Skip to content
Campus Life

Haudenosaunee Welcome brings cultural values, nation’s history to forefront

Haudenosaunee Welcome brings cultural values, nation’s history to forefront

The fifth annual Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering honored the history of the lands Syracuse University stands on. Speakers emphasized the importance of sharing their cultural values and the three principles of the Haudenosaunee people: peace, power and the good mind. Christian Calabrese | Asst. Photo Editor

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

A festive and welcoming spirit permeated the air as students, staff and members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy crowd around a tent on Shaw Quadrangle. All of the seats were filled as people walked around tables packed with informational pamphlets and watched Haudenosaunee members get into their traditional dress.

“As a community, new students and returning students, it’s part of our responsibility to carry a good mind and bring that energy into the community,” said Spencer Ohsgoñ:da’ Lyons (Living tree bark), Chief of the Onondaga Hawk Clan.

Diane Schenandoah, a member of the Oneida Nation and a Honwadiyenawa’sek (One Who Helps Them) at the Barnes Center at The Arch, hosted the fifth annual Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering on Monday to welcome students back to campus and acknowledge the history of the lands Syracuse University stands on.

Fifteen-year-old Javin Capella opened the event by delivering the five-minute Thanksgiving Address in his native language while wearing traditional dress. The Haudenosaunee begin every event and ceremony with this address — what they call “the words before all else” — to give thanks to the Creator.

“There have been a lot of speakers in my family, so I felt motivated to carry on the tradition of my family and keep on learning the language so I can pass it on to other generations,” Capella said.

Afterward, Lyons deviated from tradition, explaining the event and its traditions in English, rather than translating sentence by sentence from his native tongue. People have to choose to come here, Lyons said. He enjoys taking the opportunity to educate those who are interested in a way that’s accessible to them.

Erica Hoenig, an SU graduate student, appreciated the opportunity to learn about the Haudenosaunee as someone outside of the culture. She said she was attracted to the welcoming nature of the event.

“Having more events like this not only makes people aware of other cultures, but it’s great to have people that actually live this experience and are this experience, and they come in and explain it to us,” Hoenig said.

At the end of the Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering, audience members gathered for the round dance, which represents unity and community. Three members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy accompanied them with their voices and a drum for the traditional dance. Christian Calabrese | Asst. Photo Editor

In his speech, Lyons reiterated the importance of the three principles of the Haudenosaunee people: peace, power and the good mind. The Great Law of Peace is what brought the Six Nations in the area together under the name of Haudenosaunee, he explained.

Being Chief doesn’t elevate him above anyone else in the community, Lyons said, he’s just a spokesperson and a “fun uncle” for members of the Confederacy to talk to.

He also stressed the importance of continuing to share their cultural values. Lyons pointed to Capella as a responsible member of the younger generation, carrying the traditions of the Haudenosaunee into the future.

“I’m looking at some of the elder titleship here and thinking that I would be lucky to see a young man like Javin here when I’m an older guy,” Lyons said.

Jim O’Connor spoke on behalf of the SU Libraries, addressing the importance of the Haudenosaunee art installation near Carnegie Library on the Quad.

The installation was initiated six years ago by Indigenous students searching for a stronger presence on campus. Now, an informational QR code leading to a public history initiative will be added to the installation.

Among other things, the initiative will include a digitization of the Great Law of Peace and an acknowledgement of the art installation’s many contributors. Faculty hope this new aspect of the installation will be finished by the end of the semester.

After the speeches, audience members gathered for the Round Dance, holding hands and moving in a circle to display unity and community. Three members of the Haudenosaunee accompanied them with their voices and a drum for the traditional dance.

Then, attendees enjoyed a traditional strawberry and maple syrup drink and hot scones. They use strawberries because they’re the leaders of the plants, Schenandoah said, and maple is the leader of the trees.

While enjoying the traditional food, attendees looked at the tables surrounding the event, including the Native Student Program, Barnes Center, Hendricks Chapel and other resources for students to support the campus’s Indigenous community.

“Knowledge is experience,” Lyons said. “What we’re sharing is our ancestors’ experience and those teachings.”

membership_button_new-10