360 Magazine Spring 2018: Indigenous Legacy & Culture by SU 360 Magazine

HICKORY EDWARDS DEFENDING THE SACRED

A SENSE OF HOME THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY ON CAMPUS

SKYWOMAN HAUDENOSAUNEE CREATION STORY

ISSUE 39 - SPRING 2018

Letter From The Editor “I would like to begin by acknowledging with respect the Onondaga Nation, the Indigenous people on whose ancestral lands Syracuse University now stands.” I was sitting in the very last row of Maxwell Auditorium when I was first struck by this phrase. It preceded some event, a forum or debate, but those initial words are what stuck with me long after the evening had ended. I had come to this university to pursue a higher education, to learn about the world beyond my conservative New England hometown and to connect with people of diverse backgrounds. To know hardly anything about the history, legacies, and culture of the Onondaga Nation, which is so integral to the identity of central New York, felt to me like the ultimate failure as a student. In short, hearing those words in Maxwell Auditorium, I was embarrassed — but I knew I couldn’t be the only student who wanted and needed to learn. And so we began.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in 360 Degrees are not necessarily those of the entire staff. 360 Degrees welcomes contributions from all members of the Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF community but retains the right to publish only material 360 Degrees deems acceptable to the publication’s editorial purpose. Mission Statement: Since its debut at Syracuse University in 1998, 360 Degrees has always strived to achieve a balance between tradition and change. Founded by Lanre Mayen Gaba as a new lens to view culture, 360 Degrees has a different focus, format, and feel than its predecessors. Through the years, the magazine has become a general interest publication with a cultural twist, dedicated to informing students about issues on campus, in the community, and in the whole world at large.

The Indigenous Students at Syracuse, an on-campus student organization, met our questions and inquiries with patience and thoughtfulness. Karakwahawi walked us through the Haudenosaunee Creation Story (page 30) and Kacey presented the much-needed history of Indigenous/U.S. Federal relations (page 14). We learned about the incredible activists and leaders whose impacts reach beyond the Northeast (pages 8 and 18). And here, on campus, Marcus and Maris share their experiences as Indigenous students navigating different communities (page 20). Though this issue only scratches the surface, it’s been a pleasure to talk and learn about the Nations that pre existed not only this university, but this country. I am grateful every day to be attending a university that offers so many opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue, and hope that this issue may in itself spark future conversations.

staff

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MOLLY BOLLAND MANAGING EDITOR JAMIE JENSON

FEATURES EDITOR MADELINE BUCKLEY FRONT OF BOOK ALEXIS JONES

360 EDITOR KEVIN VAN PELT

PHOTO EDITOR EMMA WISHNOW DESIGN DIRECTOR SAMUEL LUO

WEB EDITOR SHANNON STUBBS

DEFENDING THE SACRED

REMEMBERING CHIEF IRVING POWLESS JR.

PEACE TALKS

STOLEN SOIL

APPROPRIATE(D) APPAREL

SKYWOMAN

04 THE NAME OF THE DAY

07 SPIRIT OF THE GAMES

20 A SENSE OF HOME SPRING 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DESIGNER CARA WANG

THE

Name

of the day

Written by Thomas Beckley-Forest Photos by Kacey Chopito

n a Friday in early October of 2015, a small group of SU graduate students gathered in a room on the second floor of the house at 113 Euclid Ave, where the university’s Native Student Program is headquartered. Among those present, almost all were of Indigenous heritage, claiming several tribes between them: Hugh Burnham and Brianna Carrier, of the Mohawk, Neal Powless of the Onondaga, Kelsey John and Jourdan Bennett-Begaye of the Navajo, Ray Gutierrez of the Mono, and Phillip George, the only undergrad and the youngest person present, of the Oneida tribe.

How a group of students flipped Columbus Day’s dark legacy into an opportunity for indigenous pride

They had entered the room with a purpose, pledging not to leave that room until it was accomplished. They emerged several hours later with the draft of a letter, addressed to SU’s administration, that listed their demands with respect to the treatment of the University’s indigenous community. One of them was public acknowledgement that the University is built on the Onondaga’s sacred lands — another was that Columbus Day, then only three days away, be given a new name: Indigenous Peoples’ Day. That Monday, the day in question, they took to the quad and rallied for their demands to be met. That night, they scored what they thought was a preemptive victory – Bea González, then University College Dean, wanted to meet with them. But when they finally had that meeting, two weeks later, they left feeling discouraged. “They were dragging their feet, we felt,” said Hugh Burnam, one of the grad students involved with the original letter. “We couldn’t tell if she was even receptive.” That was the last they heard of it until almost a year later, in August 2016, when Gonzalez reached out and delivered the good news: the University trustees had considered their demands, and wanted to meet them. The news was announced at the early-orientation that all of SU’s incoming native students attend.

“It was the years, years in the making, because native students had always been advocating and having these discussions about, well, about belonging, really, you know?” said Burnam, now a phD candidate who studies the experiences of indigenous students in higher ed. “These conversations had been going on so long—we’re just the people who decided to get together and write it up.” From then on, at nearly every public event held on campus, a speaker will first acknowledge the existential debt SU owes the Onondaga for the use of their land. Everywhere that a New York State flag is displayed on campus, the flag of the Onondaga nation is displayed alongside it. And every year since 2016, SU has celebrated Indigenous People’s Day. “You might as well call it “Indigenous Survival Day,’” Burnam said – they had long called it that in the Native Student Program, years before the official name change was even a twinkle in Bea Gonzalez’s eye. “It’s a testament to our survival. Our communities have endured so much.” The original holiday, of course, honors the Italian explorer who “discovered” the New World for Spain in 1492 and subjugated many of the Caribbean’s Indigenous communities in the process. It was probably first celebrated on its 300th anniversary in 1792, by historical societies in newly independent Boston and Manhattan, and did not gain wide popularity until the late 1800s, when it became, paradoxically, a rallying point for Italian-American immigrants who felt underrepresented in America’s founding myths. New York made it a state holiday in 1907—FDR made it federal in 1934, due to lobbying from Italian-American community leaders.

