Category: NOON Newsletter

JUNE 2023 The Tonawanda Seneca Nation’s Fight to Protect the Big Woods

One of Western New York’s greatest treasures is a 20,000-acre wetland- grassland complex located mainly in the Town of Alabama, and locally known as “Alabama Swamp.” It is also known as the Sixth Great Lake, a glacial lake now largely underground but surfacing in the plentiful streams and pools that make this watery landscape essential to the many reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds who live or pass through, especially during spring migration.

MAY 2023 “Doctrine of Discovery”

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The “Doctrine of Discovery”, based on three papal bulls (Dum Diversas in 1452, Romanus Pontifex in 1455 and Inter Caetera in 1493), gave religious backing to the Portuguese and Spanish kingdoms to expand their territories in Africa and the Americas under the guise of spreading Christianity…

MARCH 2023 REPATRIATION

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Repatriation is the returning of cultural items — human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony — to lineal descendants. In the United States this refers most often to Native Americans and is covered by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). Native American cultural items and remains have been and are sometimes valued by non-native individuals seeking to collect or sell them…

September 2022 Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ Background

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Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ Background It is painful to watch homes, businesses, schools, and ceremonial venues destroyed; elders abused; children frightened and traumatized. Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga) people in their traditional territory, North in Six Nations, and West in Seneca Territory are affected by this conflict and violence. The ongoing crisis situation affecting the traditional…

JULY 2022 THE ONONDAGA NATION REGAINS 1023 ACRES

The Onondaga Nation will recover more than 1,000 acres of forest lands in the Tully Valley through an historic agreement with New York State and the federal government. This property, identified for restoration and preservation as part of the Onondaga Lake Natural Resource Damages and Restoration process, will now be returned to the care of the Onondaga Nation.

JUNE 2022 SPEECH GIVEN TO POPE FRANCIS

Three Indigenous delegations: Metis, Inuit, and First Nations, met with Pope Francis in private audiences at the Vatican during the week of March 28 to March 31, 2022 leading up to his apology. The First Nations delegation of 15 included chiefs, elders, spiritual advisors, and youth delegates who all spoke their truths of our Indigenous peoples to Pope Francis.

MAY 2022 MOTHER EARTH

For many of us, the awaking of spring turns our thoughts towards Mother Earth and we long to reconnect with her. But for Indigenous Peoples, there is no need or longing to reconnect because their cultures are daily closely connected to the environment.