The Haudenosaunee Visit the Susquehanna River

    Before the Europeans came over to Turtle Island, indigenous Nations used to inhabit all the lands along the Susquehanna River. On October 14, 2011,  Thatotaho-Sid Hill, Chief Jake Edwards from the Onondaga Nation, David Arquette, Director of HETF, and Ann Dapice from the Lenape Nation visited the confluence of the Susquehanna River, where the North branch, West branch and South Branch all come together near the town of Sunbury, south of Lewisburg. There standing on the ridge over seeing the Susquehanna below imagining many nations of Indigenous Peoples like the Lenape, Delawares, Shawnees,Shinnecocks, nanticotes, Conoy, Tutelos and Haudenosaunee gathering in this one spot trading and living and hunting and creating peace with each other to continue our existence for the future generations.

    When we got there, we were greeted by Sid Jamieson, Six Nations Cayuga, Alf Siewers and Katherine Faull from Bucknell University to give us a little history of the Indigenous Nations that used to live in this area. We found out the Haudenosaunee had a big influence of what goes on along the Susquehanna River. The Confluence at the Susquehanna River was like the Mecca capital of trade routes along the east coast. The Haudenosaunee wanted to secure their interest in the area so they sent an Oneida Chief Shikellamy to live there and promote peace among the different Nations living there to not disrupt the flow of trade to other parts of the world. He was well known for his statesmanship, diplomacy, and negotiations with the other Nations and then later with the Europeans when they started making settlements in the area. He was so well known that they even named a State Park after him in the town of Sunbury. As we were talking by the river, a couple of bass jumped out of the water to acknowledge our presence coming back to the area that our ancestors once lived or visited on their way to someplace else.

    After our visit to the Susquehanna River, We went to Bucknell University where Chief Jake Edwards spoke about the tree of peace and the Great Law at a White Pine tree that was planted by Thatotaho Leon Shenandoah back in 1991 to a group of students. Then we proceeded to the 7th generation art statue on campus where the present day Thatotaho Sid Hill talked about why we have to look out for the 7th generation by taking care of our environment. Next there was a panel discussion on Indian health. Ann Dapice did a presentation of the genocide to native people that lead to our poor health conditions we live in today. Dave Arquette talked about all the pollution in our environment and Native people dependent on those natural resources for survival also contributed to poor health conditions in our people.

    Then later on that day, there was a dinner to consummate our relationship between the Haudenosaunee, Lenape Nation and the Committee to promote the Susquehanna River as a historic trail to be preserved and protected for the future generations. Thatotaho Sid Hill got up and talked about the two row wampum and how all other treaties were based off this one treaty to establish peace, unity and a good mind whenever two peoples of different origins came together for a common goal. Then Dave Arquette got up and spoke about the long lasting relationship HETF had with the Committee just to get a support letter for this endeavor from the Haudenosaunee. After the dinner, some people went on to listen to a panel discussion on hydrofracking, while some people had to start their journies back home. Everyone agreed to meet again once the State Parks Service declares the Susquehanna River as a historic trail to celebrate and to take it all in what this all means.

Thanehto(that is all)