Burnam estimates that awareness of the darker side of Columbus’s legacy—enslavement, brutality, and near-genocidal treatment of the indigenous people he encountered—probably entered the American mainstream in the 1970s. “We were always talking about it in our communities,” Burnam said. “But I think that the seventies really saw it brought to the forefront, with the American Indian Movement.” In the United States at least, the city of Berkeley, California was likely the first to rename the day, celebrating Indigenous People’s Day for the first time in 1992. The last few years, however, have seen an unprecedented shift. Since 2014, numerous institutions and municipalities have publicly recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day, including major cities like Seattle, Minneapolis, Austin, Portland, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix, as well as the states of Oregon and Alaska. “It’s a recognition that our lives matter,” said Kacey Chopito, president of Indigenous Students at Syracuse, a member of the Zuni tribe in New Mexico. “Looking at the history of the United States, our lives have not been seen as important, and that continues in so many aspects of life—in media, in law. And it’s resulted in huge loss of indigenous land, and in families being torn apart, because of a misunderstanding of indigenous lives—even now, in our time.” For Chopito, a pre-law student who aspires to defend native land rights in court, Indigenous Peoples’ Day

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1, 3: Taken at Indigenous Peoples’ Day Oct 2017 2: Taken at Indigenous Peoples’ day Oct 2016

represents a much-needed opportunity for education and representation, in a country where most grade-school curriculums barely skim the surface of the history of Indigenous people in the U.S. This feeds into archaic stereotypes which, aside from being offensive, are often dangerously innacurate. “One of the most damaging ideas out there is this myth that indigenous people are somehow gone, as in extinct,” Chopito said. “And that obviously played in the American mentality that ‘oh, Indigenous people are gone, here’s all this land.’ Going forward, there’s so much to do.” Fortunately, Chopito said, a new generation of Indigenous activists seems to be getting to its feet, using new technologies like Facebook Live to get their message out, something he saw while protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock in late 2016. “It was one of the few times in history that you had so many indigenous nations all coming together to fight the same fight,” he said. “Individually or regionally, we have all fought this fight, this fight is not new. But to have so many nations standing together to assert our rights as Indigenous people—the importance can’t be understated.” It is one of the sights he said he will never forget from Standing Rock, and one of the first things he saw: the flags of all the Indigenous nations represented at the protest, arrayed in long lines on either side as he entered the #NODAPL protestors’ base camp, hundreds and hundreds of them.

"STAND

together to assert our

RIGHTS

Spirit of the Games Written by Jamie Jenson

“Today we’re going to talk about dehontshigwa’es, which means ‘they bump hips,’” he writes. “This is a game that the Creator gave to us years ago for his entertainment. So when we play this game, we are entertaining him. “And the game is made up of his rules and regulations so that we learn how to work together as a team, to make split-second decisions on what is happening. And it gives us a chance to play our gifts that the Creator has given us, like the ability to run and to handle a stick.” Since 2013, the Onondaga Nation has hosted the Wooden Stick Festival, an expo that celebrates the history and legacy of the Creator’s Game. Dr. Arnold also says there are many games that Indigenous peoples play that are not played elsewhere.

Many of the sports played today have been influenced by Indigenous tribes throughout the Americas. Lacrosse, which has deep roots in Indigenous culture, is one of the most popular and successful sports programs at Syracuse University; the men’s lacrosse team has won 11 national titles, and the women’s program, which has only been around for 20 years, has five Big East titles to its name. Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion at Syracuse University Dr. Philip Arnold says that what we call lacrosse is seen and used as a dedication to the Creator, and it’s understood to have a healing quality—people can ask for a game to be played for themselves or for a family member. He also says the history of lacrosse in this area has influenced Syracuse University, as well. “There’s a reason why we’re 11-time National Champions at Syracuse University,” Arnold said. Our coaches know this history—it goes back a thousand years to the lake. It’s been played here for millennia—literally.” In his book Who Are These People Anyway? Irving Powless, Beaver Clan Chief of the Onondaga Nation, writes about the origins of lacrosse, which is often referred to as the Creator’s Game.

“Snow snake is big. It’s really another wooden stick game, and they shoot this ’snake’ down a trough in the snow,” Arnold said. The “snake” is actually a piece of wood, either six feet or three feet, that the player must throw down a track. The team who throws the snake the farthest is declared the winner and has bragging rights until the next event. The origins of the game are particularly interesting: it’s believed that the Onondagas used the wooden snakes to communicate with each other by throwing them between longhouses during the harsh snowstorms that are so common in the Syracuse area. Longball is another Native game that is somewhat reminiscent of baseball, although it’s been around for far longer. Played in the summer, players use a long, slender bat to hit a leather ball. The ball must be hit inside boundary lines, and the 9-player team that reaches 21 points first is declared the winner. Winter sports such as hockey and tobogganing also have ties to Indigenous peoples, and no matter what the sports, all Indigenous games are considered sacred. “They’re all tied to ceremonies in some way. They’re all tied to some kind of engagement with the sacred,” Arnold said.

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Indigenous athletes dedication to sports goes beyond the field

The story of Standing Rock and the man who helped saved it For the last decade, Hickory Edwards of the Onondaga Nation Turtle Clan has paddled around the Northeast Borderlands of Turtle Island (North America), an activity that connects him to these waters but constantly reminds him of the water quality and pollution issues plaguing Onondaga Lake and Onondaga Creek. After seeing similar problems surrounding rights to land and clean water in North and South Dakota, he was compelled to join the movement that began at Standing Rock. He has come into the spotlight lately, as one of his creations from the Standing Rock movement ended up in a display at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

However, Edwards’ entrance into water activism began many years before Standing Rock—it began when he first went kayaking. It is something he says his ancestors have done for thousands of years. He borrowed a kayak and began to paddle with friends: one mile the first day, then two miles the next, then four, continuing further and further until his friends decided to stay behind while he continued on. He first noticed the Onondaga Creek, muddied by mudboils dumping up to 20 tons of silt and sand into the creek each day and the city of Syracuse’s long history of brine mining. Eventually, as he started making the nearly 15-mile journey by kayak to Onondaga Lake from the Onondaga Nation, Edwards saw the water quality issues plaguing the lake firsthand. According to Edwards, the lake sacred to the Onondaga Nation has become something one wouldn’t even want to put one’s hands in.

According to the Onondaga Nation, “Centuries ago, the Peacemaker brought the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk Nations together on the shores of Onondaga Lake. At the lakeshore, these warring nations accepted the message of peace, laid down their arms, and formed the Haudenosaunee Confederacy – the first representative democracy in the West. The lake became a sacred place, one that must be cared for and respected.”

“Seeing the lake like this started giving me the idea of what I could do to help,” Edwards says. “Anything to do with water, I’m fighting.” The water pollution near his home inspired Edwards to unite in the national fight for water, land, and treaty rights in the almost year-long movement at Standing Rock that earned the world’s attention. Edwards says that activism in defense of water is a large undertaking because “anywhere you go on this continent, there’s water being endangered of being polluted, misused, mismanaged, or mistreated.”

Edwards says Indigenous peoples are taught that throughout the whole circle of life, water remains the constant, necessary element. “The same water that made up my ancestors is the same water that is going to make up my great-great-great-grandchildren,” he says. “We have to protect this water not only for ourselves, but for our future generations.” Edwards says we are all connected like brothers through the water within us, which is why he wanted to go to Standing Rock and help in any way possible. In total, Edwards took six trips out to Standing Rock, each for up to several weeks at a time. But, as a single father with a daughter in school, Edwards needed to limit his time in the prayer camp. On his numerous trips back and forth, he brought donated supplies to the camp as well as more people.

Defending the Sacred Hickory Edwards:

Written by Garet Bleir | Photos by Natalie Brigham

SPRING 2018

Since then, the sacred site has been labeled the most polluted lake in the U.S. by late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan after years of sewage and industrial dumping. Although the final stage of the lake cleanup process began in 2017, controversy remains over whether the lake will ever be considered fully restored.

