Welcome to the NOON e-newsletter for February 2025. Enjoy, and please share widely!
This poem was written for the candlelight vigil preceding the Onondaga Nation’s Land Rights hearing in Federal District Court, October 18, 2007.
For Onondaga
By Robin Wall Kimmerer
Even after everything
You know, the history they won’t tell you
The blankets
The scorched earth
The soldiers
The treaties
All broken.
Even after everything
Our neighbors are still here
Still here and speaking for peace
Even after everything
The missions
The agents
The preachers
The boarding schools
That reach for the soul.
Even after everything
Our neighbors are still here
Still here and overflowing with spirit
Even after everything
the many gifts of Mother Earth still bless us
the sun, the moon
the stars, the water the trees, the birds the fish, the deer.
Even after everything
Our neighbors are still here
Still here and living in gratitude
Even after everything
the wastebeds
the mercury
the DDT and PCBs.
the salmon, gone
the chestnut, gone
the passenger pigeon
the lake
the creek
all gone.
Witness to the wounds
hands tied by law
our neighbors are still here
still here and healing the land
Let us not speak of all that was taken but rather of all that is given
the many gifts from our neighbors
who shared with us
the roots of democracy
the rights of women and men
the three sisters who feed us
medicines that heal us
the culture of Thanksgiving
the four white roots of peace
self determination
seven generations.
Tonight we honor our first neighbors who stand among us now as teachers.
Even after everything.
Even after everything
our neighbors are still here
still here and reaching for justice not just for themselves
but in Audrey Shenandoah’s words:
Justice for the people
Justice for the land
Justice for all of creation.
As our neighbors stand for justice
let it be known
that they do not stand alone
but are joined by friends
who share these good green hills
who breathe this air
who grieve for the Lake
who share their hopes
who honor justice
and who believe that promises should be kept to the land
and to each other.
Even after everything.
New and Ongoing Actions
No Data Centers at STAMP. Protect Our Woods and Waters! FOLLOWUP ACTION
Last month, we shared a time sensitive ask to submit comments to WNY STAMP developer GCEDC on their plan to site a nasty, noisy data center right next to the Tonawanda Seneca Nation’s Big Woods and on ecologically sensitive wetlands. At the public hearings on February 3, GCEDC CEO Mark Masse caved to overwhelming public pressure and extended the deadline for written comments – see media coverage here!
However, GCEDC has so far not agreed to hold a new set of public hearings. Use our one click tool to demand that GCEDC hold a new set of public hearings on the proposed data center financial incentives. These hearings must be scheduled in consultation with the Tonawanda Seneca Nation Council of Chiefs, at least a month in advance, and on a weekday evening. Click here for more info.
Return Maple Bay to the Onondaga Nation
The Onondaga Nation has pushed for the return of land along sacred Onondaga Lake for many decades. The American Indian Law Alliance recently initiated a campaign to push for some measure of justice.
Please take a few minutes to send a postcard to
If you’re unable to send a postcard, you can send an online message here.
Upcoming Events:
Virtual Premiere: Documentary Planting Resistance
February 25, 11 am
Online
In the jungles of Peru, three generations of Indigenous Asháninka and Yanesha women face multiple forms of violence — extractivism, racism, and machismo — amidst the climate crisis. Nevertheless, they push forward and lead their communities to guard their sacred spaces, reforest the land with ancestral plants, and protect their water sources in the name of geographic sovereignty.
This documentary is part of the Video Consortium’s initiative, which connects regional filmmakers and social innovators to produce solutions-focused short documentaries that catalyze positive change. It is supported by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), the National Organization of Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Women of Peru (ONAMIAP), and the Skoll Foundation. Register Here.
The Serviceberry: Let’s Read, Reflect & Amplify the Gift
Wednesday, February 26 | 6:30 to 7:30
Online
In collaboration with Ganondagan, let’s lean into the wisdom of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s new book The Serviceberry. Together we’ll read passages as well as reflect on our lives in the wider world, preparing to let our gardens and plant kin grow us more than we grow them. Stay tuned for the link and more details!
