Iroquois history rooted in Ganondagan
by Doug George-Kanentiio
All individuals and nations need to have a sense of history, of who they are
and where they came from. If our cultures are to be sustained in times of
stress brought about by rapid climatic and political changes, we need the
security which comes from a sense of belonging to an ongoing tradition.
Our heritage defines who we are and what we might accomplish. To deny to a
generation access to its past is to cast that society adrift. As the
ancestral disciplines break down, there inevitably occurs a rise in destructive
behavior characterized by individual, familial and social trauma.
In aboriginal Iroquois culture, the family is seen as an extended series of
interlocking circles composed of children, adults and elders working in
concert for the survival of the whole. The nuclear family with all of its
attendant economic and physical demands did not exist in Iroquois society,
since the task of survival was a collective one.
Ranking in importance with food, clothing, and shelter to the ancient Iroquois
was their belief that they were of this land, they belonged here and nowhere
else. It was the obligation of Iroquois elders to preserve and teach our
history so that this sentiment would be carried on with the same enthusiasm
to the next generation; hence the great role elders played in our society.
The problem facing many professional Iroquois today is how to keep Iroquois
history alive and meaningful while working as wage-earners in contemporary
American society. A few exceptional Iroquois have accepted this challenge
and intiated programs which have made significant progress towards this end.
One of the best examples of "living history" in Iroquois country is
Ganondagan, the former site of a Seneca town southeast of Rochester. Here,
on top of a wind-swept hill, the roots of the Iroquois Confederacy were
planted perhaps 1,000 years ago.
According to site manager Pete Jemison, a Seneca from the Cattaraugus
community, Ganondagan is where our prophet, the Peacemaker, met the
remarkable woman the Iroquois call "the Mother of Nations".
Jagonsasay was her name, and our elders say she was a very powerful woman who
had profited from the misery felt by the Iroquois after years of seemingly
endless warfare. It is said she supplied food and shelter to the bandits and
war parties which passed through Ganondagan, thereby assisting in promoting
violence and terror.
The Peacemaker went to her home and confronted her evil ways, not by a
physical assault, but by appealing to her sense of reason. His words were
so powerful as to persuade her to put aside her destructive acts and join
with him to create a way of life which would put an end to war for all time.
>From this gathering of the minds at Ganondagan came the democratic institution
called the Iroquois Confederacy, the cultural and political vehicle created
by the Peacemaker to promote his message of universal peace.
Impressed with her quick grasp of his ideas, the Peacemaker gave to Jagonsasay
the power to select the Seneca nation's male leaders and to depose them as
warranted.
She became the first clan mother of the Iroquois and, because of her work on
behalf of the Confederacy, Iroquois females came to enjoy the highest degree
of liberty ever experienced by women in any society.
Pete Jemison works full time to insure everyone who visits Ganondagan is
aware of Jagonsasay's contributions to the world. Not content to simply tell
a story, Jemison has made Ganondagan into a learning center complete with
nature walks, a small theater and an ongoing series of programs which gathers
Native people together from across America to tell their stories through
lectures, music and dance.
Ganondagan has quickly grown from obscurity to become a haven for the
preservation of Iroquois history. The actual place provokes deep emotions
to those open to its natural beauty. Some say they can actually feel the
presence of the ancient Senecas, unseen spirits who are guardians of this
sacred place.
Visitors to Ganondagan will be escorted by Iroquois tour guides who will
tell of the terrible year of 1687, when King Louis XIV of France sent his
army to destroy the Senecas by burning their towns and destroying their
crops. Jemison says the French estimated they had burnt more than
1,200,000 bushels of corn but failed to break the Seneca spirit.
A group of teen-age boys were the only force to oppose the French, since the
Seneca men were far to the west in Illinois. But while they put up a vigorous
defense and managed to save the women, elders and children, they could not
prevent the destruction of Ganondagan.
Yet the Senecas survived to bring the fight to the very doorstep of New France.
In 1689, a combined Iroquois Confederacy force laid waste to the colony by
destroying the town of Lachine, placing a seige around Montreal and driving
thousands of colonial refugees into the fort at Quebec.
Only a distrust of the growing English colonies along the Atlantic Coast
stopped the Iroquois from driving the terrified French into the Gulf of
St. Lawrence. Economics and politics, as well as its own laws, required the
Confederacy to balance itself between the two European powers, a policy it
held until the fall of Quebec in 1759.
Ganondagan therefore played a key role, not only in Iroquois history, but
with regard to North America as well. Jemision confirms this by saying had
the Seneca Nation elected to ally with the French, we might all be speaking
a far different language.
To confirm Ganondagan's rebirth, Jemison planned an event on July 31-Aug. 1
called th "Native American Dance and Music Festival," featuring traditional
performers from the Zuni Nation of New Mexico, storytelling by Seneca elders,
Cayuga flute music and a July 31 appearance by Oneida singer Joanne
Shenandoah (who just happens to be my wife).
It will also be an opportunity for the public to see and hear Iroquios
social dances, as the Allegany Seneca Dancers, led by Bill Crouse, will
lend their talents to this event.
For those interested in this unique event, Ganondagan is located just off
New York State Thruway exit 44, south of the village of Victor. Call
Ganondagan at 716-924-5848 for more information.
Another important event in Iroquois history: On July 17, the traditional
Mohawk people purchased the former Montgomery Manor east of Canajoharie.
Forced to flee from their Mohawk Valley homelands in 1776 and 1777, the
Mohawk people are only now returning home with the full support of the
people of Montgomery County.
No guns or violence here, the manor will be converted into a learning center
for the preservation of the Iroquois language, and will one day house a
cultural and performance center. The land will be actively farmed and, with
hard work, secure its economic independence within a few short years. It
will stand as a direct contrast to those who say the only alternative for the
Iroquois is gambling, cigarettes or gasoline.
As Ganondagan has proven, and the Mohawk Valley Project at Montgomery Manor
will demonstrate, one does not have to compromise the teaching of our
Peacemaker in order to secure a better life for our children.
Our history and traditions continue to play a vital role in our lives as we
struggle to survive as distinct national entities in a world of changes.
The old ways of hard work, respect, love of peace and our spiritual rituals
might well be the last remaining wave of the future.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doug George-Kanentiio is a writer and lecturer. He is chairman of Round Dance
Productions, a non-profit cultural foundation on Oneida Territory.