Onondaga Nation members felt disrespected during Pope Francis visit in NYC:
turtleislandmohawk:
Onondaga Nation Tadodaho Sid Hill speaks on the banks of the Hudson
River, holding the Two Row Wampum, wearing his Gustoweh in this 2013
file photo. (Mike Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com, 2013)
NEW YORK CITY – Onondaga Nation Tadodaho Sid Hill, the spiritual
leader of the Haudenosaunee, and other members of the Onondaga Nation
were in New York City this morning for a multi-religious service with
Pope Francis at the September 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero.
When Hill entered the site of the service he was forced by security
to remove his Gustoweh, a sacred Haudenosaunee feathered hat or
headdress, said Betty Lyons, a member of the Snipe Clan of the Onondaga
Nation.
“He was forced to remove his Gustoweh because they said it could be used as a weapon,” Lyons said.
Lyons said they tried to explain to security that it was a sacred
item, but Hill was forced to leave it with security along with his
ceremonial tobacco and package for Pope Francis that contained a wampum.
During the service, Hill was not allowed to sit on stage with other religious leaders.
“It felt more than disrespectful,” Lyons said. “We assumed when we
were invited that we would be treated as equals. That we would be
treated with the same respect as other religious leaders.”
Lyons said when the service was over, Hill went back to security to claim his items and they were left unattended on a table.
“We were lucky they were still there,” Lyons said. “It was upsetting to see them left there like that.”
Lyons, who is also the president of the American Indian Law Alliance,
said the Onondaga Nation leaders went to New York City with the
assumption that they would be able to address Pope Francis.
The group, which also included Faithkeeper Oren Lyons, went to New
York City with the goal to ask Pope Francis to rescind and renounce the
Doctrine of Discovery.
Betty Lyons described the doctrine in a recent editorial in the New York Daily News:
“That doctrine derives from a series of 15th century papal bulls
issued as Europeans began their campaigns of conquest and colonization,
first in Africa and later, after Christopher Columbus’ voyages, in the
Americas. It declared that any European powers that ‘discovered’ lands
unoccupied by Christians could consider them empty, and seize the land
of the ‘barbarous nations’ in the name of their sovereign,” Betty Lyons
wrote.
“The doctrine remains the basis of Indian land law in the United
States to this day. So, despite protestations from the papal nuncio at
the United Nations that it is ancient history, it remains a living
pathogen infecting indigenous peoples’ rights of self-determination and
justice,” she added.
Betty Lyons said she was prepared to start the conversation with Pope
Francis during his visit, but the group from the Onondaga Nation was
never given the chance.
“It felt, again, like we didn’t exist,” Lyons said.
Lyons said the group is disappointed, but not discouraged. They are
currently headed back to the Onondaga Nation for the remainder of the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.
yikes