Onondaga Nation leaders visit D.C. with historic treasure, wampum belt from George Washington
Washington -- When the leaders of the Onondaga Nation traveled here today to file an appeal of their rejected land rights claim, they brought along a special piece of supporting evidence that had been sealed in a bank vault in downtown Syracuse.
For the first time in more than 20 years, the Onondagas publicly displayed a wampum belt commissioned by George Washington to mark the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua.
The peace treaty guaranteed the Six Nations of the Iroquois “the free use and enjoyment” of their land.
Onondaga Faithkeeper Oren Lyons, speaking at a news conference at the National Press Club, used the setting to appeal to all Americans for their support.
“You can’t go around the world proclaiming democracy when you can’t take care of what’s at home,” Lyons said of the United States. He said all Americans should be outraged by the October 2010 decision by a U.S. District Court judge to reject the land rights claim the Onondaga Nation filed in March 2005.
“It’s your duty to uphold that treaty,” Lyons said, referring to U.S. citizens. “We do not concede to the court. We do not concede. We will fight on. But we would hope to secure the help of the U.S. people. Remind your leaders: If you can’t keep your promise, and you can’t keep George Washington’s words, whose words can you keep?”
With that introduction, Lyons stepped aside as other chiefs representing the Six Nations of the Iroquois carefully unfurled the 218-year-old wampum belt. The treaty belt marked the peace and friendship between the United States and the Iroquois, or Haudennosaunee people.
WATCH VIDEO: 
http://video-embed.syracuse.com/services/player/bcpid619299309001?bctid=1477742624001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAPLpuTok~,Mq6Bf5KTh4A6F2p4EzuWqPyz4bOUvoKuIt was the first time since New York state returned the wampum belt to the Onondagas in 1989 that it had been removed from its vault from M&T Bank in downtown Syracuse (the former Onondaga Savings Bank) and displayed in public. The chiefs held up the belt for the cameras. The well-preserved artifact stretches 6 feet and is 5 inches wide.
Joseph Heath, the Onondaga Nation’s general counsel, said the Onondaga people believe the law is on their side.
“The facts are not in dispute,” Heath said. “New York does not even dispute that the land was taken illegally.”
Heath also noted that the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County have supported their position. “What the Onondaga and Haudenosaunee people are asking for is truth and justice,” he said.
Suzan Shown Harjo, the guest curator at the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, is among those sympathetic to the Onondagas and their land rights action.
“We need to keep our word,” she said at the news conference. Shown Harjo said the museum will help emphasize the imporantance of the treaty when it opens an exhibit next year about treaties with American Indians.
A Russian television reporter was among more than 20 reporters and friends of the Onondagas who attended the news conference. He asked, “Just a hypothetical question: If you win, what do you want to do with the people in the state of New York?”
Lyons said, “Our intention was not to remove anybody. We were clear about that.”
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/onondaga_nation_leaders_visit.html