On September 22, during Edwards’ second visit, he made the iconic mile-marker pole right on the corner of the Haudenosaunee camp. The wooden pole was nailed with dozens of wooden boards, each pointing to the cardinal direction of a camp members’ home and stating the distance from Standing Rock. Edwards came up with the idea from signs he saw on various paddling trips around Syracuse. “The first sign up was Onondaga, and then the rest of our camp and six nations,” Edwards says. “

“Then we just sat there with a hammer and nail. Anyone who passed by we said, ‘Hey where are you from? Put your home up there!’” Within the week, signs from all over the globe covered the pole — from just a couple hundred feet away to the Onondaga Nation’s 1,500-mile trip and all the way to the Artic Sami Indigenous peoples, 3,900 miles away.” Edwards returned on his third trip in November, after raising enough money to buy a 32-by-16 foot military-style tent for the Haudenosaunee camp. In order to test it, he set up the tent in Syracuse and would stay in it at night once it started getting cold. Once in Standing Rock, he slept outside until he could set the tent up, then slept there for another two weeks until the day before the Blackwater Bridge incident. That day, Edwards was getting into the car with his niece, cousin, and her son. As Edwards and the others were jumping into the truck and saying their goodbyes, someone came by with a loudspeaker in the back of a truck yelling, “They’re hosing everybody down! They’re shooting everyone with rubber bullets,” urging people to the front lines of the barricade at Backwater Bridge.

“Me and my cousins, we looked at each other like, well we can’t leave,” Edwards says. “This is what we came here for. This is why we’re here, so we told the kids with us that we’d be back and left them with everyone in camp. And so we went up there right on that front line.” Edwards was sprayed with fire hoses. He blocked rubber bullets with a shield. He watched as one of the police officers on the other side of the barricade shot his friend in the leg. “My friend went down,” Edwards says. “I jumped in front of him with my shield and blocked a couple of bullets.” Frozen from the water hoses that night, Edwards lost his voice for about two months. Among numerous other injuries, hundreds were diagnosed with hypothermia after being soaked by chemical-filled water cannons. Some had their corneas detached from being shot in the eye with rubber bullets, and a concussion grenade thrown by the police and security forces blew off one girl’s arm. Even after that brutal night, Edwards wasn’t dissuaded from going back to Standing Rock. Less than a month later, Edwards returned with veterans who had come out

He also explained that he lacked the money to get there in time to save the mile-marker pole. With just two days left before eviction, the museum decided to fund the costs of sending Edwards to save the pole.

They wanted it be included as a featured piece in the end of the National Museum of the American Indian’s “Nation to Nation” exhibit, which featured items documenting broken treaties between the United States and American Indian Nations. “They had an emergency meeting and decided right there as fast as they could,” Edwards says. “So within ten minutes, they called me back and sent me the money to go out there. The next day, I was on my way, dug it up within the night, and made it back onto the airplane because the next morning was when they evicted everyone.” Edwards says although Standing Rock was a momentous movement, the unity is not something that has surprised him. “I have known that that is how we come together for each other and we do all these things,” but now “the world sees it too,” Edwards says. “We’ve always talked in between each nation, and we are aware of each other’s rights. I think the whole thing was the surprise to the non-native people, but it was definitely a nice surprise that a lot of non-native brothers and sisters came in on this fight with us.” In terms of what the Syracuse community could do to be better allies to the Onondaga Nation and other surrounding nations, Edwards suggests finding groups in the area that are taking action and encouraging others to get involved. He said they are currently fighting the plan to dump fracking water directly into the Alleghany River. Now, Edwards is preparing for a 13-day canoe journey, paddling across Haudenosaunee country from Seneca Lake to Cayuga Lake and then Mohawk River in early July. Edwards says the trip,10 years in the making, intends to “bring our people back to the waters and back to the lands.”

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for the publicized Veterans’ March at Standing Rock. Following this, Edwards wanted to save what he left in Standing Rock on one of his first trips there – the mile marker pole. Members of the Standing Rock camp had just received notice that the entire camp would be evicted by police and security forces. Edwards wanted the mile-marker pole to be saved as a symbol of the unification from around the globe. So he called the National Museum of the American Indian and explained that security forces would be there to demolish the camp in just days. Although museums’ portrayals of indigenous culture are controversial throughout Indigenous rights movements, the National Museum of the American Indian has taken significant steps to have indigenous peoples leading and working with both branches of the museum, in New York City and in Washington, D.C. So, Edwards felt that it was the best way to present the piece in a respectful manner and would be seen by many to come.

Arranged by Lenny Martinez

a brief history of the onondaga nation

1142 Earliest date that scholars place of the formation of the Haudenosaunee. The Haudenosaunee believe that their League was formed much earlier than that.

Peace Talks T Written by Hanna Martin

oday’s political climate is polarized, rife with heated debates and intense viewpoints from both liberals and conservatives. The attitude of political division and debate has carried onto college campuses. With the intensity of partisan opinion, many students seek an alternative to angry debate, desiring discussion and understanding on difficult issues. Dr. Anne Mosher of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs recognized this and decided to take action by proposing a project to the Campus Compound Fund for Positive Engagement. Campus Compound, a coalition of colleges and universities that strives to turn students into better citizens, provides grants to select universities in order to bring campus communities together despite often politically charged campus atmospheres. In order to achieve this goal, Mosher and a research team of Syracuse University undergraduate students proposed a project with the goal of using the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace as a way to foster greater dialogue, negotiation and civic engagement on university campuses. The Great Law, or the founding constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, serves as the basis for Haudenosaunee society. It emphasizes reasoning rather than force in order to reach decisions. The chiefs reach consensus at Grand Council meetings by working under the framework of the Great Law for every decision they make. To fully understand the Great Law and how some of its principles could be implemented to better the SU campus community, the students collaborated to create a sourcebook detailing the Great Law and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which is often described as the oldest participatory democracy. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy consists of five previously warring

1613

1790–1822

The Haudenosaunee and the Dutch sign the Two Row Wampum Treaty, establishing friendly relationships between the groups. This treaty is still considered to be in effect by the Haudenosaunee.

New York State continues to purchase land from the Onondaga without following the rules and regulations set forth by President Washington and the Federal government.

