Hiawatha Belt Returned to Onondaga Lake

By Laritza Salazar

Days after the nation celebrated Columbus Day, indigenous members of upstate New
York gathered Friday to return the original Hiawatha belt to Onondaga Lake. The
original Hiawatha belt, made when the Haudenosaunee formed before prior to
European arrival, was a physical testament of the agreement of peace among the five
nations. Onondaga Lake witnessed the creation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in
1142.

The Confederacy included five distinct nations in the southern Great Lakes area into
The Great League of Peace. Those five nations are depicted on the belt.

Curious pedestrians and guests looked over a collection of threaded belts and jewelry of
Haudenosaunee clan that sat on a long table. The Hiawatha belt itself is made of blue
and purple beads strung intricately and symbolic geometric shapes outlined in
white. An Oneida man looked on with his granddaughter, as she demanded to know as
much as she could about the arrangements on the table.

As we look at the belt here, if we look at each symbol of the original five nations from
left to right, they represent Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca. This was the
forming of the confederacy. This is who we are, our confederacy as Haudenosaunee. In
the past 20 and 30 years we have resettled and began to re-learn about ourselves. The
belt here, with all the history and educating people, shows that were still here. said
John Logan, an attendant at the event.

Logan came to the event with his four-year-old granddaughter, who has been learning
more about her Native culture.
Witnessing this event is a way, I thought, to teach her at an early age, not just our
values but our history. The Hiawatha belt is a reflection of a commitment we set forth
hundreds of years ago, and one that we must fight to preserve. said Logan.

Just on the outskirts of the Salt Museum, a physical testimony to Onondaga Lakes
deteriorated state, camera crew and eager attendants huddled beneath a willow tree on
the edge of the lake. In what will be a 4-part national PBS broadcast, Providence
Pictures, filmed the event for a series that hopes to project the voices of indigenous
communities in telling the stories of their culture.

Curious pedestrians and guests looked over a collection of threaded belts and jewelry of
Haudenosaunee clan that sat on a long table. The Hiawatha belt itself is made of blue
and purple beads strung intricately and symbolic geometric shapes outlined in white.

As we look at the belt here, if we look at each symbol of the original five nations from
left to right, they represent Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca. This was the
forming of the confederacy. This is who we are, our confederacy as Haudenosaunee. In
the past 20 and 30 years we have resettled and began to re-learn about ourselves. The
belt here, with all the history and educating people, shows that were still here. said
John Logan, an attendant at the event.

As the first sequences began to film, young children and teenagers from the Mohawk
clan carried the original Hiawatha belt. The host then told people in attendance to circle
around them. The event facilitators Tom Porter and Spiritual Leader, Tadodaho Sid Hill,
began to explore the history of the original Wampum Belt.

The events involvement in the documentary came about through the help of Syracuse
University professor, Philip Arnold. His wife, Sandra Bigtree, a member of the Mohawk
clan, served on the Planning Committee for the film and helped organize Fridays event.
Syracuse University professor Philip Arnold, Chair of the Religion Department, met the
film producer at a conference at Harvard. The producer was interested in doing a
segment of his documentary on wampum.
Because Professor Arnold directed the repurposing of an historical fortified mission
site at Onondaga Lake to retell the ancient story of the founding of the Haudenosaunee,
the Great Law of Peace, and the Hiawatha Wampum Belt, Providence Pictures decided
to have us facilitate in the production of their project. said Bigtree.

Pressing concerns on environmentalism consumed a great deal of discussion on both

Porter and Sid Hills behalf. Their words made even more powerful through the
backdrop of the beautiful fall day.

This lake is very deceptive. We can look at it and see its very beautiful, but we all know
whats beneath there. You cant eat the fish. I wouldnt advise anyone to drink the water,
we are limited to the use that it had, said Sid Hill. Just to look back a thousand years
ago and to think what kind of activities would have been going on at the time. There are
so many better things we can do as people to help. It has a lot to do with which direction
were going in. Climate change, whether you accept it or not, but you know things are
changing.

The event also examined the indigenous history that occurred in New York, specifically
with the confronting of the feared Onondaga chieftain. Todadaho, and his later
acceptance of the Confederacy. The facilitators highlighted the many tribes that lived
together peacefully long before the Europeans colonized the Americas.

Syracuse University admissions counselor, Tammy Bluewolf Kennedy, hopes that

through events like these, a new historical perspective can provide further insight into
the modern lives of indigenous people.

There are over 500 different indigenous nations in the United States, so you cant really
just say Native or Indigenous because thats really an umbrella term. Everybodys
different and they all have different histories. None of that is even touched in schools.
said Bluewolf Kennedy.
Bluewolf Kennedys specifically works as the Native American liaison at the University,
recruiting members of the Haudenosaunee clan to attend SU.

There are so many issues facing indigenous people across the globe. There is the
mascot issue, there are land rights, treaty rights, standing rock, the protest thats
happening over there in North Dakota is huge. Im shocked that mainstream is not
covering it more, and that theyre only covering it from the oil perspective, not from the
indigenous perspective. said Bluewolf Kennedy.

Other attendants who shared similar backgrounds discussed the changing narrative that
has begun to take place in the United States, most recently with many states adopting
Indigenous Peoples Day as an alternative to Columbus Day, according to NPR.

I think it's really important to stay connected to indigenous community especially in

this time. Im Tano myself and I think its important for everyone to get to know more
about these histories. We need to continue moving forward in the time that we are in. In
Ithaca I am working right now with special organizations to connect with all of the
indigenous communities there and work to connect everybody else as well. said Alexis
Esposito.

Esposito heard about the event through Facebook and drove up for one day to witness
the event.

Native and indigenous people are not all extinct like mainstream media paints it to be.
More than 70 percent of Puerto Ricans have native blood, but thats not how we see it.
And so its important these voices are heard. said Esposito.

As the ceremony began to dwindle along with the day, Porter and Sid Hill closed the
ceremony with striking words that complemented an already striking day.

To the animals big and small, to the birds that sing beautiful songs everyday so we
wont get bored and lonely. Instead we hear the joy in our creator's voice in the birds
song as the sunrises every morning. Mother earth doesnt lack anything, it is perfect. All
we need to do is take what we need for today, and save what we can for tomorrow. said
Porter.

Before the crowd disperses, Sid Hill concluded the ceremony by saying:
Peace is not just about not having war. Its about that peace of mind you have when you
go about the day. How we treat each other. How we address each other. How we look
out for each other. said Sid Hill.

To this day, the Haudenosaunee are the only Indigenous Nations within the continental
United States that are still organized by their pre-Colonial pre-Contact clan governance.
Bigtree says The Onondaga, have never broken their original treaty obligations made
with George Washington. The 4-part PBS documentary special is set to air in early 2018.