Honoring our Indigenous�People and Culture�Recognizing and respecting the history, traditions and communities �of Indigenous Peoples��This PowerPoint focuses on Binghamton and New York State specifically created for the NYSATA Annual Conference �respectfully prepared by Jennifer Grasso-Moise, NYSATA ED&I Chair�
Interested in joining
the NYSATA ED&I committee? Scan QR code for more info!
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“Indigenous communities incorporate traditional practices in their daily lives
and place a great importance on protocols,
art, ceremonies, celebrations and social gatherings.”
Respect the people and the culture
�LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As we gather here together today, let us acknowledge, as educators have an obligation to share knowledge and to teach empathy.
We would like to continue learning and forging meaningful relationships with Indigenous Nations founded on the principles of peace, respect, friendship forever.
"Forever; as long as the grass is green, as long as the water runs downhill, as long as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, and as long as our Mother Earth will last.”
"Let us create space for mindfulness of our presence and participation."
“It is important to understand the longstanding history that has brought us to reside on this land. Let us seek to understand our place within that history.
Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense or historical context as colonialism is a current and ongoing process.
The Seneca & Mohawk, part of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, otherwise known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy were the original occupants of the land in and around Rochester & Binghamton.
Let us respectfully acknowledge that we on land and bordered lands that were stewarded for generations before it was colonized.
“When we talk about land,
land is part of who we are.
It’s a mixture of our blood, our past,
our current, and our future.
We carry our ancestors in us.”�– Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe)
Honoring Original Indigenous Inhabitants:
We gratefully acknowledge the Native Peoples on whose ancestral homelands we gather, as well as the diverse and vibrant Native communities who make their home here today.
—NMAI Land Acknowledgment
Land acknowledgment is a traditional custom that dates back centuries in many Native nations and communities. Today, land acknowledgments are used by Native Peoples and non-Natives to recognize Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of the lands on which we now live.
After millennia of Native history, and centuries of displacement and dispossession, acknowledging original Indigenous inhabitants is complex.
Many places in the Americas have been home to different Native Nations over time, and many Indigenous people no longer live on lands
to which they have ancestral ties.
Native Nations, communities, families, and individuals today sustain their sense of belonging to ancestral homelands and protect these connections through Indigenous languages, oral traditions, ceremonies, and other forms of cultural expression.
“Native peoples are your neighbors, your classmates, and your colleagues.”
Binghamton University Art Museum
9mins from NYSATA Conference- Free admission
Homelands: Contemporary Haudenosaunee Art Across New York unites multigenerational Haudenosaunee artists and knowledge holders who center their historical relationship and reciprocity to the land, air, and waters across New York State.
"Working through diverse practices including photography, painting, sculpture, basketry, beadwork and documentary, the landscape is not a backdrop, but integral to Haudenosaunee culture and lived experience, which is woven into the work."
The exhibition serves as a visual form of sharing Indigenous knowledge. It reclaims space and history through art, inviting visitors to reconnect with the land beneath their feet.
Guest curated by Luanne Redeye (Seneca), Assistant Professor, Department of Art Practice,
University of California, BerkeleyThis project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Teaching and Research Greenhouses, and the Binghamton Native American and Indigenous Studies Working Group.
Around Binghamton!�4 mins from NYSATA Conference
Roberson Museum�30 Front St, Binghamton, NY 13905
Haudenosaunee Long House
To the Haudenosaunee,
law, society and nature are are considered equal partners and play an important role
blending law and values.
Often described as the oldest, participatory democracy on Earth.
Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s constitution
is believed to be a model for the American Constitution.
Longhouses were the typical dwelling unit of the Haudenosaunee People, from Ontario through New York State. They usually housed a number of families within the same clan. A large village might contain as many as 120 longhouses.
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy,
Onondaga Nation
Along with the Three Sisters Garden
uphold the Two Row Wampum as a Living Treaty
to Honor and Respect the Land upon which we reside.
"The Haudenosaunee see the Two Row Wampum as a living treaty; a way that they have established for their people to live together in peace; respecting the ways of the other as they meet to discuss solutions to the issues that come before them."
History as it is written:
In 1613, the Mohawks noticed people coming into their territory unannounced. The visitors had begun to cut trees and clear land for their homes and farms.
They had entered the lands of the Haudenosaunee and were now occupying some of their empty rooms (land). They had iron pots and pans and had their families with them. These people needed a place to live. The Mohawks sent a runner to Onondaga to convene a meeting of the Haudenosaunee.