The Great Law of Peace in dialogue at SU nations that made peace and now live in harmony: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and the Senecas. The refugeseeking Tuscarora joined later, in 1722. Audra Lisner, an SU senior and member of the original student research group, explains there is a major difference between the Western idea of “conflict resolution” and the Haudenosaunee idea of “conflict transformation.” “Conflict resolution is a Westernized concept that basically involves compromise or sacrifice to get what you want,” she says. “Conflict transformation tries to achieve unity by going to the root of each problem, and through the process of condolence, acknowledging the trauma each party has experienced to get to the current state.” But what stake does SU have in this? On campus, we are surrounded by Haudenosaunee symbols. For example, the Haudenosaunee flag flies everywhere the U.S. flag is flown on campus, and an address acknowledging the Onondaga Nation is read before every SU event. However, Mosher says students do not always fully grasp the greater implications of these symbols. “[The flag and address acknowledging the Onondaga Nation are] supposed to be a campus value and right now it’s just a symbol,” she says. “How do we transform it from just a symbol to a value, and how do we get students to understand what it means to be rooted in this place?” In order to resolve this issue and discover lessons from the Great Law that could be used on campus for growth and conflict transformation, students also engaged with local primary sources from the Onondaga Nation. Patrick Linehan, a freshman in the research group, described the challenges and surprises that students faced in their journey.

1794

1850

1890

Treaty of Canandaigua restored to the Haudenosaunee the lands lost in Western New York due to the second Treaty of Fort Stanwix. The treaty recognized the sovereignty of the Haudenosaunee to govern and set their own laws on their land.

The first school is built on the border of the Onondaga Nation. It later burns down.

A second schoolhouse is built on the Onondaga Nation. Students are taught in English only classes. The Onondaga language is prohibited. Young men and women are sent to Boarding Schools in western New York State and Pennsylvania.

1948 The New Deal is brought to the Onondaga Nation when a brick school and a dam are built.

“It was harder than we thought,” Linehan says. “We thought that we could easily apply the laws for conflict transformation, but then we realized that the Great Law is more of a mindset and a way of life—a more holistic look of how people should act around each other.”

“Students are gaining a fuller sense of who people are and how cultures work,” she says. “There are many ways of knowing and many ways of sharing what we know, and looking at which perspectives are left out really shows who holds the power.”

“Conflict transformation tries to achieve unity by going to the root of each problem, and through the process of condolence, acknowledging the trauma each party has experienced to get to the current state.”

Through looking at Haudenosaunee culture, students are challenging their deepest beliefs, finding information that surprises them and, most importantly, learning how to amplify the voices of different perspectives and forms of knowledge that are often silenced. They are building communities based on diversity and expanding dialogue, all while keeping the Great Law in consideration. “If we can expose some people to those various viewpoints, then they can be more open-minded and understanding of each other,” Linehan says, describing the project’s ideal outcome. “Then we can create a school environment that is more accepting and understanding of each other, one class at a time.”

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However, the project is not yet completed. Students in Karen Oakes’ Honors Critical Research and Writing course are furthering the conversation through primary research in order to round out the sourcebook, filling in missing information as they dive deeper into the research that was started in the Fall 2017 semester. Oaks says the students in her class are working to provide a voice for perspectives that are underrepresented or entirely unrepresented in the dominant dialogue.

1971 New York State DOT attemps to expand Interstate 81 through the Onondaga Nation by claiming eminent domain over their land. The Onondaga Nation protests construction stating Onondaga’s sovereignty. New York State DOT takes the Ononanga Nation to court and the court rules in Onondaga’s favor.

A history of U.S. Federal Indian Policy and Indigenous Ways of Life

1977

The Onondaga Indian School begins language and culture classes to teach students the Onondaga Language after the community boycotts school system.

The first Haudenosaunee passports are issued and an Onondaga delegation travels to Switzerland using the passports.

STOLEN

SOIL

Indigenous, Native American, American Indian, Indian, First Nation, and tribe are some of terms used to collectively describe Indigenous Peoples. These terms are incredibly problematic due to their historical inaccuracy, their reference to colonialism, and their generalization of all Indigenous cultures. However, the terms Indian and American Indian remain the chosen designation amongst institutions, whether they be state, federal or private. It should also be noted that there is no universally accepted name that denotes all Indigenous peoples. At least there is no name that all Indigenous people accept. In any case, it is best to refer to individual Indigenous communities by the name that they prefer, usually in their own language. Throughout this article, the term Indian will be used due to the discussion of federal policies.

For those studying, or for those attempting to familiarize themselves with Indigenous politics and issues in the future, it is imperative that one has an understanding of the history, and culture of Indigenous people. The history of Indigenous people and the federal government is a history that is filled with violence,

"Throughout American history, Indigenous people have fought and struggled for their ability to express and maintain their sovereignty and independence from the federal government." 14

1972

Written by Kacey Chopito

control, assimilation, oppression, termination, and violence. The United States’ federal Indian policy is the relationship between Indigenous nations, and the federal government that is built on a series of treaties, court cases, statutes, and policies. One of the main legal principles of Federal Indian Law and Policy states that nations, and tribes that are recognized by the federal government are independent sovereign governments. That is, they are separate from the federal government, and the states. Throughout American history, Indigenous people have fought and struggled for their ability to express and maintain their sovereignty and independence from the federal government. They have fought against several decades and eras of oppressive and coercive policies. The eras are described as the Treaty Era, the Removal Era, the Reservation Era, the Allotment Era, the Reorganization Era, the Termination Era, and the SelfDetermination Era. The Treaty Era begins prior to the formation of the United States and continues till 1871. During this time, the United States entered into multiple government to government agreements with Indigenous nations. In addition to the 1790 Trade and Intercourse Act, the Supreme Court decided the landmark court case, Johnson v. M’Intosh in 1823. Johnson, the plaintiff, claimed that he held the title to property because the title came from the Piankeshaw nation who resided on that land. William M’Intosh then obtained a title from the land through the US federal government, and the District Court ruled that the Piankeshaw nation did not have the right and ownership to convey the land. This court decision was monumental and plays a major role in U.S property law and forms the basis of Federal Indian law. Additionally, this court case codified the Doctrine of Christian

1980 At Onondaga, The Grand Council approves the initiation of the Iroquois Nationals, a field lacrosse team that competes internationally.

1987 The US Senate acknowledges the role the Haudenosaunee’s government had on the development of the US Constitution.

Discovery into U.S law. The Removal Era, influenced by Thomas Jefferson, began with the enactment of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. This statue gave Congress and the president authority to negotiate treaties that centered around the removal and relocation many eastern, and southern nations to lands west of the Mississippi. Indigenous nations were compelled and coerced into singing these treaties. For the Cherokee Nation, the Indian Removal Act resulted in the Trail of Tears after President Andrew Jackson refused to uphold the ruling in Worcester v. Georgia (1832).

1995

New York Museums return several wampum belts— including the Hiawatha, Tadadaho, and Dust Fan belts— to the Onondaga Nation; Many of the belts had been sold almost a century earlier.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports that Gov. Pataki has called off Gallant Piper. Gallant Piper was a military solution involving 10,000 infantry troops to “settle” the taxation issue with the Haudenosaunee.

of gold meant that United States sought further treaties and land concessions from the Indians. The Allotment Era followed the end of treaties in the United States. This era involves the division of reservations, assimilation, and “civilization” of Indians. This was primarily carried out through the Dawes Act (1887), The Dawes Act aimed at the division of reservations, and sought to fracture families and communities in the hope that it would bring the Indians closer to civilization. Any land not given to individual Indians would be sold to non-Indians. This allotment introduced the concept of land held in trust by the federal government. Other acts of assimilation included the employment of boarding schools, religious education, and U.S citizenship. This era was highly detrimental to the sovereignty, culture and livelihood of Indigenous People.

