tribes in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy are separated by long distances, Patton said events like the Welcome Gathering bring them closer together.
“We are different families living in a different part of the house and between us now what we understand is that we carry the same mind,” Patton said. “So on behalf of our people, my family and our people, we accept your beautiful words, on behalf of all the people who are here, we accept the beautiful words that you have given.”
Although they may be from different cultures, Patton said people from all over the world are connected through the land they share and must continue to honor that land and all that it gives them.
“Right here you have this great beautiful land. When you get a chance, take your shoes off, take your socks off, put your feet on your mother, put your hands on the earth and say ‘my mother, I care for you,’” Patton said.
