by Hilary-Anne Coppola
In the summer of 2022, the Onondaga Nation and the US Department of Interior publicly announced the unprecedented return of over 1,000 acres of unceded Onondaga lands and waters. Known as the Tully Valley, this return is a small portion of the 2 million acres taken illegally by New York State in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.
Honeywell, the company responsible for harming Onondaga Lake with toxic waste, returned this land to the Onondaga Nation as part of the US DOI’s Natural Resource and Damage Assessment and Restoration program. The Tully Valley lands and waters returning to the Onondaga Nation are completely under the Nation’s management.
The parcels being returned to the Nation includes at least 5 waterfalls, sensitive and biodiverse wetlands, and stretches of Onondaga Creek untouched by the mudboils that plague the Creek where it runs through reservation lands (defined in the Canandaigua Treaty) and onward to Onondaga Lake. The returned lands are undamaged and the waters are clean.
This drone footage was generously recorded and edited by Ryan Mackey and featured at the 2023 Indigenous Peoples’ Day Festival on Onondaga Land. The 6-minute video shows the early Autumn beauty of the area, including the topography, clean water (with impressive views of Fellows Falls), and varied ecological communities.
Read more:
NNO Jenna Kunze Piece 6.30.22
US DOI statement 6.30.22
CRP Sophia Powless piece 11.11.23