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Immediately following the Indian Removal Act, and the expansion of settlers into the West, the United States and Bureau of Indian Affairs implemented the reservation system as a means to relocate the Indians. Continued encroachment and the discovery

1989

The Trail Of Tears was a mass relocation of Indigenous peoples from the southeastern United States to west of the Mississippi River. Of the 15,000 Cherokee who were forced to move, 4,000 did not survive the forced march. source: pbs.org

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2000

2003

Onondaga opens its own lacrosse/ice arena called Tsha’ Hon’ nonyen’dakhwa’.

Onondaga works with the LaFayette School District to fly the Haudenosaunee flag at the High School in LaFayette, NY.

2007 The Onondaga Nation defends their land rights case In Federal Court in Albany. New York State wants the case dismissed as it would be too disruptive to the citizens of New York. The Onondaga Nation states that it is not seeking removal of landowners but declaritory judgement that New York State violated federal laws.

Between 1776 and 1887, the United states siezed 1.5 billion acres of land belonging to Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous Homelands Reservations

1783 1845 1882 16

2010

2015

2016

Federal judge dismisses Onondaga Land Rights case as it is too ‘disruptive’ to American people.

Onondaga Nation hosts the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. This is the first time an indigenous nation has hosted a world event.

Onondaga leaders and community walk their children from the school to highlight the need of change in hiring, curriculum, and decision making processes that occur at the Onondaga Nation School.

Source: OnondagaNation.org

The Reorganization Era is marked by the Indian Reorganization Act (1934) that aimed at preserving Indian land. It also aimed at establishing Indigenous self-rule. In addition, the reorganization act allowed Indigenous nations to form and affirm their own governments. The Termination Era followed the end of World War II and is characterized by the passing of Public Law 280. This allowed state governments to assume criminal jurisdiction over Indigenous lands. This era truly called for the termination of relationships with Indigenous nations. This included the termination of tribes, and their governments but also the resettlement of individuals from reservations to cities. Nations in Wisconsin and Oregon were drastically affected by termination. The era of Self-Determination ended the termination era, and aimed at recognizing Indigenous nations, and their sovereignty. In 1968, Congress passed the Indian Civil Rights Act that granted many of rights from the Bill of Rights to Indigenous communities. This era also sought to reaffirm the importance of treaties. Indigenous Peoples’ share a common value in their bond between culture, identity, life, and land. Indeed, Indigenous cultures are rooted in a specific place and grow outward from the connections and interaction with the natural world around them. Within Indigenous communities, the concept of land usage, ownership, and value is consistently in opposition to legal definitions of property and land. This difference in land value and usage has been a continued source of conflict and debate that can be traced back to the early encounters of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in North America.

“I am committed to furthering the self-determination of Indian communities but without terminating the special relationship between the Federal Government and the Indian people. I am strongly opposed to termination. Self-determination means that you can decide the nature of your tribe’s relationship with the Federal Government within the framework of the SelfDetermination Act." - President Gerald Ford -

The arrival of European settlers changed the way land was viewed, and they immediately began privatizing and selling land. Land that they did not hold the title to. However, the Doctrine of Christian Discovery gave these early settlers the ability to claim Indian land for themselves under the justification of Christ and Christianity. They claimed land for themselves by marking the Indians as heretics, and heathens who needed to be civilized.

In many ways, the difficulty, and struggles of Indigenous people can be traced back to a lack of understanding of Indigenous beliefs, and ways of life. The foundation of Indigenous culture and belief is based in reciprocity. Everything is our world is connected, and it is our job to be stewards of the land. It is our job to project the world for future generations, and it is our role to give back for the gifts that we have received.

SPRING 2018

For many Indian communities, the concept of private property is non-existent. During the allotment era, the concept of private property was used to fracture communities and families. Returning to the importance of land for survival, religious and physical, means that most Indian communities view land as something that you cannot trade or commodify easily.

Remembering

Chief Irving Powless Jr. Written by Jamie Jenson

Father. Protector. Veteran. Activist... And the list goes on.

Chief Irving Powless Jr., Daha'tgatdohs, Beaver Clan Chief of the Onondaga Nation, was 88 years old when he died on November 30, 2017. The accomplishments of Chief Powless were vast and varied, ranging from his accomplishments on the lacrosse field to his work as an active and proud member of the Onondaga Nation.

“I say, ‘Well, I can do this because these are things that have happened,’” he writes. “’You’ve done them and I can be proud of them.’ But they don’t like that. Because the individual who does that gets his bubble busted…because the rest of us start talking about all the things that he couldn’t do that he tried to do, that didn’t turn out.”

Powless dedicated his life to sharing the Haudenosaunee principles to the world, and he became chief of the Beaver Clan in 1964.

Powless was also a mighty athlete and a member of the Central New York Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the founder and player of Onondaga Athletic Club. He would often recall

Chief Powless knew the rights of his people, and in the 1960s, he used this knowledge to fight New York State to establish the non-taxable status of the Haudenosaunee. It was one of the many battles he won in his life. Powless was also successful in delivering the message of his people to the world, especially in the books he authored. His final, Who Are These People Anyway?, explores the tenants and beliefs the Haudenosaunee hold so dearly, but he also provides history lessons for those who need them. “And at Onondaga and all of the other Haudenosaunee nations,” he writes, “we all know that we have treaties and there are treaty obligations to us. So it’s important, because I know you don’t teach this in the school system. You don’t teach too much about us.” Chief Powless was also a proud family man, which is evidenced in the many anecdotes he shares about them in his book. In his chapter entitled “Bubble Busters,” he explains that a “bubble buster” is what his society calls the metaphorical pin that must be used to bust someone’s bubble when they are bragging too much about themselves instead of just being thankful for gifts they’ve been given. Powless recalls how his sons would chastise him when they caught him bragging about their accomplishments, and while sharing this story, he is also teaching his reader about the humility that his people practice. 18

“We’re Onondaga, citizens of the Haudenosaunee. And as such we have responsibilities and mandates as citizens of the Onondaga and Haudenosaunee to maintain and preserve our way of life.” the time he knocked down former NFL player and Syracuse University grad Jim Brown in a game. No matter what Powless was able to accomplish in his lifetime, nothing could compare to the love and pride he felt for the Onondaga Nation. “We’re Onondaga, citizens of the Haudenosaunee. And as such we have responsibilities and mandates as citizens of the Onondaga and Haudenosaunee to maintain and preserve our way of life,” he writes in Who Are These People Anyway? Powless is survived by his four children, 10 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, several siblings, nieces, nephews, and the many people whose lives he touched in his lifetime.