The Haudenosaunee and the Europeans agreed they must have a way to greet each other when they meet. The settlers with their large sailed boat thought that they should be called “Father” and the Haudenosaunee “Son.”
The Haudenosaunee said that this would not do. “We shall address each other as ‘Brothers.’ This shows that we are equal to each other.”
The Haudenosaunee and the Dutch agreed on three principles to make this treaty last. The first was friendship; the Haudenosaunee and their white brothers will live in friendship. The second principle is peace; there will be peace between their two people. The final principle is forever; that this agreement will last forever.
“Together we will travel in Friendship and in Peace Forever; as long as the grass is green, as long as the water runs downhill, as long as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, and as long as our Mother Earth will last.”
https://www.onondaganation.org/culture/wampum/two-row-wampum-belt-guswenta/
The purpose of the Two Row Renewal Campaign is to help the Citizens of NYS realize that the people of the Haudenosaunee and specifically the Onondaga Nation have a mutually rewarding relationship.
These relations are based on respecting each of their cultures, governments, and spiritual ways.
This concept is reflected by the two purple lines of the wampum
against the white wampum beads.
The white being the river of Life, which they both depend on.
This campaign includes the reminder that those Nations who agreed to the Two Row also agreed to take care of the environment that we depend on to have a healthy life.
THE TWO ROW: A MUTUALLY REWARDING RELATIONSHIP
The Chain of Friendship: Binghamton University Haudenosaunee Festival�
In the spirit of the Two Row Wampum — Gä•sweñta’ or The Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship, Binghamton University hosted a two-day program in collaboration with the Vestal Museum welcoming members of NY state’s Indigenous community.
The event featured Indigenous speakers, food, music, dance, art, storytelling and more. Artisans and craftspeople sold their wares in tents lined up along the Science 1 Peace Quad and food was made with traditional recipes out of the corn grown in the Three Sisters Garden.
The Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation hosted a Witness to Injustice interactive program where participants and audience members shared history, colonization and lived experience of Haudenosaunee peoples from the region and Indigenous communities across Turtle Island.
“We’re engaging with our Native American neighbors that have lived here for time immemorial in a very holistic way,” said Barrett Brenton, Faculty Engagement Associate for the University’s Center for Civic Engagement.
“The lectures and the programming will weave nicely with curriculum across the University, from music and dance to history, to the social and natural sciences.”
https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/4457/the-chain-of-friendship-binghamton-university-to-welcome-haudenosaunee-festival
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Thanksgiving blessing of the land and planting of the Three Sisters Garden at the Science I courtyard,-May 4, 2022.
Annual Fall harvest and blessings continue
Three Sisters Garden
The garden honors the Indigenous peoples of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy
who call this land their ancestral home.
“We’re excited to return here to our ancestral lands, it’s almost like stepping back in time 200 years”
“I really believe that gardens are the places where the path of healing, reconnection and understanding begin.”
Binghamton University & the Three Sisters Garden space honors the Indigenous connection
to the land
Three Sisters Garden- The Irquois and the Cherokee called corn, bean and squash “the three sisters” because they nurture each other like family when planted together.
The four sacred plants by First Nations and Metis People are tobacco, sage, sweetgrass, red cedar. These plants are considered sacred due to the versatility in which they are used. Medical, healing, calming, purifying people and dwellings.
Aspects of Life- spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical
Elements of Nature- Fire(sun), Air, Water, and Earth
Animals: Eagle, Bear, Wolf, Buffalo and others
Yuca is a very important plant to the Native people, as every part of the plant is useful- the younger stalks, fruit and flowers are all edible.
Sid Hill and Joe Heath reflected on the clear, upstream waters of an Onondaga Creek tributary flowing beneath their feet.
After the completion of a land transfer from Honeywell International on Sept. 30, the Onondaga Nation reclaimed over 1,000 acres of their historic land, which include the pristine headwaters of Onondaga Creek and a bounty of native wildlife and natural medicines.
Hill, the Tadodaho of the Onondaga Nation, remembers swimming in the creek water as a child. Nowadays, Hill said, children don’t swim in the creek, whose downstream waters are brown and murky. Those downstream waters run full with silt and other deposits from mud boils, caused by salt mining.
“You have Onondaga Creek, you have Onondaga Lake. Can’t use these places,” Hill said. “I’m an Onondaga. What’s that tell you?”
