Monday, February 8, 2016

Native American History Thrives in Upstate New York



          After watching “Oren Lyons the Faithkeeper”, I found out that pretty much every place I visited upstate has some sort of Native American history attached to it. Oren Lyons would say the name of a tribe or a person and I would have the immediate reaction of “Hey that’s a town upstate”. I know that may make me sound naïve, but being born and raised in New York City, I never fully appreciated just how much Native American history is upstate. My girlfriend is from upstate so when I go to visit her family next time I’m going to find myself googling every town name to find out how that name relates to Native American history! Oren Lyons mentioned the Onondaga Nation and I immediately realized that that’s also the name of a county upstate. I then started thinking about other counties upstate and realized that many of them are named after Native American tribes. Even where I play golf at upstate, Skenandoa Golf Club, is named after a Chief of the Oneida Indian Nation which also has a county named after it. I also go to Turning Stone Casino whenever I go upstate and that casino is owned by the Oneida Indian Nation. Looking at these counties and golf courses and other places named after Native American tribes or people also made me realize that by naming these places as such, it is doing a great help in preserving Native American history. Oren Lyons did speak about the passing down of stories and traditions to keep Native American history alive, and I feel as though the naming of these counties and places helps to keep that part of history alive and will continue to do so for future generations as long as they keep these names intact.


Oneida Indian Nation. The Oneida Connection. http://www.oneidaindiannation.com/home/content/The-Oneida-Connection-114822254.html

Oneida Indian Nation. History of the Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino. http://www.oneidaindiannation.com/pressroom/factsheets/History-of-the-Oneida-Indian-Nations-Turning-Stone-Resort-Casino.html

Oren Lyons the Faithkeeper. Films on Demand. Films Media Group, 1991. http://fod.infobase.com.library.esc.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=6775

6 comments:

  1. I see these names everywhere as well, I live on Tsatsawassa lake and yet nobody knows what it means. We also have Algonquin middle school here and our mascot is the warriors which is a Indian. Natives have been trying for years to get these names changed in belief that it is insulting to their culture. Do you believe that it could go either way? Are we preserving these historical names or degrading them? I believe it is in the context of which you are using them.

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  2. Hello, I actually live upstate, and boy are you taking on a lot of work by trying to google each town that finds it's origins within the first inhabitants of this area. I actually live in a town called North Tonawanda, west of Cheektowaga, north of West Seneca, and Orleans. Furthermore, local counties consist of Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua to name a few. Finally, you know your are from the Buffalo region when you know how to pronounce the Scajaquada Expressway correctly the first time. Good luck!

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  3. I know what you mean- I drive by these places every week and now I find myself pointing them out and saying 'Hey I just read about that place!'. Its like history coming out to say hello. To Derrick Bradley- I have your same confusion. We have Saint Paddy's day- but it in no real way relates to the Irish or the conversion to Christianity- or the Fighting Irish in ND? I don't remember a battle of the Irish people in that state- but its got us looking like little people with big feet- more like a Nome than anything else. Or could I be pleased that people want to relate to us once a year?

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  4. Same with most of America. It's either American Indian or something from the colonizing nation (spanish, french, british). My favorite is Chicago, which some means stinky onion or wild leek/garlic.

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    1. I am going to have so much fun looking up the meanings of my local towns.

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  5. America is pretty much the rest of the world thrown into a blender and this is the end result. As the Grandson of 2 different sets of Irish Grandparents, I grew up being told St. Patty's day was a college tradition. Cinco Day myo....yep I celebrated with some Coronas...and I don't even know what it means. Valentines day came from Rome...and Hallmark. And we celebrate our "Independence" on July 4th... Independence that wasn't actually won until September. But....that is what makes us special I guess.

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