Before white settlers came to Onondaga Lake, before the city of Syracuse grew along its shore, and before its pristine waters became one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States, it was a sacred place for the Onondaga Nation.
Local officials aware of this history have expressed a desire to transfer a tract of land on the lakeshore to the Onondagas people, an indigenous people who inhabited and ruled much of upstate New York and parts of Canada before the American Revolution. But after 14 years, efforts have stalled amid issues with taxes, lake cleanup and, most recently, a nearby statue of Christopher Columbus.
Both sides are frustrated, although an agreement is not far off.
“It’s not called Onondaga Lake for some arbitrary reason,” Nation member Betty Hill said during a recent visit to the lake. “They know it’s ours, they know it’s been part of our history for thousands of years.”
Like other indigenous people, Onondaga was trying to regain possession More than what had previously been a vast swath of land in the state, outside of their federally recognized territory.
But restoring the properties along the lake will be a special reward.
Holy Lake, Polluted Lake
Onondaga Lake is revered as the place where a figure known as the Peacemaker, with the help of Onondaga leader Hiawatha, brought the warring nations of the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Onondaga to form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy.
Many people believe that the Confederacy influenced the framers of the United States Constitution.
The nation eventually lost its foothold on the lake, which became polluted in the 19th and 20th centuries by industries. Dumped Mercury, salt and other contaminants in the water. The lake is now cleaner after restoration efforts, but there are still signs warning that its fish may be harmful to eat.
However, the lake is still “alive for our people,” according to Sid Hill, the Tadodaho, or leader of the nation. “We have ceremonies to do on our beaches and other obligations,” Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon told him in a letter last March.
County lawmakers considered returning some of the land in 2011 after advocacy led by Onondaga ally Lloyd Withers.
Lawmakers passed a non-binding resolution to return a package from a Syracuse mall, but that area turned out to be highly contaminated. A second decision in 2016 upheld the “final transfer” of a plot of land to be identified.
Little progress has been made since then.
Goodbye Columbus?
Some Nation members believe the boycott is raising issues to thwart progress. For example, they point to the Columbus statue that has stood atop a column in downtown Syracuse since 1934.
Onondaga support plans announced by Syracuse mayor in 2020 to remove statue of Columbus, Italian explorer who aided the Spanish Establishing a colonial foothold in the Caribbean Later, indigenous revolts were suppressed. They view the statue as a symbol of the oppression and plunder that stands at the heart of their traditional homeland.
The statue still stands years later amid opposition from supporters who see Columbus as a symbol of Italian American pride.
Land talks have gotten mixed up this summer. A McMahon aide told Withers in an email that if transferring land ownership on the shore of Onondaga Lake was a “symbolic gesture of healing and partnership,” demands to remove the Columbus statue seemed at odds with that goal.
The email suggested that the nation embrace the alternative idea of adding a statue of Hiawatha as a way to “help bridge the gap between the two very passionate sides.”
Betty Hale, who is married to Sid Hale, said placing the Hiawatha statue next to Columbus was “beyond insulting.”
“I think that’s politics for you,” said Mr. Hill. “You’re giving up something for this, and I’ll trade you for this.” “What do we have to trade? We don’t have anything. We only have a small piece of land left.”
McMahon said he was only seeking clarification on the issue from the Onondagas. He said the county has no control over the statue and it does not represent a bargaining chip.
A far-fetched deal
However, what McMahon wants is for the Onondaga family to pay taxes on other parcels of land the nation has reclaimed at county auctions.
He also wants a commitment not to sue the nation over lake cleanup, something Onondaga leaders have criticized as insufficient.
“If it can be addressed, I think we can get to the table, and I think we can reach an agreement,” McMahon said.
The tax problem may be the most difficult to solve. Under state law, it is not required to pay taxes on lands recognized as Onondaga territory in the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, said Joe Heath, an Onondaga attorney.
Meanwhile, Betty Hill said the Onondaga family isn’t going anywhere.
“We will not stop in our quest to restore some of this for our people and our Confederacy,” she said.
https://fortune.com/img-assets/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AP25283642561273-e1760195865262.jpg?resize=1200,600
Source link