In the land the Onondagas reacquired, dozens of headwaters remain clean, clear and cold – safe for consumption, and ideal for native brook trout to thrive.
The 1,000 acres — two separate 758-acre and 256-acre parcels — are a mere fraction of the 2.5 million acres guaranteed to the Onondagas in treaties with the US government.
This title transfer, though, represents a critical milestone in the Nation’s ongoing battle to regain its ancestral lands.
The transfer of land followed a 2022 resolution from The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation that came as part of a broader plan to restore Onondaga Lake. The agencies directed Honeywell International, the corporation that owned the land, to cede the title of the parcels to the Onondaga Nation.
NEWS: The Onondaga Nation reclaimed 1,000 acres of its land. Now it seeks restoration.
October 12, 2024 by Onondaga Nation Central Current by Patrick McCarthy
The 1,000 acres are just a fraction of the 2.5 million acres guaranteed to the Onondagas in 1788
For the first time in centuries,
the gleaming waters belonged to them again!
Through generations of attempted assimilation, the nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy have held fast to their cultures and traditions. Today they are expressing their story through their own people with the introduction of Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Website link below is an excellent resource for students and teachers. This website shares cultural information in historical and contemporary contexts through the eyes of the Haudenosaunee.
The website will provide a voice for the Haudenosaunee people in new media while providing engaging information to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal audiences.
The Haudenosaunee welcome you as you explore the unique culture held close to the hearts of their people.
https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/who-we-are/
Appreciation vs. Appropriation moving beyond stereotypes�
Appreciation- Genuine learning, admiration and respect. Participating, attending, acknowledging, and supporting Indigenous culture, promoting understanding and tolerance among different cultural groups.
Appropriation- Taking and using something from a culture without permission, perpetuating stereotypes with misinformation and commodifying someone elses culture.
What can we do to teach and nurture Appreciation
First- the preferred term over Native American is “Indigenous People” Indigenous People acknowledges the diversity of Indigenous groups across the globe.
Second- Using the word “Honoring” implies Respect,
signifying a conscious effort to acknowledge and value
indigenous cultures and heritage.
Third- Collaborate, support and establish respectful and reciprocal relationships with Indigenous nations and communities.
Online Resources for Indigenous Artists Resources�
Educators in Action | Connecting Past and Present through Indigenous Art. Museums, teacher education and working with indigenous art.
Iwantja Arts: Iwantja Arts is an Indigenous owned and governed Aboriginal art centre, located in the rocky, desert country of Indulkana Community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the remote north-west of South Australia. Iwantja Arts is named after the Iwantja Creek near where the Indulkana Community was founded, which is the site of the Tjurki (native owl) Tjukurpa.
https://www.iwantjaarts.com.au/
Type of ARTS:
Tribal Arts- known as non-Western art or ethnographic art, controversially primitive art.
Native American Art- artists strive for balance, harmony, beauty and order. Designs and symbols- forms of communication or away to honor the gods.
Native American Arts differ by the geographic area and lifestyle of each tribe.
Indigenous Arts can involve work on raw materials such as tree, fruits and vegetable extracts.
What is the meaning of an INDIGENOUS ARTIST
Indigenous arts - Art created by the original people who inhabit a land.
Locations with indigenous traditions:
Australian Aboriginals
New Zeland’s Māori people
North West Coastal people of the US
Meso and Central America
The Amazon, Artic, Asia-Pacific
What is Indigenous art appropriation- the use of a people’s traditional dress, music, cuisine, knowledge land other aspects of their cult I our without their approval, by members of a different culture…
Four Types of Indigenous Art
Traditional Arts
Ceremonial or Religious Arts
Utilitarian Arts
Art produced for tourist market, contemporary or fine arts
Indigenous (Mis)Representation in the Arts
On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the third in our summer series), the arts take centre stage. A stage so wide, it’ll take two acts to cover it all.
For our first act, we look at representation and misrepresentation, be it on-screen, on stage, or on the page.
