The Creator has given us a great duty to take care of, or be stewards of, Mother Earth and the air, water and all plants and animals.
It is the knowledge of our people that all living things have a spirit. In our culture, we are taught to give thanks daily to the Creator for all forms of plants and animals; we do not consider that humans have superior rights to these other life forms. We are taught that we must all share the gifts of the Creator. One of the responsibilities of our leaders is to preserve the natural world for those yet to be born.
Historically, it is important to remember that the Onondaga Nation’s aboriginal territory, which we enjoyed up until the incursion of the Europeans about 400 years ago, was an area of land approximately 40 to 50 miles wide that began on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario in the north and ran down well into Pennsylvania to the south. Our aboriginal territory was bordered on the east by the territory of the Oneida Nation and on the west by the territory of the Cayuga Nation.
The People
From time immemorial, our ancestors lived near Onondaga Lake. The Lake, its waters, plants, fish, shore birds, and animals are an intrinsic part of our existence.
Long ago, the Peacemaker brought together the five Nations on the shores of Onondaga Lake to bury the weapons of war and form our government. The Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy meets at Onondaga.
The Lake is the living sum of everything in its watershed: the fish, the people, the plants, the soils, the tributaries. Onondaga Lake provides water which should be safe for drinking. Fish and birds make their home in and around the Lake. Food and medicinal plants grow along the shores of the Lake.
The Lake was a place for people to fish and hunt. It was a place for children to play and swim and learn. Delegations would arrive at Onondaga for Confederacy meetings by traveling along the Seneca River to Onondaga Lake.
We are carrying out our responsibility to the Lake. We take our children and grandchildren to important places around the Lake and teach them the proper names and stories for them. We have our own name for the Lake, one which conveys the respect and sacredness of the place and the proper relationship with it. Someday we hope to share this knowledge with our neighbors.
We will work to remove the contamination from the Lake and surrounding land. We will ensure that the Lake is clean enough to drink the water and eat the fish. We will strengthen our culture and begin healing.
On this we agree.
The Earth
The lands around Onondaga Lake are continuing to carry out their duty to Mother Earth and to all things of creation. For this, we are truly thankful. Minerals present in the soils and rocks nourish life. Rich, organic wetland soils provide a home for many different plants, trees, shrubs, and a wide variety of birds and other animals. Other plants and animals live on the uplands. Groundwater moves through the soils and the glacial deposits beneath, through the bedrock.
Before the pollution was emptied onto the land, the lands were doing what they were supposed to do. They had mineral wealth, stable geology, complex geomorphology, healthy wetlands, and benthic sediments. The Lake bottom was rich with life. The soils around the Lake filtered the groundwater which provided clean water to the Lake.
The land needs to heal in order for the Lake to heal. We will clean and restore the land around the Lake. Contamination of the land will no longer pollute the groundwater that flows to the Lake because these wounds of Mother Earth will be cleaned so that she can heal. Contaminated soils will be cleaned so that a respectable relationship with the land by people, plants, and animals may be resumed again. Groundwater will flow clean. The land will no longer be smothered by acres upon acres of waste.
On this we agree.
The Waters
Water is the source of life. We are thankful that the waters of Onondaga Lake and its tributaries are still performing their duties. The Lake reflects the sky and its beauty refreshes the people.
The water of Onondaga Lake provides fish, birds, and other animals small and large with a place to live. The water can be used for drinking and for making medicines and foods.
The waters of the Lake will be restored. The waters of the Lake will be reconnected with the surrounding wetlands, and the wetlands themselves will be restored. In this proper relationship the wetlands will help guard against any future pollution.
When the rain falls in Onondaga Lake’s watershed it will follow the natural cycle of water: collection and use by plants, people, and animals, and infiltration into the ground to replenish groundwater and aquifers that slowly make their way through the ground to the streams and rivers that flow to Onondaga Lake.
We will use green infrastructure, such as vegetated roofs, rain barrels, and cisterns for rainwater harvesting. Permeable pavement, green street design, rain gardens and swales will be used to let the water reconnect to the ground. We will prevent both non-point-source pollution from runoff as well as point source pollution from combined sewer overflows. There will be no more sewer overflows into the tributaries of the Lake.
The long history and damage to the Tully Valley from the salt solution mining will be addressed and the root causes will be corrected. Mudboils will no longer pour sediment into Onondaga Creek. The Creek will flow through the Onondaga Nation to Onondaga Lake with clear waters once again.
On this we agree.
The Fish
We thank the fish for their presence in Onondaga Lake. Onondaga Lake has always been their home, and we know that native fish have been absent from the Lake.
Fish provide food for people, for birds, and for other fish and animals in the Lake. Migratory fish connect the waters of Onondaga Lake to its tributaries, and to the Seneca River and the Great Lakes. Fish use and live in the sediments of the Lake and with the large and small invertebrates form communities with the plants that transform the Lake environment.
