Two-part series of ‘Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future’ to focus on restoration of land, lake

Two-part series of ‘Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future’ to focus on restoration of land, lakeOctober 09, 2006Sara Millersemortim@syr.edu

As part of the continuing yearlong lecture series “Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future,” two evening events, the first on Monday, Oct. 16, and the second on Tuesday, Oct. 17, will look at the indigenous and Western approaches to healing local land and waters. The two-part series, “Reflections on the Journey From Environmental Reciprocity to Environmental Exploitation and Back,” is free and open to the public. Both programs begin at 7 p.m. at Syracuse Stage and are followed by a reception.

Monday evening’s event, “Before: A Land in Balance; Cultural Ecology of the Ancestral Onondaga Homeland,” will focus on the historical, spiritual and environmental significance of Onondaga Lake and Creek, and will feature Onondaga health and environmental activist Jeannie Shenandoah among the speakers. Robin Kimmerer, professor of botany and director of the Center for Native People and the Environment at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), will speak about the natural history of the Haudenosaunee homelands.

Tuesday evening’s event, “After: Restoring Balance; Healing the Land and Waters,” will address the ecological changes in Onondaga Lake and what conservation efforts are needed and under way. Speakers on this topic include Shenandoah; Chris Amato of the Environmental Counsel for the Onondaga Nation; Emmanuel Carter, professor of landscape architecture at ESF; Jake Edwards, Onondaga Nation chief; Ed Michalenko, director of the Onondaga Environmental Institute; and Richard Smardon, chair of the faculty of environmental science at ESF.

The “Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future” series provides Central New Yorkers the opportunity to hear from the Native American community and experts on the topic of the Onondaga Land Rights Action and what lies ahead in the coming year. This free series of programs takes place about every month and involves a historic collaboration of many departments and organizations at Syracuse University and ESF, along with several community organizations.

Organized by Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON), the series is sponsored by more than 20 departments and organizations at SU and ESF — including the Chancellor’s Office and the Department of Religion — as well as community organizations, including the InterReligious Council of Central New York and the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation. The full schedule is available with additional information at http://www.esf.edu/commonfuture/.

In conjunction with “Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future,” a daylong teach-in Oct. 17 at ESF, “Finding Common Ground: Indigenous and Western Approaches to Healing Our Land and Waters,” will feature lectures and workshops focusing on environmental stewardship and various issues of restoration. A Thanksgiving address will begin the event at 8:45 a.m., with Kimmerer delivering a morning keynote and Joyce King, Tekahnawiiaks/excutive director of the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, providing an afternoon keynote address. The teach-in takes place at Marshall Hall’s Alumni Lounge on the ESF campus. For the full schedule with workshop presenters, visit http://www.peacecouncil.net/.

The teach-in is sponsored by ESF, SU, the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, NOON, the Gage Foundation and the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems.