Neetopk Keetopk Celebrates 10 Years
of Indigenous Solidarity Work in the Hudson Valley
In the spring of 2012, organizers with the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign began preparing for a trial paddling trip in the central Hudson Valley. We put out the word for support in that region and received a strong response from people who spent the next year and a half engaging in educational work and support for the Two Row Campaign. Many of those organizers decided to continue their work after the campaign wound down early in 2014.
As a result of those efforts Neetopk Keetopk was born. Their mission statement begins, “We are people, both indigenous and immigrants of M’hiacanuk, aka the Hudson River Valley. All of us, regardless of recent ancestry, have roots that connect us to the Earth. We choose to live together in response to a world in spiritual, social, and ecological crisis.”
The organization engages in educational and advocacy work to support Indigenous rights and protect Mother Earth. They seek to learn from one another and develop a shared path toward a more peaceful and sustainable world. They have worked in support of the Ramapo Nation, which has faced grave environmental issues and on a variety of other important issues.
Neetopk Keetopk is celebrating their 10th anniversary this coming Saturday (details below).
Upcoming Events:
10th Anniversary Celebration of Neetopk Keetopk
Saturday, July 27, 1-7 pm
The Rail Trail Cafe, 310 River Road Ext., New Paltz, NY 12561
This event will be filled with music, speakers focusing on activism and highlights local environmental groups stewarding and protecting the earth. Performers include The Cloud Breakers and Red Feather Singers, Evan Pritchard, Etaoqua, Barely Lace, Esi Lewis, Shabazz and Josephine Jackson and Dr. Susan Paynter.
Indigenous Music & Arts Festival
Saturday & Sunday, July 27-28 @ 10 AM – 5 PM
Ganondagan State Historic Site, 7000 County Road 41 (Boughton Hill Road) Victor, NY 14564
Ganondagan’s annual Indigenous Music & Arts festival showcases Haudenosaunee and Indigenous cultures through dance, music, storytelling, traditional craft demonstrations, an Indigenous Arts Market, children’s activities, Indigenous food, and more.
This year welcomes Māori artists and performers. The event will feature artist demonstrations, dance performances and collaborative opportunities with Haudenosaunee artists, performers, and culture bearers.
During the festival weekend, Māori artists and performers will provide artist demonstrations, traditional dance, and contemporary performances. Artists will also be selling their work.
This year’s festival features Native folk and blues rocker, Keith Secola (Anishinabe) & his Wild Band of Indians, hoop dance champions and performers, the Sinquah Family Dance Troupe (Hopi/Tewa/Choctaw), Bill Crouse (Seneca) and Haudenosaunee social dancers, Alleghany River Indian Dancers, and storytellers Ronnie Reitter (Seneca, Wolf Clan) & Perry Ground (Onondaga, Turtle Clan).
Stage of Nations Takeover – Hanover Music Series
Thursday, August 1 @ 5 – 9 PM
Hanover Square, 171 E Genesee St, Syracuse, NY 13202
A celebration of indigenous culture – a festival of music, an artists village, and a smoke dance competition. Featuring The Ripcords All Star Jam with a bunch of special guests. Part of Hanover Thursdays, a free concert series every Thursday this August in Hanover Square!
Gayëntwahgöh: Cornplanter Exhibit Opening
Saturday, August 3 @ 10 AM – 4 PM
Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center / Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, 82 W Hetzel St, Salamanca, NY 14779
The Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center will examine the life of Seneca war chief Cornplanter and provide insight into life on the Cornplanter Grant in a new exhibit scheduled to open Aug. 3.
The major highlight of the exhibition will be the display of the original Cornplanter monument, erected at Cornplanter’s Grant (Pennsylvania) in 1866. It is believed to be the first memorial to commemorate a Native American in the United States. The exhibit will draw on Cornplanter’s legacy by exploring his significance in Onöndowaˊga:ˊ (Seneca) and American history through documents, photographs and artifacts including Cornplanter’s pipe tomahawk, which the New York State Museum returned to the Nation in 2020.
2024 Indigenous Writers Retreat
Monday – Friday, August 12 – 16
Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community
Registration open to Indigenous Graduate Students & Writers!
Kanatsiohareke is offering a 5-day opportunity to spend quality time working on a dissertation, thesis, academic paper, report, proposal, article, journal, course outlines, or other literary works at the quiet secluded community in the Mohawk Valley in Upstate New York.
This 5-day event provides an opportunity for writers to:
• Complete writing on academic papers, journals, thesis, dissertation
• Network and share information on writing projects with other Indigenous scholars
• Meet one-to-one with both a Ph.D. Advisor and a Traditional Spiritual Teacher
• Enjoy healthy home-cooked meals and a stress-free rural environment
• Work and reside for a time in the homelands of the Haudenosaunee
Click here for registration details
41st Annual Iroquois Arts Festival
Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1
Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center / Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, 82 W Hetzel St, Salamanca, NY 14779
The Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center will examine the life of Seneca war chief Cornplanter and provide insight into life on the Cornplanter Grant in a new exhibit scheduled to open Aug. 3.
The major highlight of the exhibition will be the display of the original Cornplanter monument, erected at Cornplanter’s Grant (Pennsylvania) in 1866. It is believed to be the first memorial to commemorate a Native American in the United States. The exhibit will draw on Cornplanter’s legacy by exploring his significance in Onöndowaˊga:ˊ (Seneca) and American history through documents, photographs and artifacts including Cornplanter’s pipe tomahawk, which the New York State Museum returned to the Nation in 2020.
Restore Our Sacred Lake 5K
Saturday, September 14 @ 7 – 10 AM
6th Annual Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival
Saturday and Sunday, September 14-15 @ 10 AM – 5 PM
Onondaga Lake Park, 106 Lake Dr, Liverpool, NY 13088, located in the heart of Onondaga Nation Territory
Restore Our Sacred Lake 5K: We follow the Thanksgiving Address by protecting Mother Earth. The eagle has returned to Onondaga Lake for the first time in over 200 years. We invite runners and walkers to come to Onondaga Lake for a day of celebration. This event will raise awareness of the importance of the lake and the urgency of furthering the cleanup effort.
Race begins 8 AM at Onondaga Lake Wegman’s Park, with registration opening at 7 AM.
Wooden Stick Festival: The Haudenosaunee (Called “Iroquois” by colonists) are the originators and keepers of the game known today as “lacrosse.” Deyhontsigwa’ehs (“They Bump Hips,” in the Onondaga Language) goes back millennia and is also known as “The Creator’s Game” and the “Medicine Game”. Today, throughout Haudenosaunee territories, the “Medicine Game” is still played in ceremony.
In celebration, the festival will include fun activities for the whole family: traditional Haudenosaunee foods and crafters, wooden stick making demonstrations, and social singing/dancing at noon each day. The Randy Hall Masters Wood Stick Lacrosse Tournament will also be taking place throughout the weekend (Sat 9 AM – 4 PM & Sun 10 AM – 3 PM).
Smoke Dance Competition: Details TBD
World Box Lacrosse Championship
September 20-29
Utica, NY
Outside the Box – 2024 Feature Exhibition
Ongoing: April 4 – November 30
Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center / Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, 82 W Hetzel St, Salamanca, NY 14779
Outside the Box: What happens when Haudenosaunee individuals pursue creative paths that are unheralded and wholly unexpected? When work doesn’t fit the mold? When pioneering forays are made into areas of expression where Indigenous representation is rare to non-existent?
Outside the Box celebrates the work of such innovators: the Iroquois Indian Marching Band; photojournalist Ian R. Maracle; installation artist Hannah Claus; claymation animator and comic drama filmmaker Paulette Moore; luthier (guitar maker) Glenn Hill, Jr.; neo-burlesque dancer Lauren Ashley Jiles; metalsmith Margaret Jacobs; video game designer Waylon Wilson, and others.
Monthly Events:
NOON Steering Committee Open Meeting. Please contact Lee Cridland, Peace Council Staff, for more info.
Indigenous News:
Ancestor’s Voices: Native leadership brings change to conservation efforts
Shasta Indian Nation to get homeland back in largest land return in California history
How the Nez Perce are using an energy transition to save salmon
Will the Northwest Forest Plan finally respect tribal rights?
Repeal of the Chevron doctrine will have profound consequences for federal rulemaking
Places to Visit:
Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center, 6680 Onondaga Lake Pkwy. Liverpool, NY 13088. Skä•noñh is a Haudenosaunee Cultural Center focused on telling the story of the native peoples of central New York. Now open from 10am-4pm Wednesday-Friday, and 11am-4pm on Saturday.
Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community, 4934 State Highway 5. Fonda, NY.
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. Learn more here.
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.
