Reflections on the Journey from
Environmental Reciprocity to Environmental Exploitation and Back
Two evening programs at Syracuse Stage and a daylong TEACH-IN at ESF

Monday evening, October 16, at Syracuse Stage

BEFORE: A land in balance; cultural ecology of the ancestral Onondaga homeland

The historical, spiritual and environmental significance of Onondaga Lake and Creek Jeannie Shenandoah, Traditional midwife, herbalist and teacher and Chief Jake Edwards, Chief of the Onondaga Nation.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006, all day, SUNY-ESF
Public paid parking at Irving Garage, Irving Ave., near the Carrier Dome

Reflections on the message of “Words That Come Before All Else,” Freida Jacques (Onondaga), Onondaga Nation School

The Thanksgiving Address or “The Words That Come Before All Else,” expresses gratitude for all aspects of Creation and is spoken in one of the Haudenosaunee languages at the start of every gathering of Haudenosuanee people. Freida Jacques is the Parent Liaison at the Onondaga Nation School an occasional instructor at ESF.

Sean Kirst, Journalist, Syracuse Post-Standard, Facilitator. Joyce King (Mohawk) Director, HETF,  Ross Whaley, Chairman, Adirondack Park Agency, Irving Powless Jr., (Onondaga) HETF, Robin Kimmerer, Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, David Carpenter, Director, Institute for Health and the Environment, University at Albany, Joel Potash, MD, Professor of Bioethics and Humanities, Upstate Medical University.

The individuals in this exchange of ideas and perspectives (or “talking circle”) represent a vast range of experience and knowledge gleaned from stories passed down over many generations as well as from textbooks and graduate school lectures;  from the practice of “The Good Mind” and from laboratory experimentation. What all have in common is their openness, their delight in Nature and their willingness to share their knowledge with us. The discussion will be facilitated by Sean Kirst who has written often and with great insight and eloquence about events and issues connected with the Onondaga and our tragic history and our shared desire to heal.

Morning Workshops

• Making Stewardship Visible – Emanuel Carter, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, SUNY-ESF, 409 Marshall Hall
  
  Part One will be a comparative discussion of Haudenosaunee and European-American land management practices. Part Two will address what European-American culture might learn from Haudenosaunee practices which, combined with modification of our practices, might lead to sustainable land management. Part Three will suggest how a combined land management ethic might be realized and made visible in a part of the country where forest is the default condition.
• Activist Women and Native Rights – Sally Roesch Wagner, Director, Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, 229 Bray Hall
  
  Sally Roesch Wagner will explore how the woman’s rights movement took form in the territory of the Haudenosaunee, the six nations of the Iroquois confederacy, where women have always lived with far greater status and authority than in the non-native world.   Based on her most recent book, Sisters in Spirit: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influence on Early American Feminists, Dr. Wagner will share her research on how Haudenosaunee women fired the revolutionary vision of early feminists by providing a model of freedom for women at a time when EuroAmerican women experienced few rights.  The thought of Matilda Joslyn Gage and Elizabeth Cady Stanton was shaped by their involvement with their indigenous women neighbors in upstate New York.  Having no legal existence, once married, EuroAmerican women learned and were inspired by the decisive political power, control of their bodies and property, religious voice, custody of their children, satisfying work, and absence of rape and domestic violence women experienced in Haudenosaunee nations.  Supporting treaty rights and native sovereignty, Matilda Joslyn Gage was adopted into the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation.  
• Learning from and supporting Indigenous People – Carol Resnick, Activist in support of Onondaga Nation. Wendy Gonyea, Onondaga Faithkeeper, 324 Bray Hall
  
  Based on respect and mutual concerns, two friends will discuss how positive cross-cultural relationships are formed.  By eliminating pre-conceived barriers, by keeping informed, by being observant, cognizant of situations affecting others, by listening, through dialogue, by active support-friendships may flourish.  We will explore behavioral cues to know when youíve gone too far, how making assumptions can be detrimental, why trust matters, and why cross-cultural friendships are important.
• Onondaga Creek Restoration – Values and Uses – Rick Smardon, Professor of Environmemtal Studies, SUNY ESF, 105 Marshall Hall
  
  R.C. Smardon will give an overview of the Onondaga Creek Revitalization Planning activity that is ongoing this last year and next by five different organizations working together. He will walk through some of the hands-on excerises used as part of the Onondaga Creek Forums this past summer. This includes voting for desired Onondaga Creek activities and suggesting future visions for the creek.
• Environmental Ethics – Ross Whaley, Chairman, Adirondack Park Agency, former President SUNY ESF, 213 Marshall Hall
  
