Saturday October 22, 12:00PM at the Palace Theater, 2384 James Street, Syracuse, NY
Presented by: Syracuse University Department of Religion and S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
THE GOOD MIND (2015) by GWENDOLEN CATES (70 minutes)
http://www.filminsyracuse.com
The sovereign Onondaga Nation in central New York State is the Central Fire of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which inspired American democracy. The Onondagas advocate for the environment while engaged in a battle with the U.S. government over ancestral lands stolen in defiance of a treaty with George Washington. SIFF Sophia Award winner Oren Lyons and others from the Onondaga Nation will participate in a post-screening discussion with the audience.
For the Onondaga Nation, it’s all about relationships. Relationships with ancestors, relationships with governments, relationships with each other, and relationships with the natural world. Each of these is highlighted in The Good Mind.
“This film takes on the amazing task of showing how as a traditional Nation we still raise up our leaders in our traditional way while maintaining our responsibilities to Mother Earth and our communities, as we have done for over a thousand years, and how we have remained relevant in a modern world,” observed Sid Hill, the Tadodaho of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy).
The Onondaga Nation, one of the six nations of the Haudenosaunee, is one of the few Native nations in North America that has retained its traditional government and language, and a portion of its ancestral lands. The film follows Onondaga Nation leaders as they continue the efforts of their ancestors to protect their sovereignty and culture, seek justice for the wrongs done to their traditional lands, and work to prevent further harm. It is a snapshot of the modern lives of the indigenous peoples that live surrounded by New York State and the echoes of the past that still reverberate today.