This 400th anniversary campaign, carried out throughout 2013, is finished. The work to honor treaties with Native Nations and protect the Earth continues. Learn more, or join in that work: contact the Onondaga Nation, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, Neetopk Keetopk (Hudson Valley), Onondaga Canoe and Kayak Club or Two Row Paddle down the Grand (2016).

Honoring the Environment

The Haudenosaunee have repeatedly made it clear that environmental stewardship of our shared ecological inheritance is a key component of honoring the Two Row Wampum’s treaty promise of living in peace and parallel for perpetuity. The environmental degradation visited on the land by our American and Canadian societies’ technological and developmental choices affect both OUR boat AND THEIR boat. As such, in order to polish the chain of friendship and live up to our treaty commitments, we are called to work diligently for environmental protection and restoration.

This societal change of heart, mind, and action is what the Onondaga and other Haudenosaunee Nations have recently been seeking in their land claims actions in the New York court system. With those cases’ unjust dismissal, it is up to the people of our American culture to enforce our commitment to this vision. With the growing concern over climate change, the ongoing work of restoring Onondaga Lake, and the intense debate raging over hyrdrofracking, these issues are only becoming more crucial to address.

Our campaign is built on our fundamental commitment and agreement with the Haudenosaunee that any possible healthy and peaceful shared future must be built together in committed action for a healthy and vibrant shared environment.

For more background on this component of our commitment, please refer to NOON’s environmental issues page.