‘The blood in our veins’: Onondagas reignite effort to win back Maple Bay, a foothold on Onondaga Lake
The lake is sacred to the Onondaga, who have not had a foothold on a portion of its shore in nearly 200 years. The county has so far not been willing to give the Nation the land.
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American Indian Law Alliance
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When the Onondaga people stand on its shores and speak their language, Lyons says the lake responds; the fish leap from the water, the birds alight on the shores, the eagles circle overhead.To the Onondagas, the lake and its ecosystem are not commodities or resources – they are living relatives.
“That water is like the blood in our veins,” Lyons said. “It’s who we are.”