Haudenosaunee and Indigenous Matrilineality Symposium
February 28, 2025 – March 2, 2025 EST
The first ever symposium will take place February 28 – March 2, 2025 at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Tickets here
Matrilineal Pathways Keynote Event–
March 1, 2025, 6:00pm – 10:00pm EST
National Veterans Resource Center, Syracuse University
The keynote panel discussion features New York Times bestselling author and Potawatomi botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer and Mohawk Bear Clan member Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, filmmaker and actor in Reservation Dogs and Marvel’s What If… Kahhori episode.
It will be hosted by Oneida Nation Wolf Clan member Michelle Schenandoah G’19, founder and executive lead of Rematriation.
Panelists also include traditional Haudenosaunee Confederacy leaders, Mohawk Bear Clan Mother “Mommabear” Louise Herne and Onondaga Hawk Clan Chief Ohsgoñ:da’ Spencer Lyons. The evening includes a truly special presentation on the celestial worldview embedded in Haudenosaunee astronomy by Oneida Nation Wolf Clan member Samantha Doxtator.
Tickets here
NOON Onboarding Session
Tuesday, March 4, 7-8:30 pm
Syracuse Center for Peace & Social Justice, 2013 E. Genesee St., Syracuse, NY
Come learn about the work of Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation and ways to participate in our solidarity with the Onondaga Nation, Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Indigenous Peoples more broadly. Refreshments will be available at 6:45 pm. Please RSVP here. For more information, contact Andy Mager.
12th Annual Feast and Film screening
Wednesday, March 5 from 6-8pm
Marshall Hall 24 on the SUNY ESF campus
Annual Feast and Film event hosted by the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Visit https://linktr.ee/cnpe for more details.
Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future:
The Quest for Justice
Monday, March 10, 6:30-8:30 pm
Syracuse Stage, 820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse, NY
Come celebrate the 20th anniversary of the historic filing of the Onondaga Land Rights Action. Onondaga leaders and educators Jake Edwards and Jeanne Shenandoah will share Onondaga history and reflect on progress made since they went to court in 2005. Onondaga Nation General Counsel Joe Heath will review the legal history, including the case currently before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Despite the fact that the US courts rejected the Onondaga Nation’s call for justice, reconciliation and healing, important progress has been made, including the recent return of 1,000 acres of land in the Tully Valley. The treaties upon which the Onondaga Land Right Action is based, remain in effect and all people have a responsibility to uphold them.
On March 11, 2005, the Onondaga petitioned the federal court in Syracuse to declare that New York violated federal law when it took some 4,000 square miles of Onondaga Land (an area that stretches south past Binghamton and north past Watertown). They sued the State of New York, the City of Syracuse, Onondaga County, and five corporations for illegal land takings and damage inflicted on Central New York’s environment. Learn more here: https://www.onondaganation.
The program is organized by the American Indian Law Alliance, the Indigenous Values Initiative and Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation.
Voices & Votes Opening Reception
April 18 through May 30.
Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center, 6680 Onondaga Lake Pkwy, Liverpool, NY 13088
Voices and Votes: Democracy in America, a traveling Smithsonian Museum on Main Street exhibit openns at the Skä•noñh Center on April 18. The opening event on Thursday, April 24 at 5:30 pm at the Liverpool Public Library will feature a talk from historian of the women’s suffrage movement Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner; a showing of the documentary Without a Whisper, the untold story of the profound influence of Indigenous women on the suffrage movement in the US; songs by the Onondaga Women’s Singing Society; Indigenous food samples from local caterer Tina Hill Thomas; and more! While the opening event is free to the public, registration is required. Contact OHA Project Manager for Events and Programs Lorna Oppedisano with any questions at lorna.oppedisano@cnyhistory.
“Once a Tree: Continuity, Creativity, and Connection”
April 3 – November 30
Iroquois Museum, 324 Caverns Road,Howes Cave, NY 12092
This Iroquois Museum exhibit will explore the multiple ways in which trees are deeply woven into Haudenosaunee/Iroquois culture, tradition, thought, and expression. The project showcases over 80 objects — fancy and utilitarian baskets, cradleboards, snowshoes, lacrosse sticks, toys, instruments, sleds, and more. The objects, largely from the 1980s and 90s, were thoughtfully selected from the Museum’s collection by Haudenosaunee artisans Richard “Terry” Chrisjohn, III and Shelia Ransom from Akwesasne and Preston Jacobs from Kahnawake. Their voices provide the interpretation for each of the objects on exhibit.