  To quote  Herman Daly, a scholar and advocate for sustainable development, “Right action in the world depends on  knowing how the world works and what is right.”  Knowing how the world works is the realm of the  natural and social sciences.  Knowing what is right is the realm of public policy and ethics.  Unfortunately, our academic institutions rarely address the question of “What is right” in a systematic way.   Few academic institutions have succeeded at integrating the social and natural sciences, and fewer yet at  integrating the humanities.  Universities have been comfortable offering courses in ethics in the Philosophy  Department, but have avoided critical analysis of right action in other courses or in our resident halls.  It is  time for the science course to at least introduce the notion of “Right action in the world.”
• Indigenous knowledge, environmental perceptions, and mapping – Sharon Moran and Yulanda Wang, SU NY ESF. 321 Bray Hall
  
  We will explore how the environmental perceptions of Native American and Euro-Americans may differ, and engage in a brief outdoor exercise to help clarify the link between perception and mapping.  We will also address the distinctions between traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and scientific ecological knowledge (SEK), including some examples from indigenous populations beyond North America.  We will also review how GIS has been (and could be) used in communities where indigenous people are engaged in political struggles.
• New Visions for Anthropology and Archaeology - Jack Rossen and Brooke Hansen, Department of Anthropology, Ithaca College, 313 Bray Hall
  
  We will discuss changes in the practice and philosophy of anthropology and archaeology. These efforts include collaboration with and guidance from members of the Native community. There is a growing number of academics working to decolonize anthropology and make it a positive force for Native people, by including Native knowledge and perspectives and working to protect Native heritage and sites, and creating opportunities that support cultural revitalization. There is no blueprint for this approach to anthropology and archaeology, but each region requires a model based on the particular social and political conditions that are present. We can discuss our work as one case study. 
• Apologies to Mother Earth – Irving Powless, Jr., Chief, Onondaga Nation. Maxwell Auditorium.
  
  In violation of the Two-Row Wampum (agreement between Dutch settlers and Haudenosaunee in the early 1600s laying out peaceful and independent co-existence for mutual benefits) the people who have come into Haudenosaunee territory continue to violate the Natural Laws therefore the Haudenosaunee apologize to Mother earth for the things that have been done to her. 
• Haudenosaunee: A Cultural/Historical Overview – Freida Jacques, Educator, Onondaga Nation School, 319 Marshall Hall
  
  For those with little knowledge of the culture and history of Haudenosaunee people.  
• Franciscan Ecology – Ríobart É. (Rob) Breen, Political Science Department and Environmental Studies Department, Siena College and the founder and director of the Franciscan Ecology Center in Syracuse and Albany, NY, 300 Bray Hall
  
  Lynn White Jr.’s famous article exploring the Judeo-Christian theological roots of environmental destruction concluded by invoking an alternate and healthier ecospirituality tradition within the Judeo-Christian heritage:  the tradition of Francis of Assisi.   This Franciscan tradition has continued to pass on a distinct approach and framework to address both the human-nature (ecosocial) relationship and the human-human relationship in environmental justice issues.  This workshop will explore the roots of the Franciscan tradition, and the potential for including “Franciscan Ecology” as an alternate ecosocial paradigm for contemporary environmental policy dialogue, and environmental justice action.  

Provided by SU/ESF Center of Excellence in Environmental Systems Organizer:  Pre-registration required by October 12 to Debbie Pratt, SU Department of Religion, 443-3861.

Formal announcement of new programs; Neil Murphy.. President, SUNY ESF, Bruce Bongarten, Provost, ESF & Robin Kimmerer, Director, ESF Center for Native People and the Environment.

Afternoon Keynote: Haudenosaunee Environmental Protection Process: An Indigenous Strategy for Human Sustainability
Joyce King, Tekahnawiiaks/ Director,  Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force.

Introduction by Ed Bogucz, Executive Director of the Center of Excellence.

Afternoon Talking Circle: Women’s traditional roles on behalf of Mother Earth

Robin Kimmerer (Potawotamie), Facilitator, Audrey Shenandoah, Onondaga ClanMother (invited), Regina Jones,  (Oneida), SU Dept. of Multi-Cultural Affairs; Denise Waterman ((Haudenosaunee Oneida), Teacher, Onondaga Nation School; Wendy Gonyea, (Onondaga) Faithkeeper, Carol Baum, Neighbors of Onondaga Nation (NOON), Joan Cope Savage, NOON; Sally Roesch Wagner, Gage Foundation, Mardea Warner, Beyond Boundaries. 

