Timeline

Onondaga Lake is a Relative, not a Resource .

American Indian Law Alliance Founder Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga Nation, Snipe Clan) reminds us that Mother Earth is a relative, not a resource. Ongweoweh (The Original People) and the lake have a long history of reciprocal caretaking extending far before European colonization.

Tragically- because of the Doctrine of Discovery- Onondaga Lake, the sacred lake of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, has been treated as a resource for extraction and pollution, not a relative to live in caring reciprocity with.

This timeline is a work in progress, and uplifts various important dates related to Onondaga Lake and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which was founded at the shores of the lake.

Over 1,000 years ago, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was formed by the Peacemaker on the shores of the Lake, according to the Gayanashagowa, or Great Law of Peace. For this reason, Onondaga Lake is a sacred place for the Haudenosaunee. At the time of the Peacemaker, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca people were fighting and there was a great deal of death. To remind them of their ways, Creator sent a messenger so the nations could live in peace. The messenger is referred to as the Peacemaker and he brought the nations together as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The Onondaga Nation is the Central Fire of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which is today made up of six sovereign nations. The five original nations, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca Nations. The Tuscarora Nation joined in the 1700s. Learn more about the founding of the Confederacy on the Onondaga Nation website.

Over 1000 Years Ago

Gaswéñdah, the Two Row Wampum Treaty, was the first treaty agreement made between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy of Nations and a European government. This treaty is part of a long history of treaties embodied in wampum belts, and is the basis for all other treaty agreements between the Haudenosaunee and Europeans. This treaty affirmed that the Dutch and the Haudenosaunee are brothers traveling down the river of life together in peace forever- one in their ship and the other in their canoe- and that they would not step into one another’s vessel to disrupt it. The Treaty of Canandaigua (see 1794 on timeline below) made with George Washington build from the agreements of the Two Row Wampum.

1613 CE

Sainte Marie among the Iroquois was a 17th-century French Jesuit mission located in Onondaga Nation territory. It was located on Onondaga Lake. The original mission was led by Jesuit priest Simon Le Moyne. Sainte Marie among the Iroquois was originally known as Sainte Marie de Gannentaha or St. Mary's of Ganantaa. Recreation of the mission, which was previously its own historical site, it has since been incorporated into the Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center, see 2015 on the timeline below.

1656 - 1658 CE

During the American Revolutionary War, Haudenosaunee Nation remained neutral. In spite of this, General George Washington ordered Continental Army troops to attack Ongweoweh villages, burning their homes and gardens, and destroying their orchards. Many people fled from the oncoming assault, forced to abandon their communities and lands. Much of the land was then given as payment to Continental Army soldiers as a reward for their service. Because of this, the Haudenosaunee’s title for all US Presidents is Hanadagá•yas- Town Destroyer. You can learn more at https://www.sullivanclinton.com/.

1779 CE

For over thirty years, New York State representatives entered into a series of illegal “treaties” with Haudenosaunee citizens who were not chosen to represent their governments in order to claim deed to unceded lands. Over 2 million acres of unceded Onondaga Nation land were taken in this way, with the state selling much of it to private entities. These land takings enabled the building of the Erie Canal, which directly impacted the health of Onondaga Lake.

1790-1822 CE

After the US gained independence from Britain, they entered into a treaty with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy of Six Nations, establishing peace and friendship, and defining the boundaries of reservation lands for the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Treaty Day is commemorated every year on November 11th in Tganǫdæ:gwęh-Canandaigua- to polish the covenant chain of friendship between the US and the Confederacy.

1794 CE

Over more than 100 years, sacred Onondaga Lake was completely desecrated. As the city of Syracuse grew, natural landscapes and plants were removed. Raw, untreated sewage was sent directly to the lake. Even when treatment started, it was insufficient. From the Onondaga Environmental Institute website: “The largest industrial input to the lake came from Solvay Process chemical manufacturing facility (later named Allied Signal and Allied Chemical Co., and now owned by Honeywell International Inc.). During more than a century of operation (1884-1986), the western shore of the lake was inundated with more than 30 chemicals including insoluble sodium, calcium, and chloride waste generated from the soda ash production.”

1884-1986 CE

Cayuga Chief Deskaheh travels to Geneva, Switzerland to address the League of Nations, (the predecessor of the United Nations.) Deskaheh went to address his peoples’ sovereign rights to live on their lands, religion, and to follow their laws and lifeways. He was denied access, which he called ''cruel indifference.''

1923 CE

This delegation included leaders from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. They went seeking relief from the violation of treaties by settler governments across Turtle Island ~ Abya Yala [the Americas]. The delegation attended the International NGO Conference on Discrimination against Indigenous Populations in the Americas. The conference took place through the Sub-Committee on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Apartheid and Decolonization of the Special Committee on Human Rights, which is part of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

1977 CE

In 1994, Onondaga Lake was officially listed as a Superfund Site by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This was the result of over a hundred years of pollution and desecration of the lake, as discussed above, years 1884-1986. For background, in 1980 the U.S. Congress established the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), informally referred to as Superfund. This allows EPA to clean up contaminated places and forces the responsible polluters to perform the cleanup or pay the U.S. government for EPA-led cleanup work. See 2024 on the timeline below.

1994 CE

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is created as a high level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Learn more on the UNPFII website

July 2000 CE

Onondaga Nation files historic Land Rights Action in federal court seeking recognition of its aboriginal title over some 4,000 square miles of land and calling for environmental cleanup in the territory. Learn more from this chronology of the Onondaga Nation’s Land Rights Action.

2005 CE

The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). One hundred and forty-three member states voted yes, 11 abstained, and four voted against the adoption. The states that voted no were: U.S.A, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. They later reversed their position and expressed support for UNDRIP. Leaders from the Onondaga Nation and Haudenosaunee Confederacy were leaders in all stages of the negotiations to pass the UN Declaration.

September 2007 CE

The Onondaga County Legislature passes resolutions committing to the shared goal of land return on the shores of Onondaga Lake. The first resolution passed in 2011 and then another in 2016. We’re calling on the County Legislature to fulfill this commitment.

2011 and 2016 CE

The filed a petition against the United States with the Inter-­‐American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a body under the Organization of American States (OAS). Since 1788, 2.5 million acres of land have been stolen from the Onondaga Nation by New York State, and the failure of the domestic court system has left the Nation with no choice but to seek assistance for human rights violations from the international bodies. Learn more on the Onondaga Nation website.

April 2014 CE

Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center opens across from Onondaga Lake - reestablishing a permanent Haudenosaunee presence at the Lake. From their website, “the Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center is a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Cultural Center focused on telling the story of the native peoples... The history is told through the lens of the Onondaga Nation and covers topics such as Creation, European Contact, The Great Law of Peace, and more. The Onondagas, or People of the Hills, are the keepers of the Central Fire and are the spiritual and political center of the Haudenosaunee. Skä•noñh, is an Onondaga welcoming greeting meaning “Peace and Wellness.” The Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center is located at the site of the former Sainte Marie Among the Iroquois, see 1656-1658 on the timeline above.

2015 CE

The Onondaga Nation has regains over 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of its ancestral land. The forested land in the Tully Valley is near the Onondaga Nation territory. The land includes headwaters of Onondaga Creek. The land was transferred by Honeywell International under a federal Superfund settlement related to industrial contamination, see 1994 on the timeline above. This land is part of an expanse of 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) that was illegally taken over decades by New York State, beginning in 1788. The land was taken through illegal maneuvers that violated nation-to-nation treaties as well as U.S. federal law.

2024 CE

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