Center for Native Peoples and the Environment
Community Outreach Partners and Programs
The Center for Native Peoples and the Environment is committed to partnering with Native American communities to develop environmental and educational programs of shared interest, guided by community priorities. We encourage you to explore more fully the projects highlighted below.
Two-Row Wampum Renewal Campaign
The Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign, a partnership between the Onondaga Nation and Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON), is developing a broad alliance between the Haudenosaunee and their allies in New York and throughout the world. Their statewide advocacy and educational campaign seeks to achieve justice by polishing the chain of friendship established in the first treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Dutch immigrants. Environmental cleanup and preservation are the core components of the campaign.
Two-Row Wampum Values in the past and present: Respect, trust, and friendship the interest of peace, Indigenous sovereignty, and protecting Mother Earth.
Skä•noñh Center Great Law of Peace Center
The Center for Native Peoples and the Environment is one of multiple partners in the development of the Skä•noñh Center on Onondaga Lake. This collaborative education and outreach project will re-purpose the "Ste Marie Among the Iroquois Historic Site" to tell the story of Onondaga culture and environmental teachings of the Haudenosaunee. Our faculty, staff and students can become involved in design and implementation of educational programs at Skä•noñh Center which highlight indigenous environmental philosophy, land stewardship practices and ethnobotany. Skä•noñh is an Onondaga welcoming greeting meaning Peace and Wellness.
Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future
In 2006 and again in 2010, the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment collaborated with Onondaga Nation, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, Syracuse University and others to offer the community a year-long series of events to celebrate and educate the wider community on “the Nation in our midst”. Onondaga contributions to history, culture, teachings, environment, human rights and a diverse array of other influences were highlighted with strong community participation. The philosophy, practices and implications of the Onondaga Land Rights Action were explored together. The collaboration strengthened relationships in the community and set the stage for a strong network of Native American and Allies activities.
The Allyn Internships
The Allyn Environmental Internships, funded by a generous grant from Lew and Dawn Allyn support teams of college and high school students working on self-designed environmental projects designed by participating Native American communities in the region. Projects have included community gardens, nature trails, plant knowledge revitalization, forest and biodiversity monitoring, as well as the programs noted below
Tuscarora Migration Project
Allyn interns participated in a1,300 mile, 70-day relay style event to commemorate
the 300-year remembrance of our Tuscarora Migration home, from Fort Nooherooka, Snow
Hill, NC to our Tuscarora Nation, Lewiston, NY. The migration remembrance involved native youth and mentors in running, hiking, walking,
biking and canoeing utilizing the strength and spirit of native youths to share the Tuscarora story of amazing indigenous
survival, bring attention to climate shift, and raise awareness about the need for
more "human-powered” movement.
Onondaga Nation: Revitalizing connections to nature with Onondaga youth group
SUNY ESF student Dana Mazza, majoring in Environmental Education, partnered with the Onondaga Nation Summer Youth Group to design and deliver natural history programs for the youth during the summer of 2013.
Growing Plants, Growing Knowledge: Restoration Education with Onondaga Nation youth
The Center is also involved in educational outreach engaging native youth in ecological and biocultural restoration in the Onondaga Lake watershed. ESF students worked with Onondaga Nation youth to learn about ecological restoration activities at Onondaga Lake, from cultivating plants for restoration to revegetating wetlands .This work not only promotes participation in environmental stewardship but also encourages Native American youth to pursue higher education in environmental science.