From gatekeepers to white fragility, it ain’t easy trying to be Indigenous in this industry.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-indigena-indigenous-current-affairs/id1092220986?i=1000485826376&fbclid=IwAR1kALl9-hPfHk6XEIgJpYRiAUKCrP2HSBXcdBH_KPa6oiRkBqJCMP6vDXA http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/curriculum-instruction/nys-media-arts-at-a-glance-final-8-13-2017-high-res.pdf
Emmi Whitehorse Paints the Harmonies of Her Homelands�
https://www.nga.gov/stories/west-to-east/emmi-whitehorse-celebrations-of-natures-designs.html
“My work has always been about the land,” says Navajo (Diné) painter, Emmi Whitehorse. She was born in Crownpoint, New Mexico, just east of Mount Taylor.
The landscapes of her ancestral homelands have given her a unique and intimate art-language with which to tell her stories. “Light, space, and color are the central axes around which my work has evolved.”
Whitehorse’s birthplace, her family, and the work of other Indigenous artists all inform her abstract paintings.
Seasonal changes, organic forms, and the silence of solitude contribute to the serene, dreamlike atmospheres of her canvases. Her paintings “tell the story of knowing land over time” and “being completely, microcosmically within a place,” says Whitehorse.
Richard Ray Whitman, Robert Franklin, Brandywine Workshop and Archives, Do Indian Artists Go to Santa Fe When They Die?, 1988, color offset lithograph on wove Arches paper, Gift of Funds from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, 2023.22.53
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Native American Artists – Link to the National Gallery of Art
Linda Lomahaftewa, Robert Franklin, Brandywine Workshop and Archives, Parrots Prayer Song, 1989, color offset lithograph on wove paper, Gift of Funds from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, 2023.22.1
A groundbreaking exhibition finally tells the stories of Native women artists
YouTube PBS NewsHour Oct 19, 2019
Medicine Wheel – Native Indian Astrology
The Medicine Wheel describes your birth chart according to traditional Native American astrology, based on the traditional Kvinakati Tsulawi healing circle of the Southern Shawnee and Cherokee tribes and the positive responses of other North American tribes.
Every animal is said to have healing power.
Animals of Native American Astrology
Recognizing Traditional Territory
First steps in building a relationship with Indigenous communities
Remember, in a sense, we are all migrants, we are all guests inhabiting territories in some cases on stolen land. Although we may live here now for however many generations, many indigenous ancestors were forced off their lands, separated from their families and had to relocate in far away places. Let us have empathy and learn our history in order to give respect to those who came before us. Let us find respectful and peaceful way to give back and honor each others cultures and stories.
Be mindful- some areas are owned under a treaty requiring special permission to access
Take Time to Understand and Respect the History
The wounds and repercussions of the colonization of Indigenous Peoples have taken a toll
and will continue to take generations of healing. Seek to understand with empathy and compassion.
Trying to identify, learn and understand a causes for mistrust, non-cooperation, or caution are the first steps to empathy and compassion when learning the history. Many negative stereotypes continue to harm and prevent healing due to lack of historical and factual research.
Support for Native People by building relationships for better engagements not for business transaction, political gain, fame or recognition. Build authentic and reciprocal relationships through social gatherings, potlaches, powwows and other gatherings seeking positive relations.
LET US CONSIDER WHAT ACTIONS WE CAN TAKE TO EDUCATE OURSELVES ABOUT OUR LOCAL INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND WAYS WE CAN SUPPORT THEM
Native Governance Center's "Beyond Land Acknowledgment: A Guide"
Beyond land acknowledgment statement, let’s consider creating an action plan to support Indigenous communities.
Research: Research the land's Indigenous past, present, and future.
�Teaching: Provide accurate and authentic teaching about Indigenous histories, cultures, treaties,
and tribal sovereignty.
�Representation: Examine how Indigenous peoples are portrayed in educational settings.
�Support: Support initiatives related to Indigenous education, such as land-based education programs and language revitalization projects.
�Relationships: Develop and maintain relations with Indigenous people, communities, and nations.
�Advocacy: Advocate for Indigenous rights and self-determination.
Identifying the Governance and Authority structures
finding and learning local protocols
Band councils are the elected government of most indigenous communities and can be a great resource to connect with community members.
Tribal governments act alongside or instead of band councils for some Indigenous communities.
Hereditary Chiefs hold titles and authorities that have been passed down for thousands of years. They are influential figures in the community who focus on health and well-being.
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Who are Indigenous Peoples?
Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced.
Indigenous refers to those peoples with pre-existing sovereignty who were living together as a community prior to contact with settler populations, often referenced as Europeans.
Cultural Appreciation- characterized by meaningful and informed engagement that includes acknowledgment and permission.