We will work to restore native fish to Onondaga Lake and its tributaries. The fish will be safe to eat in quantities that sustain life and the Onondaga lifeway. Native fish will return and thrive, including whitefish, Atlantic salmon, horned dace, brook trout (not brown trout), sturgeon, and eel. We will restore the habitat for the native fish and manage the habitat, including the invasive species that are present, so that the fish will thrive.
On this we agree.
The Plants
We are thankful to the plants around Onondaga Lake, which are still performing their duties. Plants provide food and medicine for the people. Different plant communities provide habitat around and in the Lake: water plants, wetlands, emergent wetlands, trees and shrubs.
We will work to be sure that the native plants of the area will be found around the Lake. In order to heal the Lake, the species that originally existed in symbiosis with the Lake must be restored. We will restore the relationship between people and plants, so that medicinal plants can be honored and used and will thrive. We will honor the changing climate in restoring the Lake so that native species and varieties that have thrived in slightly warmer climates will be present, and we will manage invasive species responsibly.
On this we agree.
The Food Plants
We are grateful that that there are wild foods around the Lake.
The land around the Lake gave us wild foods that our people used daily and enjoyed before they became unsafe or disappeared. In upland gardens we grew the Three Sisters: corn, beans, and squash. Berry plants fed people while they were at work and play. Wetland plants such as cattails provided tubers and pollen. These foods give nourishment for strong bodies and minds.
We will clean the land around the Lake so that traditional plantings and gardens can be restored. Corn, beans, squash, berries, and fruit trees will be planted not just for us, but for all creation. Native wetlands will be restored and will include food and medicinal plants. We know that the food and medicinal plants will heal the land.
On this we agree.
The Animals
The animals around Onondaga Lake are carrying out their responsibilities, though not all are still present. The Bear, Wolf, Turtle, Deer, Eel, Hawk, Beaver, Heron, and Snipe Clans of the Haudenosaunee have a deep relationship with these animals, birds, and fish.
The animals know their responsibility to all of creation. Some sacrifice their lives so the rest of creation can go on. The rabbits feed the wolves. The wolves feed the land. The great cycle will go on. And we are part of the cycle. We will eat the fish and the rabbits and use the fur of the wolf, and this is part of the cycle. This is how it is meant to be.
We will clean the land around the Lake so that all of our brothers and sisters will be able to thrive. Deer, and perhaps even moose and elk will browse on the uplands. Turtles, salamanders, and frogs will breed in the waters in and around the Lake. Insects will be found in diverse abundance and will provide healthy food for the animals that rely on them. Shrews, moles, voles, and mice will be able to create safe homes in the upland soils. Otter, mink, muskrat, and beavers will return. Eels will be restored to Onondaga Lake.
On this we agree.
The Trees
We are grateful to the trees around Onondaga Lake that are still growing and carrying out their responsibilities. The trees are a fundamental part of our relationship with the land around Onondaga Lake. They represent how we should live our lives and protect the land and people. The land around Onondaga Lake once supported black ash, cedar, willow, elm, butternut, red maple, chestnut, tamarack, and others.
We honor the maple as the leader of all trees. The sugar maple is the source of sap, important for ceremonies and sustenance. Black ash gives us material to make baskets. Butternuts give us food. Willow gives us medicine for headaches. American elm provides medicine and bark for housing, cooking utensils and ceremonial objects.
We will restore native trees around Onondaga Lake, and work to keep them healthy. We will do our best to prevent Dutch elm disease and protect ash from emerald ash borer. We’ll protect the sugar maple from the Asian longhorned beetle and other threats.
We will make sure that we create an environment adequate for the trees to help with the cleanup. Poplar, basswood, and other trees take up and destroy organic compounds and lock up metals so they are inaccessible. We will use these trees to help us as we work to restore the Lake.
On this we agree.
The Birds
We give thanks for the birds, both the birds that should be at the Lake and the many birds that are there. We celebrate the eagle’s flight, the osprey’s catching fish, and the songs that the songbirds sing so our souls may be uplifted.
We empower ourselves to restore the habitat and provide housing for the birds while the Lake and the land around it recovers. We will be sure that wetland, shoreline, and upland habitats are suitable for the native birds that once lived on and around Onondaga Lake.
We will listen to the birds to know when the Lake is clean. Herons, bitterns, snipes, ospreys, sandpipers, plovers, and other wetland and shorebirds will find a home along the shores of Onondaga Lake. Upland songbirds, bank and tree swallows, flycatchers, kingfishers, eagles, ospreys, owls, and hawks will be protected and restored.
On this we agree.
The Four Winds
We celebrate the Four Great Winds. We know that the winds will challenge us to live upon this land. The north wind will challenge us with cold winters so we know that we must survive, but warm south winds will come and make earth fruitful for us. East and west winds have duties at sunrise and sunset.
We will show concern for the airshed around the Lake. We will continue to monitor the winds and empower ourselves to clean up all the other areas that add contamination to our Lake. We will consider using wind power to fuel the cleanup of the Lake but we will be sure that it is on a small scale, so that the birds are not harmed. Weather changes will affect stormwater runoff to the Lake and pollution control measures will be designed to account for these changes. We will honor the contributions of the wind.
On this we agree.
