Welcome to the NOON e-newsletter for September 2023. We’re focusing on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, both here in Central New York and beyond. Enjoy, and please share widely!
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Celebrate and Refocus
Sunday, October 8, 10 am to 8 pm
Everson Museum of Art
701 S State St. Syracuse, NY
Join Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON), Women of Italian and Syracuse Heritage in CNY (WISH CNY), the Everson Museum of Art and many organizations for the 2023 Indigenous Peoples’ Day Community Festival and Refocus Films Screening on Onondaga territory. This exciting day-long festival features Haudenosaunee singing and social dancing, presentations by featured Haudenosaunee artists, Onondaga vendors, speakers, local community groups, food trucks and a series of short films.
Featured artists include Robin Lazore (Baskets), Karenlyn Hill (Beadwork), Tom Huff (Stonework), Brandon Lazore (Muralist), Natasha Smoke Santiago (Potter), the Onondaga Singers and the Haudenosaunee Singers and Dancers. Festival host the Everson Museum of Art is offering free admission for the day. Doors open at 10 AM and indoor programming begins at 11 am. The outdoor events begin at 1 pm and the Refocus films begins at 7 PM.
The celebration will begin with the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, “the words spoken before all others” shared by Jake Edwards. Featured artists will demonstrate their craft and share related cultural teachings. Participatory Haudenosaunee social dancing will precede the showing of short films in celebration of Haudenosaunee culture.
The Refocus film series will run approximately 50 minutes and be projected on the exterior wall of the Everson Museum of Art. This year, we center traditional Haudenosaunee values in relation to Dehoñtjihgwa’és (lacrosse). Refocus is supported by Urban Video Project/ LightWorks (SU).
For more information, check out IPD Syracuse 2023 and our Facebook page. Please invite your friends and neighbors!
Want to learn more about Indigenous Peoples Day? Here are a few Indigenous perspectives exploring the meaning and importance of IPD – as well as the necessity of committing to year-round solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and Nations.
We Are Still Here — Today and Every Day
Why We Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day
While Indigenous: On Indigenous Peoples’ Day
NOON Newsletter Changes:
We give thanks and appreciation to Sue Eiholzer for her many years of coordinating the NOON Newsletter. Sue will now be passing on that role to Sarah (Howie) Howard and Andy Mager. Please help us co-create the newsletter! Send us your ideas/resources/events.
Upcoming Events:
Witness to Injustice workshops open to the general public
Wednesday, October 18, 5:30 – 8 pm @ Onondaga Free Library. Registration required.
Saturday, November 4, 10:30 am @ Marcellus Free Library. Registration available 9/28
Learn more here about Witness to Injustice, or reach out via email. Check out a short video overview of the program.
Film Screening: We Were Children
SUNY ESF Native American Club will be hosting a film screening event on Thursday, September 28th from 5:15 – 8:00 at Moon 110 on the SUNY ESF campus. They will be showing the film We Were Children by Tim Wolochatiuk and will be having a Q&A afterwards. Please wear orange to this event!
Book Talk: The Urgency of Indigenous Values
Join Philip Arnold, Associate Professor of the Department of Religion in The College of Arts and Sciences, and Sandy Bigtree, a founding board member of the Indigenous Values Initiative, for a discussion of Arnold’s new book, “The Urgency of Indigenous Values,” on October 3, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. in Bird Library Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, Room 114.
E-YAH-PAH-HAH: Native American Concert of Music and Dance
Sunday, Oct 8th, 3:00-4:30pm at the Seneca Art & Culture Center at Ganondagan
This is a FREE event, but donations are welcomed to support the E-YAH-PAH-HAH performance groups.
Indigenous Nations Festival! October 21, 2023. Sanford Field House. Colgate University. Hamilton, NY.
Monthly Events:
NOON Steering Committee Open Meeting. Next meeting Tuesday, October 17, 7-8:30 PM. Please contact Lee Cridland, Peace Council Staff, for more info.
Online Events:
The Urgency of Indigenous Values with Dr. Phil Arnold
Uncovering True(r) Land Stories: Land History as a Step Toward Repair. With Nunes and Nones Land Justice Project.
Indigenous News:
Governor Hochul Joins Onondaga Nation For Historic Meeting At Onondaga Nation Longhouse
Indigenous youth must be at the forefront of climate diplomacy
Onondaga artist’s exhibition merges pop culture, Native knowledge
Indigenous rocker Robbie Robertson dies at 80
Tribes strike historic deal with Army over repatriations
The Repatriation Project by ProPublica
Places to Visit:
Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center, 6680 Onondaga Lake Pkwy. Liverpool, NY 13088. After a period of being open only to scheduled group tours, the Center has reopened its doors to the public for walk-ins! Skä•noñh is now open from 10am-4pm Wednesday-Friday, and 11am-4pm on Saturday.
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.
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.
