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Mendon High School Students Gain Insight into Haudenosaunee Culture from Ganondagan Speakers

Mendon High School’s student Diversity Council and an English 12 class recently hosted a student event with guest representatives from Ganondagan State Historic Site to speak about what it means to be Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) in the 21st century in Upstate New York.

“Despite the atrocities the Haudenosaunee have faced, our people have obtained a lot of traditional knowledge from the oral tradition of our ancestors,” said guest speaker Cole Reuben, who was joined by Kalen Fontenelle, both of whom serve as Cultural Interpreters at Ganondagan. “Our people today in the age of information are trying to reclaim some of the parts of us that were lost.”

Ganondagan, located in Victor, NY, is a National Historic Landmark that people from all over the U.S. come to visit and to tour the Seneca Bark Longhouse, Art and Cultural Center, and trails to learn about the 17th century Seneca town that existed peacefully there more than 350 years ago. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is the oldest continuous democracy in the world, composed of six nations -- Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora.

Fontenelle and Reuben spoke about how Indigenous people in America were forced from their ancestral homelands, banned from practicing their traditions, and made to assimilate to Western norms.

Indigenous people were stereotyped by Hollywood’s version of “cowboys and Indians.” Movies, TV shows, and the internet have perpetuated this single stereotype despite there being 574 tribes recognized by the federal government, each with their own customs, traditions, and dialects. For the Seneca Nation, there are currently eight clans named after animals. The family names and clans are passed down from mother to child.

Kalen Fontenelle and Cole Reuben came to Ganondagan from different upbringings. Fontenelle grew up on the site and learned about the history from watching his cousins working there. He was the only Haudenosaunee student at his public school and didn’t have many opportunities to attend traditional ceremonies.

Reuben grew up going to traditional ceremonies on their reservation in Tonawanda. He attended a school run by a Clan Mother to teach their language, culture, and traditional principles and songs. Only as an adult did he visit Ganondagan to learn the history in context and teach others as a Cultural Interpreter.

Fontenelle stressed that, “we are putting our people in the historical context, but also the important thing we’re trying to [teach] is that we are still here.”

He said that language revitalization is important to keeping ceremonies and their Haudenosaunee identities alive. Seneca Nation language programs are expanding to prevent the language from becoming extinct.

In a proclamation from the White House for Native American Heritage Month in November, President Biden stated, “Native communities have passed down rich cultures, knowledge, traditions, and ways of life. But throughout our history, Native peoples’ cultures, identities, and governments were not always seen as a part of this Nation but as a threat to it…this violence and devastation cost countless lives, tore families apart, and caused lasting damage to Tribal communities and institutions.” (Read the full proclamation).

Learn more about the Ganondagan State Historic Site at ganondagan

 

This opportunity was funded through the BOCES Arts in Education Grant Program.