Tuesday, August 6, 2024, By Dara Harper
Diane Schenandoah ’11, Honwadiyenawa’sek (“One who helps them”) will host a Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering on the Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle on Monday, Aug. 26, from 4 to 5 p.m.
2023 Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering (Photo by Angela Ryan)
The Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering is an event held on campus to welcome all incoming and returning students, faculty and staff for the 2024-25 academic year, and for all to show respect for the Indigenous people on whose ancestral lands Syracuse University now stands. Schenandoah is a citizen of the Oneida Nation and a Wolf Clan Faithkeeper, as well as staff member in the Barnes Center. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is comprised of Six Nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora.
This year’s featured speaker, Wakerahkáhtste Louise McDonald Herne, is a Bear Clan Mother for the Mohawk Nation Council. Wakerahkáhtste presented at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and lectures regularly at universities throughout Canada and the United States on Ratinonhsón:ni philosophies and self-determination regarding the rights of women. Wakerahkáhtste has been the Distinguished Scholar in Indigenous Learning at McMaster University Institute for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (MIIETL) and received an honorary doctorate from State University of New York at Canton. Her most recent work includes a feature in the award-winning documentary film, “Without a Whisper: Konnon:kwe” about the Ratinonhsón:ni women’s influence on the women’s rights movement.
Diane Schenandoah, Faithkeeper of the Wolf Clan, Oneida Nation, speaks at the 2023 Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering. (Photo by Angela Ryan)
“This land is sacred. We welcome visitors to be part of this sacred place. Part of our teaching is that no one can own the land, so it’s important to remember that Syracuse University is part of a much bigger picture,” says Schenandoah. “It’s important to acknowledge and recognize that there are Indigenous peoples still here and we are standing in the capital of the Haudenosaunee territory.
At the gathering, speakers and dancers will welcome a new academic year. Hot scones and strawberry drink will be offered. The hot scones are derived from traditional breads and the strawberry drink consists of strawberries, maple syrup and water. “This is significant because strawberries are the leaders of the plants and maples are the leaders of the trees. In this way we honor them,” says Schenandoah.
Schenandoah encourages students, faculty and staff to participate in the Haudenosaunee Welcome Gathering. “We are sharing our culture because the Earth is calling to us to pay attention, we require collective healing, and most importantly, we are inviting our community to live in gratitude,” she says.
For more information on this and other Hendricks Chapel programs and services visit chapel.syracuse.edu.