A sacred lake, a Columbus statue, and an Indigenous people’s long struggle for land
Before white settlers came to Onondaga Lake, before the city of Syracuse grew along its shore, before the pristine waters became one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States, it was a sacred place for the Onondaga Nation.
Publish By
American Indian Law Alliance
on
The nation eventually lost its foothold on the lake, which became polluted in the 19th and 20th centuries as industries dumped mercury, salt and other contaminants into the water. The lake is much cleaner now after restoration efforts, but there are still signs warning that its fish may be harmful to eat.
Yet the lake is still "a living relative to our people," according to Sid Hill, the Tadodaho, or chief, of the nation. He told Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon in a letter this March that "We have ceremonies which need to be practiced on its shores and other obligations."