Showing appreciation for Indigenous culture is an important step that everyone can take to show empathy and advance reconciliation.
Native American Heritage Day celebrates ancestors while Indigenous Peoples Day celebrates 571+ distinct Native Peoples who exist today in the Modern US
Heritage explicitly refers to the PAST. There are non-Native people (not part of a specific highly enmeshed Native community , not citizens of Native Nations) who have Native Heritage.
Native American Heritage Month, honors the history, rich cultures, and vast contributions of Native peoples.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY AND NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Honor... Support... Celebrate
Native American Heritage Month, Indigenous Peoples Day
and any other time of year
Discover Native American artists
Read Native American authors
Listen to Native American music
Learn Native American history
IDEAS BEYOND THE ABOVE THAT CAN BE OF SERVICE
Do your research
Outline concrete plan steps with specific, measurable actions. Look for points of alignment between your resource assessment and your research. During your research, you might have discovered that community members are currently convening for an important cause or purpose. Use this alignment to create an action step. Maybe you can find an event you can attend to support and participate. Your steps should make it immediately clear how and when you plan to take action.
United States History
Native American history in the United States after 1990 includes the following events:
Sources
Indian Wars Campaigns, U.S. Army Center of Military History�
Battlefields of the Pequot War, American BattleField Protection Project�
Beaver Wars, Ohio History Connection�
America’s Most Devastating Conflict: King Philip’s War, Connecticuthistory.org�
1680—the Pueblo Revolt, Library of Congress�
French and Indian War/Seven Years’ War, 1754–63, U.S. Office of the Historian�
Pontiac's Rebellion, Washington Library�
Autumn 1811: The Battle of Tippecanoe, National Parks Service�
The Seminole Wars, Seminole Nation Museum�
Sand Creek Massacre, National Parks Service
What has happened since 1990
The Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act required all institutions that receive federal funds to inventory their collections of Indian human remains and artifacts, make their lists available to Indian tribes, and return any items requested by the tribes.
The Indian Law Enforcement Act created a unified approach to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ provision of law enforcement service on reservations.
1992 – The Mashantucket Pequot opened the first large casino in the United States — the Foxwoods Casino of Connecticut. At that time, it was the biggest gaming complex in the Western Hemisphere.
1996 – President Clinton authorized an Executive Order on October 21 on Tribal Colleges and Universities, the U.S. Department of Education, to continue supporting and developing tribal colleges into the 21st Century.
1998 – The Nez Pierce tribe returned to its ancient homeland in Oregon after 121 years of exile.
2000 – The U.S. Mint issues a dollar coin with the image of Sacagawea.
2010 – Elouise Cobell, a Blackfeet woman from Browning, Montana, filed a lawsuit alleging that the US Interior Department mismanaged billions of dollars held in trust by the government. On December 8, President Obama signed legislation to pay American Indians and black farmers some $4.6 billion for government mistreatment over many decades. The legislation settled four long-standing Native American water rights suits in Arizona, New Mexico, and Montana.
The 2010 census recorded 5.2 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Michigan is one of the ten states with the highest recorded Native American populations.2012 – The HEARTH Act allows tribal governments to approve the leasing of tribal lands.
“Being Indian is an attitude, a state of mind, a way of being in harmony with all things and all beings.”
– Brooke Medicine Eagle
Deb Haaland is the first person of Native American heritage to serve as a United States cabinet secretary.
Elizabeth Peratrovich was the first person of Alaska Native heritage to be featured on United States currency.
Wes Studi is the first person of Native American heritage to earn an honorary award from the Academy Awards.
Additional local Binghamton Resources:
Barry Brenton at the Center for Civic Engagement who was heavily involved in Binghamton University's land acknowledgment process and was one of the organizers of the 3 Sisters Garden and Haudenosaunee Festival.
Laurie Miroff directs the Public Archaeology Facility and handles the K-12 outreach related to the Haudenosaunee Festival.
At BU, the 3 Sisters Garden effectively acts as our living land acknowledgement and is backed by a variety of ongoing outreach efforts.
I would like to acknowledge that I construct this PowerPoint from a place of privilege and acquired information. Graciously thanking those who have shared their knowledge and advice with me every step of the way. The information I present to you is in no way a definitive guide on how to practice cultural appreciation, yet it is meant to be a starting point for my learning and growth, and I hope it is a place for you as well.
Interested in joining NYSATA ED&I committee? Scan QR code for more info!
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