THE 360

A SENSE OF HOME TRANSCRIBED BY MOLLY BOLAN

PHOTOS BY CORINNE BAKER AND JENNY MEISKIN

SPRING 2018

A Q&A with Indigenous Students on Campus

Maris Jacobs Mohawk Nation

Quebec, Canada

It’s everything that’s contributed to my college experience. I wouldn’t be the same student I am or person I am if I hadn’t had the program. The community on campus, we’re a small group but we feel big. It feels big to me when we get together or just have meetings on Euclid. Compared to the rest of the school, we’re a small group of kids, but we try to make a name for ourselves in different ways by participating in different events on campus. I think coming to college, it’s a really big university and it’s a really easy place to get lost, especially coming from a small community like most of us did. So I think without the program, without the floor and learning community I had I don’t know where I would be. I don’t know if I would’ve made friends as fast as I did; we kinda just clicked right away. It’s like you’re given a group of friends right away, and we’re really lucky that we got that. I think it brought me closer to a lot of people and even to my own community [back home] just from developing a stronger sense of community here. Leaving home, you know it’s scary leaving home for the first time by yourself, so having people there that I could really feel comfortable with talking to and relating to was the best way to start my time here. I lived in Haven my first semester and Euclid was always there for us. I really felt a sense of community for the first time being on the floor with that group of kids, sitting in the lounge and just feeling like that’s where I belonged. I had found my group. Then, into the next year, that’s when I started making friends with the older students who were here. I started hanging out on Euclid a lot more, and even if I didn’t really know them, we were cool. Sitting in that room, I’ve spent nights in that room, like when finals come around. Anytime you go in there it’s comfortable. It’s like a home-away-from-home type thing. I know everyone feels the same way about that; you can ask any one

of us and they’d probably say the same thing. It’s so important for us to have that because like I said, it’s so easy for us to get lost in such a big university. And to feel like you’re just invisible, or you’re alone, and having a community like that and a space to interact and hang out together is important for us academically, if we need help, or in general, if we need someone to talk to, Regina [The Assistant Director of the pr always there or we have friends there, so it’s a good connection.

“It’s like you’re given a group of friends right away, and we’re really lucky that we got that.” Did you notice a culture difference or a gap in Indigenous/ non-Indigenous values when you came to Syracuse? It’s easy to notice anywhere. I had my first culture shock when I went to high school. I grew up on the rez, going to elementary school with people from my community. I never met anyone else outside my community. So going to high school was really the first time I met other people from different backgrounds. And that was, to me, overwhelming. And I didn’t expect it to be, because at the time I felt a little out of place in my own community. I’ve always struggled with that. I didn’t grow up in a very culturally involved family -- there are a lot of people that grow up like that, who are not really tradi

The Haudenosaunee flag symbolizes unity amont the Five Nations. The tree in the center represents both the Onondaga Nation, which serves as the capitol of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Great Law of Peace.

SPRING 2018

Can you describe the Indigenous community on campus and how it’s shaped your college experience?

Living Language

By Madeline Buckley

English

Onondaga

Seneca

Cayuga

Oneida

Mohawk

One

Sgá:dah

Ska:t

sga:t

Úska

Enhskat

Two

Dégnih

Tekhni:h

dékni:

Tékeni

Tekeni

Three

Áhsęh

Sëh

ahsęh

Áhs

Ahsen

Four

Gayí:h

Ke:ih

géi

Kayé:

Kayeri

Five

Hwíks

Wis

hwíhs

Wísk

Wisk

Dog

Jí:hah

Ji:yäh

So:wa:s

É:lhal

Erhar

Sun

Gáähgwa:'

Kä:hkwa:'

Ga:gwa:'

Yotahala

Karahkwa

Moon

Ęhní'da'

Ë:ní'ta:'

Ęni'da:'

Ohní:ta'

Ehnita

Water

Ohnéganos

O:ne:ka'

Ohneganohs

Ohne:kánus

Ohneka

Although the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk nations all make up the Haudenosaunee, each of the five maintains a separate language. According to the Onondaga Nation’s official site, native languages play an important role in culture, religion, and politics. For instance, all laws and songs are recited in Onondaga.

tional but they grew up in the community so they feel some connection but also are confused about where they belong, as well. And a lot of people struggle with that. So leaving after elementary school, I was like, ‘I’m ready to do this; I’m ready to get out of here, ready to learn new things.’ And just kind of separate myself from that. Once I left -- and this is how it goes for most people -- you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone, so I only really recognized the value in community and in knowing your culture and having that unique experience of being an Indigenous person and an Indigenous woman. I only really realized that when I left, which was sad, but also I’m glad that I did. So that was my first kind of culture shock because I was suddenly thrown into this high school where nobody knew anything about who Indigenous people were. They had no idea that there was a reservation 15 minutes away from where they were living. They were like, ‘Wow, you’re an Indian? I thought that was only in textbooks.’ It was overwhelming for me because it was the first time I was hearing those things as a kid. But then I grew up and 22

after that I spent all my high school and teenage years living in the city [Montreal] where I went to school. I kind of got used to it. I realized over time as I got older that I was going to keep encountering those kinds of people who didn’t know. And pretty much everybody goes through this, where you kind of have to educate other people. I guess I value community because I come from such a small place where I’m pretty involved with youth and whatnot.

“It’s like we just ceased to exist in a lot of stories they tell.”

Language is a huge thing for us; I learned it as a kid, but I lost a lot of it when I went to high school, so a long term goal of mine is to learn again and hopefully become fluent at some point in my life. Just being conscious of your surroundings. I guess there’s a certain kind of gratitude we have for one another, especially in the [Native Students] program. It is different coming here when there’s so many people that don’t get it. They don’t get what it means to come from a place like that. Sometimes it’s hard to see eye to eye with people who come from completely different places. But as a group, I think we value that sense of community. So you know, we all come from close communities so coming together here is a good opportunity to share those experiences so we don’t have to go through it alone while we’re at school. Is there a way that’s best for non-indigenous people to learn about indigenous culture since textbooks are typically so whitewashed?

pening is there are situations that I was in and other people are in where it falls on our shoulders and the shoulders of the youth and young kids to teach other people. I think the best way to educate yourself because you don’t have a lot of access to formal education in Indigenous issues, is to interact with other people and get to know people in a respectful way. Because there are some ways, when you ask someone an offensive question, like ‘Do you live in a teepee?’ or something like that, it kind of gets frustrating after a while hearing that over and over again. But it’s hard; it’s a difficult question to answer because I’ve never seen that side of it. I’ve never had to be educated on my culture. Either I knew it or I had people in my family or my community who I could ask comfortably if I didn’t know something. So I think it’s a lot of just asking questions and having meaningful conversations with people who are different from you -- not for any other reason but to understand and to try to see different perspectives.

