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Before the arrival of white settlers on Onondaga Lake, before the town Syracuse Before it became one of the most polluted bodies of water in the ancient world, it grew along its shores. United States of AmericaIt was a sacred place to the Onondaga Nation.
Local officials, aware of that history, have expressed a desire to transfer a piece of lakeshore land back to the Onondagas, one of the original peoples who populated and ruled New York and parts of it. Canada Before the American Revolution. But after 14 years, the effort has stalled due to issues related to taxes, lake cleanup and, most recently, a statue of Christopher nearby. COLUMBUS,
Both sides are disappointed, although a compromise is not out of reach.
“It’s not called Onondaga Lake for some arbitrary reason,” Nation member Betty Hill said on a recent tour of the lake. “They know it was ours, they know it was part of our history for thousands of years.”
Like other indigenous peoples, the Onondaga are trying to reclaim a vast expanse of land in the state, beyond their federally recognized territory.
But reclaiming lakeside property would be a special reward.
sacred lake, tainted lake
Onondaga Lake is revered as the place where a man known as the Peacemaker, with the help of Onondaga leader Hiawatha, brought the warring nations of the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Onondaga together to form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy.
Many believe that the Confederacy influenced the framers of the US Constitution.
The nation eventually lost its grip 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 now much cleaner after restoration efforts, but there are still signs warning that eating its fish can be harmful.
Nevertheless, according to Sid Hill, the Taadodaho or chief of the nation, the lake is still a “living relative of our people”. “We have ceremonies that need to be practiced on its shores and other obligations,” he said in a letter to Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon this March.
County lawmakers considered returning some of the land in 2011 after advocacy led by Onondaga colleague Lloyd Withers.
Legislators passed a non-binding resolution to return the parcel by a shopping mall in Syracuse, but that area turned out to be too polluted. A second proposal in 2016 supported “final transfer” of designated parcels of land.
Little progress has been made since then.
Goodbye, Columbus?
Some Nation members believe the county is bringing up issues to thwart progress. As an example, they point to the statue of Columbus that has stood atop a column in downtown Syracuse since 1934.
Onondagas support plan to remove Columbus statue announced by Syracuse mayor in 2020 Italian Explorer who helped the Spanish establish a colonial foothold in the Caribbean and later suppressed rebellions by indigenous peoples. They see the statue as a symbol of oppression and plunder in the heart of their traditional homeland.
The statue still stands years later amid opposition from supporters who see Columbus as a symbol of Italian American pride.
This summer it became embroiled in land negotiations. An aide to McMahon told Withers in an email that if the Onondaga Lakeshore land transfer is to serve as a “symbolic gesture of healing and partnership,” then demanding the removal of the Columbus statue seems inconsistent with that goal.
The email suggested the nation potentially adopt the alternative idea of adding a statue of Hiawatha as a way to “help bridge the divide between two very passionate parties.”
Betty Hill, who is married to Sid Hill, said placing the statue of Hiawatha next to Columbus is “beyond an insult.”
Sid Hill said, “I guess that’s politics for you. You sacrifice something for it, and I’ll settle with you for it.” “What do we have to trade? We have nothing. We have a small piece of land left.”
McMahon said he was merely seeking clarification on the issue from the Onondagas. The county does not have control over the statue and it is not a bargain, he said.
an elusive deal
What McMahon wants, however, is for the Onondagas to pay taxes on other parcels of land that have been reclaimed by the county at county auctions.
He also wants a commitment that the nation will not sue over the cleanup of the lake, which has been criticized as inadequate by Onondaga leaders.
McMahon said, “If they can be addressed, I think we can get to the negotiating table, and I think we can reach an agreement.”
Tax issues can be the trickiest to resolve. Joe Heath, an Onondaga attorney, said that under state law, taxes are not required to be paid on lands recognized as Onondaga territory in the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty.
Meanwhile, Betty Hill said the Onondagas aren’t going anywhere.
“We are not going to stop in this pursuit of securing a piece of this for our people and our union,” he said.