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EDITS TO ONONDAGA PEOPLE:

INTRO:

The Onondaga people (Onondaga: Onöñda’gaga’, Hill Place people) are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy in northeast North America. Their traditional homeland is in and around present-day Onondaga County, New York, south of Lake Ontario. They are known as Gana’dagwëni:io’geh to the other Iroquois tribes. Being centrally located, they are considered the "Keepers of the Fire" (Kayečisnakwe’nì·yu’ in Tuscarora) in the figurative longhouse that shelters the Five Nations. The Cayuga and Seneca have territory to their west and the Oneida and Mohawk to their east. For this reason, the League of the Iroquois historically met at the Iroquois government's capital at Onondaga, as the traditional chiefs do today.

Onondaga peoples also live near Brantford, Ontario on Six Nations territory. This reserve used to be Haudenosaunee hunting grounds, but much of the Confederacy relocated there as a result of the American Revolution. Although, the British promised the security of Haudenosaunee homelands, the 1783 treaty of Paris ceded the territory over to the United States.

CUSTOMS

The Onondaga practice the sprinkling of ashes when juggling the treatment of the sick. They also do a public confession of sins upon a string of wampum. The wampum is employed on all matters of public importance. Their funerals were known to be quiet and solemn with the women covering their faces. There were also special events such as the Planting Feast which would happen in May or when the Onondaga believed the ground was ready. This was three days for penitential and religious services. One day for the children's dance, and one each for the Four Persons, the Holder for the Heavens, the Thunder, and for gambling. The Strawberry Feast comes when the berries are ripe. This day there are dancing for the Thunder and a feast of strawberries. The Green Bean Dance comes when the green beans are fit for use. This day there are dances for the Thunder and a mixture of war and feather dances. The Green Corn dance always comes after the Green Bean dance. This day there are three days for religious services, one for the children, one for the Four Persons, one for the Holder of the heavens, and one for the Thunder with the feast. The Onondaga's Thanksgiving feast in October closely resembled the Green Corn Dance.

The Onondaga peoples place great emphasis on giving thanks, and this is reflected in their ceremonies. Ceremonial songs would be performed in the longhouse, and danced to in a counter-clockwise direction, since this is the life providing direction of Mother Earth, moon, and stars. The more spirited the singing and dancing, the more thanks is given to the Creator. The Onondaga peoples rely on the lunar calendar for their ceremonies that occur, and there are "faith keepers" responsible for initiating the ceremonies based on the different moons.

GOVERNMENT

The Onondaga in New York have a traditional form of government, with chiefs nominated by clan mothers, rather than elected. The Onondaga follow the Haudenosaunee matriarch clan system. Only an Onondaga woman can provide Onondaga children. Members of a clan are considered to be family, even if members in the clan are from different nations. When it comes to marriage, partners must be from outside the clan. Onondaga peoples believe it is their duty to help and support their clan in tough times, sickness, and death.

On March 11, 2005, the Onondaga Nation in the town of Onondaga, New York, filed a land rights action in federal court, seeking acknowledgment of title to over 3000 sqmi of ancestral lands centering in Syracuse, New York. They hoped to obtain increased influence over environmental restoration efforts at Onondaga Lake and other EPA Superfund sites in the claimed area. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the Onondagas' claim in 2012, and the Supreme Court in 2013 declined to hear an appeal.

EDITS TO ONONDAGA LANGUAGE:

USAGE AND REVITALIZATION

According to the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, there are about 10 mother tongue Onondaga speakers in New York, and 40 native speakers on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada. The language has come to be endangered due to the pressure to assimilate to English as the language of power. Standardization also occurred in residential schools across Canada in the 1800s to 1900s. Young boys and girls at the Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School in Brantford, Ontario were punished for using their heritage language.

The Onondaga Nation Language Center (called Neʼ Eñhadiweñnayeñdeʼnhaʼ, or "they will get to know the language") has been engaged in language revitalization efforts since 2010. Children learn the Onondaga language at Onondaga Nation School, and classes are also available for adults. In September 2015, it was announced that fifteen adults would enter a full-time language immersion class in Onondaga, after which they would become teachers of the language. In Canada, Gawęnahwishe' Onǫda'gega' is a revitalization project that launched in 2017 with six new language learners. It is an adult immersion program that implements the Six Nations Language Commission's (SNLC) framework. They are involved with translating the local radio station, putting on programs with local elementary and secondary schools, and outreach events for the community.