The Thunderers
The Thunderers are the voices of the grandfathers. The Thunderers bring the first rains of spring to wake up the world. The rains replenish the water of Onondaga Lake and purify the air around us. The Thunderers also stab the earth with their lightning bolts to keep under the ground those things that should remain there. The grandfathers have not been consulted about the mining of salt from the Tully Valley or the limestone from the Jamesville Quarries, and they have warned us to be vigilant around these activities.
We acknowledge that we have not heeded the grandfathers’ warnings. We will clean up the land around the Lake that has been harmed by the waste from the salt and the limestone. We will work to correct the subsidence, the mudboils, and the fissures in the Tully Valley. We will remove the waste material that was deposited in and around the Lake. We will restore the balance that the grandfathers warned us against disturbing.
On this we agree.
The Sun
Our elder brother the sun provides warmth and energy for the plants and animals of Mother Earth. He warms the face of Mother Earth. We show our respect to our elder brother by doing ceremonies in the morning and evening. Plants welcome the sun and it brings joy to the people. The sun gives us energy. We can transform this energy in many ways, by growing food or by making electricity using photovoltaic cells. The sun’s warmth creates a thermocline in the Lake that keeps the layers of water in the Lake from mixing at certain times of the year and lets them mix at others.
There are things we can do to help the sun carry out its duty. Due to global warming, the sun’s rays are reaching the earth in ways that are harmful to all of us. Global warming and the sun’s rays affect the life cycles of fish within Onondaga Lake and will change the habitat so that different plants and animals will thrive along its shores. We will work to lessen the impacts of global warming. With our plantings around the Lake we will provide shade along shorelines for fish to take refuge in, and places for animals to take refuge. When we construct the habitat layer at the bottom of the Lake, we will build ledges deep in the water where fishes can hide. Whatever populations of plants, animals, invertebrates, and other living things that come to inhabit Onondaga Lake as a result of changes in the warmth of the sun, they will not be limited in their ability to thrive by the presence of human induced contamination.
On this we agree.
Grandmother Moon
Grandmother Moon is the mother of Mother Earth, the leader of all women, and the grandmother of children. Water and reproduction are intrinsically linked. A healthy water ecosystem leads to healthy children and people.
Grandmother Moon has the ability to move all the waters of the world. She moves the waters and the tides, and even the small tide of the Lake. She signals to the fish that it’s time to breed.
We will work to restore the balance of the waters for the people of future generations so the water is free of PCBs, dioxins, and mercury because these poisons are linked to reproductive problems. Balance will be restored between the waters and the people for future generations of women. Onondaga Lake will be part of an environment clean enough for healthy babies to be born under Grandmother Moon.
On this we agree.
The Stars
The stars show us the way. The stars add to the waters of the world. We can see them in the dew in the morning on the grass. They are our aunts and uncles and they shine on the surface of the world and foretell great events. They give us the awe and splendor of the evening. They instruct us when to plant.
We will work to minimize the effects of light pollution so that we will be able to clearly see the stars above Onondaga Lake. We will restore the relationship of people to the stars. When people are able to see the constellations, they will know when it is the correct time for planting and other events. We will protect animals in and around Onondaga Lake from light pollution. We will follow in the footsteps of the Dark Sky Initiative and install lights which shine down (instead of up) on the targets of safety and security, people, and property, and use the least energy necessary. People will have a strong relationship with the stars above Onondaga Lake because they can see and learn from them.
On this we agree.
The Enlightened Teachers
Throughout history, Enlightened Teachers have brought wisdom to the people. The knowledge of the Teachers is widespread. Onondaga Lake itself is a teacher of great wisdom. We must listen to the small voices in our communities, for they bring forth great wisdom. The small minnow is also a teacher; it is a small voice, but can tell us a lot about the environment.
The Enlightened Teachers give us the prudence we need to make sure that the tasks we do on Onondaga Lake are done correctly. The Teachers give us joy. The Teachers will help us see the good in the world around us through their experience and their studies. We will encourage the spirit of the Teachers to communicate their wisdom to us and to our neighbors. We will cherish and protect the wisdom of the elders to make sure that it can be passed on for generations to come. This is the beauty of our work in healing Onondaga Lake.
On this we agree.
The Creator
Onondaga Lake is central to the Onondaga Nation’s aboriginal territory and is deeply sacred to the people of the Onondaga Nation. Beauty and tranquility are gifts of the Creator. The rhythms and cycles of a healthy lake allow the people living around it to reflect on the rhythms and cycles of their own lives. The Lake will take care of the community just as the community will take care of the Lake.
We will continue to strive for innovation and creativity in cleaning up the Lake. Our creativity shows the Creator that we are learning what our responsibilities are. We don’t show responsibility by ignoring errors; we must be innovative. We will bring our best minds to correcting and restoring Onondaga Lake.
We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. We invite all beings of creation to help us with our effort to clean up Onondaga Lake. We give thanks to all things of creation. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.
Now that we have said this, we will bring together all of our best thoughts, knowledge, and understanding to send to the Creator of all things for the beauty that surrounds us.
On this we agree.