Join Women of Italian and Syracuse Heritage in Central New York (WISH CNY), Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON)– a project of the Syracuse Peace Council, Resilient Indigenous Action Collective (RIAC), and many more to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day on unceded Onondaga Nation land.
Our wonderful local sponsors include CNY Community Foundation, Black Artist Collective, SU Native Student Program, Alliance for a Green Economy, Unchained, Syracuse Community Choir, Syracuse Peace Council, and the Workers Center of CNY. 
The Refocus film series is co-sponsored with Urban Video Project/LightWork (SU), who have generously given their labor and technical support.
FYI: Please follow all CDC Covid guidelines. We request that participants bring a mask and practice social distancing. Gathering spaces at the Everson plaza and Plymouth Church are ADA accessible. Plymouth also has ADA accessible bathrooms.
The celebration will begin with the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, shared by Jake Edwards, Onondaga Eel Clan.
Free and open to all!
Date: Monday, October 10th, 2022
Location: Everson Museum of Art Plaza, 701 S State St, Syracuse
Time: 5:30 pm to celebrate with vendors and event sponsors, listen to speakers, and join Haudenosaunee social dancing
7:15 pm Refocus film series begins
Location in case of poor weather: Plymouth Congregational Church, 232 East Onondaga St, Syracuse
Guest speakers:
Ionah Scully, Resilient Indigenous Action Collective
Alice “Queen” Olom, Black Artist Collective
Olivia “Liv” Bigtree, Oneida Turtle Clan, artist
Julio Urrutia, Syracuse Peace Council
Sue Eiholzer, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation
Hilary-Anne “Hil” Coppola, Women of Italian and Syracuse Heritage CNY
Freida Jacques, Onondaga Turtle Clan Mother
Haudenosaunee singers will follow the speakers to provide music for participatory Haudenosaunee social dancing.
Completing this event is the Refocus films series, which centers Haudenosaunee culture and relationships to land, while acknowledging the ongoing harms caused by colonization on Onondaga Land. Starting at 7:15 pm, the films will run approximately 50 minutes, projected on the exterior wall of the Everson Museum of Art. Gwendolen Cates, Ryan Mackie, and Onondaga Nation Legal Counsel Joe Heath will be present to speak to the audience.
This year’s films:
Land Return to Onondaga Nation (20 min)
With land acknowledgement by Joe Heath, Onondaga Nation Legal Counsel
Ryan Mackie’s drone footage of the land in the Tully Valley that is returning to the Onondaga Nation. Mackie has produced this film specifically for Refocus, as we turn our attention to values in relation to land. Mackie highlights the 1023 acres of land being transferred from Honeywell International(the company responsible for great damage to the land in the CNY region), which are coming back to the Nation in a landmark victory.
The Tully Mudboils (8min)
A short film by Gwendolen Cates, featuring Tadodaho Sidney Hill, Jake Edwards (Onondaga Eel Clan), Turtle Clan Mother Freida Jacques (Onondaga), Faithkeeper Oren Lyons (Seneca Turtle Clan), and Onondaga Nation Legal Counsel Joe Heath. The Tully Mudboils illustrates the destructive impact that former brine mining continues to have on Onondaga cultural practices and the ecosystems in and around Onondaga Creek.
Dominion (20 min)
Produced with Robert J. Miller (Eastern Shawnee)
An exclusive screening of a short film created specifically for this event, Dominion is excerpted from the upcoming feature documentary The Doctrine by award-winning filmmaker Gwendolen Cates. Both films explore how the Doctrine of Christian Discovery codified racial inequity, continues to harm Indigenous Peoples and their territories globally, is still the basis of Indian and property law in the U.S., and enables corporate forces driving the climate crisis. The Doctrine was filmed by Cates in the U.S., Aotearoa New Zealand, Guatemala, New Caledonia, Spain, Portugal, and the Vatican.
Gifts of the Land (21 min)
Featuring Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer
While watching Gifts of the Land, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, takes us on a nature tour of Clark Reservation State Park in Jamesville, NY. Dr. Kimmerer reminds us of the beauty of our Earth, taking us on a walk through Clark Reservation as we welcome the plants and animals that bring life to the land.
We look forward to gathering with you on Indigenous Peoples’ Day!
Event fliers are available at Syracuse Cultural Workers, 400 Lodi St, Syracuse.