In geologic time, 400 years is the snap of a finger. But in historic time, 400 years is plenty long enough for a treaty to finally be honored. That’s the motivation behind the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign, a joint effort between Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON), a project of the Syracuse Peace Council, and the Haudenosaunee. The idea is to celebrate the treaty that remains the basis of diplomatic relations between the Haudenosaunee and the United States to this day, and to remind the newer citizens (read: not the Haudenosaunee) that the treaty exists in the first place.
“We have to get out there and remind people of this treaty,” said Jake Edwards of the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs, “so we’ve been doing that for quite a few years now. Some have heard of the treaty and don’t understand it, and some have never even heard of the Haudenosaunee. We’re wondering when were going to be heard, so listen up: We’ll be heard now.”
Making newer Americans aware of the treaty is just one goal of the yearlong renewal campaign; another hope is to get a grasp on climate change and reduce or even halt the damage caused to the earth every day. “We need to educate the newcomers to the land that you take from Mother Earth only what you need to survive and be grateful for what she provides to us,” Edwards said.
The yearlong celebration kicks off Monday, Feb. 11, with an event at Syracuse Stage. Tadodaho Sid Hill will speak, and Edwards will review the history of the Two Row Wampum Belt and how the Haudenosaunee and newer Americans can move forward together. There will be a multimedia presentation about the campaign, a silent auction and a reception after the event. Festivities get under way at 6 p.m. and are free.
Andy Mager, a longtime staffer at the Peace Council, has been working with NOON the last several years. “We’ve worked to try to build greater understanding among the general population about our neighbors, the Onondaga,” he said, “and to call on people to consider that we have a debt we owe to them. Their land was taken illegally and they’ve been treated terribly. Then about 2½ years ago, the Onondagas’ land rights action was dismissed in federal court in Albany. That got us thinking: What would it take to get our people and governments to live up to our responsibilities to the treaty outside the court system?
“This year is the 400th anniversary of this foundational treaty,” Mager continued. “So we’ve devised this very simple yet wise and forward-looking concept of living together while recognizing significant cultural differences. The campaign is a statewide effort to share information about the treaty and call on people to think about what our obligations are now and in the future. This is a forward-looking effort, not a historical commemoration.”
Many readers are familiar with the purple and white wampum belt. Well, for the Haudenosaunee, that is the treaty. The belt itself comprises three rows of white beads and two rows of purple beads made from quahog clam shells. One purple row represents the Haudenosaunee and their canoes and the other represents the Europeans in their ships, each carrying their way of life, culture and government.
“In the Two Row, we agreed that we will travel the river of life together, side by side,” explained Edwards. “One line represents a canoe carrying our laws, culture, language, government and way of life; the other line represents the same for those who have come to this land. We will not try to steer each others’ boats, but travel side by side linked by peace, friendship and forever respecting the laws of our Mother Earth, natural law.”
This yearlong commemoration includes Haudenosaunee speakers appearing around the state and covering a range of topics from history to hydrofracking and other cultural sharing. The highlight of the campaign, however, is a 13-day trip down the Hudson River from July 28 to Aug. 9, with Haudenosaunee and allies paddling side by side, enacting the imagery depicted on the belt.
Paddlers will start in Albany and paddle nine to 15 miles a day before ending up in New York City’s United Nations on Aug. 9, which is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. “There will be all different kinds of watercraft,” predicted Edwards. “A few people have 10-passenger canoes, but the majority will be kayaks. We’re not looking to bring out the birch barks, although there might be a couple of those, too.”
Anyone interested in paddling one or all days, can register at honorthetworow.org by April 2. There you’ll also find information on the entire Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign.