Afternoon Workshops

• Religion and Nature Phil Arnold, SU Religion Department and Bron Taylor, University of Florida, Samuel S. Hill, Jr. Chair of Christian Ethics, 213 Marshall Hall
  
  The relationship with 'nature' is fundamental to the development of religious traditions.  All religions have their origins in 'manifestations of the sacred' revealed in the natural world.  Why, then, do some religions equate nature with a 'fallen state of grace', or with 'evil,' where others embrace and find spiritual connections with the natural world?  What are the some of the connections of our current environmental crisis to religion, as well as some solutions to this crisis?
• Honoring Dispute Resolution Traditions – Sue Senecah, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Neil Patterson (Tuscarora), Director, Tuscarora Environment Program, 334 Illick Hall
  
  Public disputes or decision making often bring multiple perspectives and cultures together and create tension. We will explore the different traditions by which Haudenosaunee and Western cultures approach disputes, within the clan structure and in public environmental disputes. How can these different traditions be honored? What's the difference between resolving disputes and making peace? What role does ritual play? Time? Space? Local/Indiginous knowledge? Relationships? Workshop participants will discuss their own experiences and knowledge of conflict focusing on how different traditions can be honored.
• Grief and Gratitude – Cindy Squillace, CNY Hospice and Freida Jacques, Onondaga Nation School, Alumni Lounge, Marshall Hall Basement
  
  We will look at how each of our cultures, (Haudenosaunee and modern USA) deals with grief and gratitude and the relevance this has for the state of our world.
• Visions of Onondaga Lake – Ed Michalenko, Onondaga Environmental Institutue, Elizabeth Moran, Ecologic, 8 Illick Hall
  
  The Onondaga Lake Partnership, the Onondaga Environmental Institute and EcoLogic are asking the community to describe their vision of a restored Onondaga Lake. This workshop is an opportunity to share your ideas, hopes, and desires for this centerpiece of our community.
• Facing and Eliminating Racism – Raydora Drummer, Director, Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs, SUNY ESF & Beth Broadway, Director, Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism, Alumni Lounge, Marshall Hall Basement
• The Sullivan/Clinton Campaign: Then & Now– Robert Spiegelman, Sociologist, Filmmaker & Producer/designer of www.sullivanclinton.com, Marshall Auditorium
  
  A major "missing link" in NY State's creation story, westward expansion and our school curriculum, Sullivan/ Clinton was until then the largest campaign against the native people of N. America. In April, 1779, neutral Onondaga was its first target; followed, that autumn by uprooting Seneca and Cayuga country. While its physical traces lie hidden in plain sight, it still abides in Haudenosaunee hearts and minds, and has effects that distort the Environment across Western NY. This multimedia presentation connects the dots.
• Lost Waters of the Onondaga Valley - Catharine Landis, SUNY ESF, 229 Bray Hall
  
  This workshop focuses on water, especially the system of wetlands, tributaries, springs associated with Onondaga Creek, and especially in the area we know today as the Onondaga Valley, including the city of Syracuse. We'll discuss history of this aqueous system, its current state, and potential for healing and restoration.
• Native Issues in the Media – Mark Meisner, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, ESF, 105 Marshall Hall
  
  This workshop will explore how native peoples and native affairs are represented in the media. This includes both how natives and native affairs are portrayed by the mainstream media and how alternative native media are working in parallel to the mainstream media. Participants will have the chance to share their experiences and concerns and to envision their ideal media world.
• Poetry Workshop – Using Words to Heal - Janine Debaise, Environmental Studies Writing faculty, 324 Bray Hall
  
  A workshop in which participants will have a chance to use creative writing to brainstorm, express, and articulate ways to heal our relationship to the land.

Tuesday evening, October 17, at Syracuse Stage

AFTER: Restoring balance: healing the land and waters.

What Happened: A Brief Story of Environmental Degradation Focused on Onondaga Lake – Chris Amato, Environmental Counsel to the Onondaga Nation

Restoration Conversation - Emmanuel Carter, Professor of Landscape Architecture, SUNY ESF Chief Jake Edwards, Chief of the Onondaga Nation, Ed Michalenko, Director of the Onondaga Environmental Institute and Editor of "The State of Onondaga Lake," Jeannie Shendandoah, Mid-wife, herbalist and teacher; Richard Smardon, Chairman of the Department of Environmental Studes, SUNY ESF, and Jack Manno, Moderator, Executive Director Great Lakes Research Consortium.

Closing Thanksgiving- Chief Jake Edwards.