Michael Chaness, professor of anthropology and director of Native American studies at SUNY Oswego, held a discussion on Oct. 9 that was to include Onondaga Beaver Clan Chief Jesse R. Jacobs, where the two would discuss the dual celebration of Indigenous People’s Day and Columbus Day at the university.

The rural nature of SUNY Oswego is complemented by its innate beauty; with Lake Ontario in the backyard of the Lakeside community and spanning lush fields just past the city borders, the university is nestled on 700 acres of lakeshore land hosting a humble student population. While the institution possesses the land on which it was built, the area has traditionally homed the Onondaga Nation, both a crucial fragment of the Haudenosaunee people and a community that has long been displaced. 

Although Chief Jacobs would ultimately not be able to attend, Chaness nonetheless continued the discussion.

“Monday, it was Christopher Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day, and there seems to be, from the outside looking in, a bit of cognitive dissonance,” Chaness said. “Some other [institutions] found in the SUNY system have Columbus Day, some have Indigenous People’s Day, some have Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day. What do we have at SUNY Oswego? Fall Break! Yes, and it’s not today, yes, it’s just Thursday and Friday. It’s a way of overriding… what could be a very delicate and difficult conversation to have.” 

The Haudenosaunee, more commonly referred to as “the Iroquois Confederacy” or the “Six Nations,” are Native American peoples composed of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Tuscarora, Oneida and Mohawk Nations found in New York. While the geographic spread of these individual nations are broad, they are generally located in the northern, more rural regions of the state. In particular, the Aboriginal territory of the Onondaga Nation once stretched from the southernmost end of New York (past the Binghamton area) to the border of Lake Ontario beyond present-day Watertown. 

Although once a thriving force, the presence and influence of the Haudenosaunee have long been in decline due to the actions of the federal and state government. Through initiatives such as reservations, allotment and assimilation, the United States has historically placed a target on the development of Native American communities, and has just begun acknowledging the prolonged damage and trauma inflicted on these peoples. 

With it being located right on top of ancestral land, SUNY Oswego has also recently commenced a trend of acknowledgment. The institution’s official website has dedicated an entire section to the following statement: “The State University of New York at Oswego would like to recognize with respect the Onondaga Nation, the “people of the hills,” or central firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Indigenous peoples on whose ancestral lands SUNY Oswego now stands.”

While the release of this new statement shows at least a superficial level of consideration from the university, SUNY Oswego’s official academic calendar has yet to recognize Indigenous People’s Day while Columbus Day boasts federal observation. 

“There’s only two federal holidays that are named after individual people, and that is Martin Luther King Day, and Christopher Columbus Day,” Chaness said. “There are not two more diametrically opposed theologians, moralists, Christians, than Martin Luther King and Christopher Columbus; but we are all asked to make sense of that as these two men that are so great, did so much, are so wonderful, are so great and awesome to have individual holidays in order to celebrate, commemorate, acknowledge and recognize them.” 

The discussion also shifted attention to the Task Force on Haudenosaunee Confederacy Naming, a group of university students and faculty members dedicated to changing the Native names shallowly implemented throughout West Campus. According to the task force’s official decree, “There is great power in names and naming and it is the opinion of a number of SUNY Oswego faculty that the dormitories, roads and fields around West Campus do not honor the Haudenosaunee; furthermore, there is no educational value of living/playing/driving in these spaces nor are there any institutional standards for educating students, faculty and staff about either the ‘contributions of the Iroquois to New York State,’ the ‘historical and sociological significance of those nations,’ or the concerns of contemporary Haudenosaunee people.” 

The discussion ended with a few pointers given by Chaness on how to continue the fight toward bettering the social and political situations affecting Native American populations. 

“The contemporary attitudes toward Aboriginal peoples must be changed rather than compensation for past wrongs,” Chaness said. “You can demand protection for [Native American] peoples and their lands, cultures, and religions. You must honestly face the problem of Western society and consider alternatives. You must reject the Christian interpretation of creation and history as controller.”

The Haudenosaunee, more commonly referred to as “the Iroquois Confederacy” or the “Six Nations,” are Native American peoples composed of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Tuscarora, Oneida and Mohawk Nations found in New York. While the geographic spread of these individual nations are broad, they are generally located in the northern, more rural regions of the state. In particular, the original territory of the Onondaga Nation once stretched from the southernmost end of New York (past the Binghamton area) to the border of Lake Ontario beyond present-day Watertown. 

Although once a thriving force, the presence and influence of the Haudenosaunee have long been in decline due to the actions of the federal and state government. Through initiatives such as reservations, allotment and assimilation, the United States has historically placed a target on the development of Native American communities and has just begun acknowledging the prolonged damage and trauma inflicted on these peoples. 

Although a traditional custom dating back centuries in Native American nations, land acknowledgements have recently become an increasingly popular source of recognition by outside institutions. 

Being located right on top of ancestral land, SUNY Oswego has also recently commenced a trend of land acknowledgment. The institution’s official website has dedicated an entire section to the following statement: “The State University of New York at Oswego would like to recognize with respect the Onondaga Nation, the ‘people of the hills,’ or central firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Indigenous peoples on whose ancestral lands SUNY Oswego now stands.”

While the release of this new statement shows at least a superficial level of consideration from the university, SUNY Oswego’s official academic calendar has yet to recognize Indigenous People’s Day while Columbus Day boasts federal observation. 

“There’s only two federal holidays that are named after individual people, and that is Martin Luther King Day, and Christopher Columbus Day,” Chaness said. “There are not two more diametrically opposed theologians, moralists, Christians, than Martin Luther King and Christopher Columbus; but we are all asked to make sense of that as these two men that are so great, did so much, are so wonderful, are so great and awesome to have individual holidays in order to celebrate, commemorate, acknowledge and recognize them.” 

The discussion also shifted attention to the Task Force on Haudenosaunee Confederacy Naming, a group of university students and faculty members dedicated to changing the Native names shallowly implemented throughout West Campus. 

Running alongside the clustered residence halls of West Campus is a backroad named “Iroquois Trail,” which, according to the task force, exemplifies an “inappropriate euphemism.” 

According to the task force’s official decree, “There is great power in names and naming and it is the opinion of a number of SUNY Oswego faculty that the dormitories, roads and fields around West Campus do not honor the Haudenosaunee; furthermore, there is no educational value of living/playing/driving in these spaces nor are there any institutional standards for educating students, faculty and staff about either the ‘contributions of the Iroquois to New York State,’ the ‘historical and sociological significance of those nations,’ or the concerns of contemporary Haudenosaunee people.” 

The discussion ended with a few pointers given by Chaness on how to continue the fight toward bettering the social and political situations affecting Native American populations.

“The contemporary attitudes toward aboriginal peoples must be changed rather than compensation for past wrongs,” Chaness said. “You can demand protection for [Native American] peoples and their lands, cultures, and religions. You must honestly face the problem of Western society and consider alternatives. You must reject the Christian interpretation of creation and history as controller.”