Can the Onondaga Nation Find Peace?
I was born in Syracuse, NY and lived in the area for just over 30 years. The Onondaga people have a reservation in Nedrow, NY, just outside of Syracuse. In this close quarters, the Onondaga Nation was concurrently present while wholly unacknowledged in my own limited purview. Upon further reflection, I can vaguely recall school field trips that must have been taken there. More clearly I can recall friends whose family had connections inside the reservation and whom I would accompany there. None of this really resonated with me as being anything outside of the ordinary, nothing more shocking than having friends or family in the next city over. My perceptions were certainly jarred then one day when, of all …show more content…
This reputation developed due in part to irresponsible dumping from Allied Chemical Co. (Effer 10-11) and Honeywell International, Inc. (Chanatry). The Onondaga Lake has long been considered vastly important to the Onondaga Nation, who would naturally perceive the pollution as a tremendous affront against both their people and their land. The Onondaga’s frustrations would continue to grow as the lake was generally considered tainted as early as 1920, with the city of Syracuse imposing bans on both swimming in 1940 and fishing in 1970 (Effer 9). This pattern shows a clear decline of the conditions of the lake in extreme disproportion to any efforts made to revitalize it, which surely agonized the Onondagas immensely. The failure of the government to responsibly react to this issue with any real concern could absolutely have directly contributed to the augmenting hostilities that resulted in the land rights lawsuits. The renewal efforts of the government were likely perceived by the Onondagas as lethargic and swamped in bureaucracy. Meanwhile, government officials likely viewed the Onondaga Nation as impatient and overbearing without really comprehending the dismal perspective of a people who had cherished this aspect of nature for hundreds of years, their disbelief at the continued damage being done, and …show more content…
The Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) and the Syracuse Peace Council are both organizations that have recently been allied with the Onondaga Nation (Bosselmann 150). Could these progressive groups lead the way and sway the opposing factions towards a more peaceable future? While the optimistic might like to think so, these groups are just as likely to become targets by affiliation. For instance, the billboard on the Onondaga Nation land, which has undergone numerous painted edits, has directed aggression towards former governors Eliot Spitzer and George Pataki (Breidenbach). Some community members viewed Pataki’s efforts to impose taxes on the Onondaga Nation as lax, interpreting the prolonged negotiations as not being in the best interest of all parties involved (Johansen 302). Spitzer inherited everything that went along with the tax negotiation dilemma, including the same unfavorable public perception by some members of the community. In this way, the people of the Onondaga Nation are perpetually the