That’s the biggest problem is that it’s not taught in schools, and we’re facing a problem where both in Canada and the United States where we’re being kind of written out of history. I remember in high school, tenth grade, in Quebec we do these things called provincial exams, which is just the really big exams you need to pass to graduate. We covered the history of Quebec and Canada. And the first unit we did was on first peoples. I was really excited because it was the first time in my four years at that school that we had learned about anything like that. And we spent two days on it. It was like, ‘They lived in longhouses, teepees; these are the kinds of foods they ate; this is the creation story, and that’s it.’ And then we moved on to the rest of Canadian history. So it’s like we just ceased to exist in a lot of stories that they tell. It starts with education, but unfortunately there’s people who aren’t doing enough in that department. So what ends up hap-

“The physical space committed to the Native Student Program at 113 Euclid Avenue will serve as an extension to the home-away-fromhome theme that is central to the Office of Multicultural Affairs for its students.”

SPRING 2018

Native Students Program Objectives

Marcus John Navajo Nation

Can you describe the community you grew up in? I’m of the Diné tribe, which is a part of the Navajo Nation. We’re the biggest nation on American soil. With that I felt really comfortable in my indigenous environment. When I got here, and became a minority in a sense, it’s a different setting for me entirely. Having ISAS (Indigenous Students at Syracuse), it made me comfortable in that I felt I didn’t really leave my Indigenous community. It’s more like I found a new one to interact with. And they all share the same experiences I have, like learning the new environment.

“I felt I didn’t really leave my Indigenous community. It’s more like a found a new one to interact with.”

One shocking experience I had was that when I went to my WRT105 class, I was with several other computer science majors, and one guy, he’s a good friend of mine now, asked where I was from. I said I was from Arizona, and he said you don’t hear that often here. He was from New York, and he asked a bunch of questions; he thought I was Hispanic. It was fine, though. I get it; he’d never really met anyone from the Southwest. I just told him I’m Native American; I’m from Arizona. He was like, ‘Oh, yeah,’ like he was shocked in that he thought Native American people were like extinct at this point. It kind of blew me away. It was my first experience of how people may perceive the Native community. From that point on I would say, ‘I’m from Arizona. I’m from the Diné tribe,’ whenever I greet people, just to give them a sense of who I represent. It’s a unique trait that I hold that not everybody is aware of. If you just see me walking around campus, you wouldn’t know that I’m a part of the Diné tribe, which is a very small number of people who actually go to school from the Indigenous community.

THE NAVAJO AT A

NATION GLANCE

Utah

Colorado

Arizona

The Navajo Nation covers more than 27,000 square miles of land in the U.S.

Can you describe the Indigenous community on Campus? Being the first in my family to go to college and come to the East Coast, it was a new environment for me, a new world to explore. And then the first person I met on the East Coast would be Regina. I didn’t know about the [Indigenous Students] program when I first got here. I’m from Arizona, so my first experience coming here was through ISAS. And Regina actually picked me up from the airport and from there she told me a lot about the program and what she and the program represents. It’s basically a home away from home, and so with that I just felt comfortable with her. And from there, everything just clicked with the program. From that point on I became friends with everybody else and from there we all know we have like a home field with each other, we were friends instantly. Just having this shared experience makes us feel unified, in a sense.

Considering how whitewashed a lot of media and history curricula are, what do you think is the best way for non-Indigenous people to learn about Indigenous history and culture? I would say, if you look at the creativity of our art, most of us -- or a lot of us on campus -- are in the art department and are trying to bring a native tone in their movies, their artwork. If you just look at our artwork, it represents our history as well as us trying to modernize and integrate into this whole society all as one.

New Mexico

Diné

The word Navajo use for themselves, meaning “the people.”

Navajo art is often comprised of diamonds and triangles. The triangles, when stacked atop one another, mirror prayer feathers. Diamonds, with their four points, reflect the four sacred mountains that make up the landscape.

There are

356,890

members of the Navajo Nation SPRING 2018

Can you describe the culture gap you experienced when you came to Syracuse?

Appropriate(d) Apparel Written by Madison Snyder Photos by Sam Lee Model Karakwahawi Thomas

Clothing has been an integral part of the Haudenosaunee culture from the time of its origin. The Haudenosaunee traditional clothing differed significantly from Indigenous nations in other regions. This had to do with the differences in climate, functionality needs, and the unique identity of the people. The Haudenosaunee people originally relied on animals for food and clothing. They incorporated deer hide in the designs of dresses, leggings and aprons, and rabbit fur lined the soles of their hand-sewn moccasins for comfort and warmth. Along with focusing on functionality, traditional Haudenosaunee clothing acknowledged aesthetic. Women wore blouses and skirts decorated with intricate beadwork, while men often wore decorative shirts adorned with brooches, embroidery, and embellishments. One Haudenosaunee garment that holds special significance is the Gustowehâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an intricately crafted headpiece worn by men at tribe gatherings. But the Gustoweh is not only known for its beauty and artistry. According to Katelynn Delormier, an Indigenous SU student who is Mohawk, the headdress symbolizes power and is worn by the chief at religious ceremonies. It also distinguishes which tribe the man wearing the headpiece belongs to. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The feathers, however many are sticking up, symbolize who they are. It all has meaning to it,â&#x20AC;? Delormier said. Three upward facing feathers signify that a man is Mohawk, for example. One upward facing feather and one downward means that man is Onondaga.

The origins of Indigenous dress and the misrepresentation in the U.S.

But this raises a question: Where do we draw the line between inspiration and cultural appropriation? Kesha wore an elaborate headdress with fishnet tights and a glittery tank top during a 2010 “American Idol” performance. Following this trend, Karlie Kloss sported a floor-length, feathered headdress on the catwalk during the 2012 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, wearing nothing else but a fringed bikini and stilettos. Even celebrity Coachella-goers like Vanessa Hudgens and Kylie Jenner have been spotted in Indigenous-inspired feathered headpieces. Many young girls have followed suit, and Indigenous people, including Delormier, are not thrilled.

“It’s very colonial of them,” she says. “We had something sacred to us that had a purpose for being and they used it for a different purpose—for capital gain, for fashion, for looks, to get attention. That’s not what it’s about.” These trends have found their way to college campuses, SU included. A particularly pressing issue is the way Indigenous people are portrayed on Halloween. Delormier notes the issue of “Pocha-hottie” costumes, which sexualize the historic Indigenous figure, Pocahontas. “She wasn’t this fabulous Indian from Disney. She was actually kidnapped and raped,” Delormier says. “She had a kid that came out of a rape and a forced marriage and was killed afterward. When people call me Pocahontas like they’re giving me a compliment, that’s not really what I want to be called.” Delormier says that many times, the people who wear these costumes have the misconstrued notion that they are somehow doing the Indigenous community a favor. SPRING 2018

In recent years, non-Indigenous runway designers like Etro and Zuhair Murad have crafted many of their collections with traditional Indigenous dress in mind, incorporating fringe, feathers, patchwork, and earth tones. These runway trends have made their way to sales floors. Mainstream retailers like Nordstrom and Forever 21 are selling beaded statement earrings and fringed jackets that mimic traditional Indigenous dress.

