Long ago, on the glittering blue shores of Lake Onondaga, the Peacemaker arrived in a stone canoe. Sent by the Creator, he brought a message of peace and democracy to the five nations that had been warring for decades. Once his message had reached all of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk peoples, the 49 leaders of the nations met again at the lake. A great white pine tree was dug up, and all of their weapons were thrown into the hole. The Tree of Peace was then replanted, and an eagle was placed on top to remind the people to uphold the message of peace.
Unfortunately, the peace of that pristine landscape has been broken. Where the once great Tree of Peace’s roots stretched out into the clay of the lakeshore, now they are choked with pollution and debris. It was said that any person seeking peace and democracy could take refuge under the tree, but the shade is not as bountiful as it once was. What happened to the environment around Onondaga Lake to disturb this peace?
Onondaga Lake is now one of the most, if not the most polluted lake in America. We, with of industrial pollution, tourism, and sewage waste, have tarnished a great symbol of the principles which our country was supposedly founded on--democracy.
image source: http://www.ganondagan.org/Learning/Wampum
We single-handedly destroyed one of the most notable figures of Iroquois spirituality. In Native American culture, spirituality and religion are rooted in place. A connection is instilled between a human being and an aspect of nature, whether that be a specific mountain, plateau, water body, or the like. Indigenous people will not simply leave their homes in order to create a life in a new location, similar to how Europeans left their churches behind to build new churches. The land is the church; therefore, the annihilation of Onondaga Lake is comparable to the burning of a cross in Catholicism, except crosses can be replaced.
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