Hodinöšyö:nih Continuity | Innovation | Resilience
Rochester Museum and Science Center
657 East Ave, Rochester NY 14607
This new permanent exhibit was curated by Jamie Jacobs (Tonawanda Seneca, Turtle Clan) and includes seven Haudenosaunee artists: Kyle Dowdy Jr. (Tuscarora, Bear Clan), Katsitsionni Fox (Akwesasne Mohawk, Bear Clan), Hayden Haynes (Seneca Nation, Deer Clan), Kenith “Nek” Jonathan (Tonawanda Seneca, Wolf Clan), Tonia Loran- Galban (Akwesasne Mohawk, Bear Clan), Natasha Smoke Santiago (Akwesasne Mohawk, Turtle Clan), and Coreen Thompson (Tonawanda Seneca, Bear Clan). “Hodinöšyö:nih Continuity | Innovation | Resilience was a years-long collaboration aimed at supporting the rights of people to tell their own stories (narrative sovereignty), sharing Hodinöšyö:nih perspectives, and creating a space that helps Hodinöšyö:nih people reconnect with traditional material culture and knowledge (rematriation).”
Carson Waterman: Art Saved My Life
Burchfield Penny Art Center
1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14222
This new permanent exhibit on Seneca artist Carson Waterman features vibrant and thought-provoking works that explore themes of identity, culture, and heritage. View Waterman’s remarkable series of large-scale paintings honoring eight Haudenosaunee Clan Mothers of the Seneca Nation, on loan from the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, alongside works that highlight the breadth of the artist’s career.
Basket Exhibit
Akwesasne Cultural Center Museum & Gift Shop (click here to see on Facebook)
Hours: Tuesday to Friday, 10am – 6pm.
Our new basket exhibit is officially open! Stop in and look at 100s of Native made baskets from the 1970s to 1980s.
Monthly Events:
NOON Steering Committee Open Meeting. Please contact Lee Cridland, Peace Council Staff, for more info.
Indigenous News and Culture:
‘OUR GAME’: Haudenosaunee push for IOC special approval to compete in lacrosse at 2028 Olympics
Diners of CNY: Firekeepers breakfast is so huge it needs two plates
Angela Ferguson of Onondaga Nation Farm interviewed in BBG’s Into The Garden
Native leaders call on Senate committee to fulfill trust responsibilities
Places to Visit:
Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center, 6680 Onondaga Lake Pkwy. Liverpool, NY 13088. Skä•noñh is a Haudenosaunee Cultural Center focused on telling the story of the native peoples of central New York. Now open from 10am-4pm Wednesday-Friday, and 11am-4pm on Saturday.
Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community, 4934 State Highway 5. Fonda, NY.
Ganondagan State Historic Site, 7000 County Road 41 (Boughton Hill Road) Victor, NY 14564. Bark Longhouse open May-October.
Seneca Iroquois National Museum, 82 W Hetzel St. Salamanca, NY 14779.
Iroquois Museum, 324 Caverns Road. Howes Cave, NY 12092.
About Us:
Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) is a grassroots organization of Central New Yorkers which recognizes and supports the sovereignty of the traditional government of the Onondaga Nation. A program of the Syracuse Peace Council, NOON supports the right of Indigenous Peoples to reclaim land, and advocates for fair settlement of any claims which are filed. We are always looking for more folks to join our work in Central New York. Learn more here.
NOON works on the territory of the Onondaga Nation,
Firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
We express our deep gratitude to the Onondaga Nation for caring for these lands, waters, and all our fellow beings since time immemorial.
We offer heartfelt apologies for the terrible violence that colonizers have carried out against the Onondaga People and Nation, including theft of land and attempted genocide. We are thankful for their perseverance and survival. We commit ourselves to working in solidarity with the Onondaga Nation to protect their sovereignty and create a shared, sustainable future for all life.