“They will say, ‘I like the culture. I am doing you a solid by representing it,’ when they’re not,” she says. “They’re feeding into that whole factor of white privilege. It’s not theirs to put on display. If you’re not there to be with us in our struggle, don’t wear us as a costume and think that you’re helping us, because you’re not.” Kacey Chopito, a senior at SU originally from the Zuni Pueblo, says cultural appropriation of indigenous fashion comes down to a lack of education. “Going through elementary school and middle school, the only education you really get on Indigenous people is about Thanksgiving and Pocahontas,” Chopito says. Chopito believes governmental oppression has led to deterioration of Indigenous culture. “Throughout the history of the United States, Indigenous people have been subjected to federal policies that limited our ability to practice our traditions and live the way we had been taught,” he says. “So, to see things like head-dresses being

worn by individuals that don’t understand the meaning and importance of traditional clothing is incredibly disrespectful to our history and way of life. Essentially, what you have are individuals ‘playing Indian,’ when the actual Indigenous people weren’t allowed to be Indigenous.” His first few experiences with cultural appropriation at college happened at the University of Rochester, where he spent his first two years of college before transferring to SU. “I’ve definitely come across the whole ‘Cowboys versus Indians’ Halloween party,” Chopito says. “I walked by a frat house that had this theme going on. As a freshman at a new school, I didn’t know how to respond or act.” But his sophomore year, when he experienced a similar situation, he decided to speak up.

I think one of the first steps in moving forward is appreciating and promoting Indigenous artists...The biggest step has to be collaboration. There has to be a dialogue.

“I knew how to approach the situation and tried to confront them,” Chopito says. “It was essentially just, ‘Do you know how disrespectful this is to Indigenous people? To Indigenous leaders that have died?’” Although these experiences happened at another university, Chopito says some of his friends have gone through similar situations at Syracuse University. Traditional dress is an essential part of Indigenous culture and American history. But those who are not part of the Indigenous culture should be cautious wearing modern clothing with native roots--particularly jewelry, Chopito says. “The non-Indigenous-made jewelry market has kind of exploded. That has had a drastic, detrimental effect on the actual artists who create it,” he says. “In all Indigenous communities, there are individuals who rely on their art craft as their sole source of income.” But Chopito says there are ways to represent Indigenous fashion without disrespecting it.

And that’s something consumers should keep in mind the next time they throw on their trendy feathered headpiece from Urban Outfitters.

SPRING 2018

“I think one of the first steps in moving forward is appreciating and promoting Indigenous artists,” Chopito says. “The biggest step has to be collaboration. There has to be a dialogue.”

SKYWOMAN

An Oral Retelling of the Haudenosaunee Creation Story

Told by Karakwahawi Thomas

Illustration by Honni David

Transcribed by Molly Bolan

It all started with this guy and this girl. They lived in this place, the Sky World. And this couple, they were expecting a child. The husband was in charge of taking care of this tree, The Tree of Life. And this tree, it grew all sorts of different plants on it. That's why it was so special. No one could eat off of it. No one could touch it. He was there to protect it. The wife, she wanted the fruits of the sacred tree because of her pregnancy cravings. It’s said that a woman’s cravings when pregnant hint at something the baby needs. She told her husband that, and he said, "No, you can't do that; it's sacred. You can't touch that." But she did anyways. She went to the tree. She started digging around the tree. And she decided to dig around the roots so she could grow her own tree. But when she was digging, she created a hole, and she just fell right through it. As she was falling, she was trying to reach up to grab anything to save her from falling. They say that she grabbed a root of strawberry, tobacco, and corn. But obviously, it didn't help her; she just kept falling and falling and falling. As she fell, two great cranes came and saved her fall, allowing her to lie on their backs as they brought her down to the earth. Soon she started getting lighter, and eventually got to what is earth, but there was nothing -- no ground; it was all water. She was surrounded by water. And the birds, they saw this woman falling out of the sky. They were confused and argued over where to put her. So they go and they grab her and they take her to this big turtle because that was the only land. And she was the only person there. Eventually she got really lonely. Surrounded by water with nothing there, she thought, I am the only one here. And she told the animals, I wish there was ground, grass, stuff to grow here. Because she was so lonely, the animals decided to help her out. They knew that the only place there was dirt was at the bottom of the ocean. So each animal decided to take turns and dive down, all the way down to the bottom, to try and get the dirt for her. Each one failed and died, except for the otter. He came back up and as soon as he reached the surface, he died because of the lack of oxygen. But his little paw came up, and he was holding the dirt. She grabbed it and she put it on the back of that turtle. They say that when she did that she heard this song; it's called “The Women's Dance” that they do to honor the women. And the way that they do the dance for that, they shuffle their feet, so one part of their foot is always on the floor throughout the entire song. So when she was doing that, the dirt kept spreading and spreading and spreading and spreading until it finally created the earth. Anyway, when it was time for her to give birth, she gave birth to a daughter, Tekawerahkwa. The West Wind spirit got her pregnant, the daughter. And she had twins. Two boys. But they say when she was ready to give birth to these twins, one of them came out naturally—perfectly fine. But they say that the other one was impatient to be born and chewed his way out through her side, and it killed her. Skywoman decided to bury her daughter’s body, and from her body grew the corn, beans, and squash, the Three Sisters. And from her heart grew the tobacco. So the grandmother had to raise the two twins. The one that came out her side was the bad twin, Sawiskare, and the normal one was the good twin, Teharonhiawakon. But the grandmother thought it was the opposite way, so she always favored the bad twin because she thought the good twin had killed her daughter. It was always like that, like she really hated the good twin. When the grandmother ended up dying, the twins, they were fighting over the body. They couldn't agree on what to do with it because they were enemies. When they were fighting, Sawiskare had her by the head. Teharonhiawakon had her by the arms. They were pulling her, like actually physically pulling her. It's said they pulled her so hard because they weren't completely human. The bad twin ripped her head right off and it flew up into the sky, and that's where the moon came from; that's why it's called Grandmother Moon. Sawiskare hated his brother so much, he wanted to destroy everything his brother made. So he went around, and every time Teharonhiawako created something beautiful, Sawiskare would destroy it. The twins’ conflict came to head before the creation of man. There was a battle and by accident, the good twin nearly killed his brother then banished him to the night. So the daytime is for the good twin. It's good; that's his time. But at night, that's for the bad twin. And that's when bad shit happens. The Creation, where people came in—the good twin said, "I feel like making something good for this Earth, for this place that we're living." So he went along and he made all the trees and everything that you see here. He gave everything a purpose. And then, he decided to make people. He started off with making white people from the seafoam. He made the black people out of tree bark. He made Asian people from sand. And then he made our people out of the soil. They said that The Creator (the good twin), he yelled four times into each of them and it brought them to life. And he put them on different parts of the earth because they couldn't get along. They were fighting over land and food. The Creator started off with them all together, but they started killing each other and it wasn't working. So he said, "I will put you guys on different parts of this earth." And that really goes into a whole different story.

SPRING 2018

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