Before most religious ceremonies, Marla Antone can be found in the frozen foods section of her local supermarket.
“We have to use frozen berries now because they don’t grow anywhere on our land,” Antone said.
Antone, of Cato, is a member of the Oneida Indian Nation and the Oneida Preservation Committee. The berries she buys are for an annual ceremony meant to give thanks to the land. “Mother Earth,” as she calls it.
The religious importance of the land to Antone and other members of local Indian Nations is at the heart of a decades old battle to reclaim control of former territories in upstate New York. The Oneidas, Antone’s tribe, and the Onondaga Indian Nation accuse New York state of acquiring their former lands through illegal treaties dating as far back as 1790. The battle is now taking place inside courtrooms after lawsuits filed by both Indian groups. But the state maintains rights to the land and has sought to resolve the claims outside of a court.
Morgan Hook, the New York state press secretary for Indian affairs, did not respond to nine phone call for information for this story. But in a press release on May 22, 2008, Gov. David Paterson pledged he will “continue to encourage all parties to negotiate so that the status of the land in central New York is not determined by the court.”
Meanwhile, without their former lands, local Indian Nations say they have been forced to change practices that are thousands of years old.
Philip Arnold is a scholar of indigenous religions of the Americas at Syracuse University. The Indian nations have a special regard for the land, said Arnold. Their religion is intertwined with nature, said Arnold. He added, “They incorporate it in every aspect of their lives.”
To honor the land, said Arnold, the different tribes hold ceremonies throughout the year. They are called “thanksgivings,” and are restricted to tribe members. The many ceremonies pay homage to Mother Earth for items ranging from strawberries to maple sap.
But the loss of land and pollution have forced the tribes to change many of their religious practices, said Arnold. For example, the Onondaga Nation accuses New York of allowing sacred sites to be polluted so that the nation can no longer perform certain ceremonies.
“Take Onondaga Lake, for example,” Arnold said. “There are types of fish and eel that used to be in that lake that are all dead now because of the pollution. Some of those fish, and the eel especially, were integral parts of the Onondagas’ ceremonies.”
In March 2005, the Onondagas filed a lawsuit against New York and the United States governments renewing their claim to some of their former lands in Central New York. The Onondagas say that the land now making up most of Syracuse and Onondaga County rightfully belongs to the Onondaga Nation. But they don’t want to drive away people already living on those lands, according to the nation’s Web site. They simply want recognition of their right to the land they believe is theirs, the Onondagas say.
The Oneida Nation doesn’t want to force anyone off the land either, said Marla Antone, the Oneida Nation member. “That’s what happened to us,” she said. “We were forced from our land.”
Instead, Antone and others on the Oneida Preservation Committee have sought to educate people about the land claim of the Oneidas, which was first filed in 1974. The Preservation Committee, Antone said, wants to make sure New York residents know they aren’t in danger of eviction. “Most people don’t have a clue about our culture or what we want,” said Antone. “They’re usually surprised when they find out.”
What the tribes want, in addition to rights to former land, is assurances that the land will be cared for. Included in its lawsuit against New York State, for example, the Onondaga Nation is also suing the city of Syracuse and five corporations for damage to the environment that the Onondagas blame on those groups.
Protection of the environment and all lands, said Antone, has been a part of the Oneida tradition since its formation a thousand years ago. She compares it to protecting one’s family.
“What some people don’t understand is that the earth is my mother,” Antone said. “It’s no different than wanting to be with someone in your family, and seeing that person happy. That’s what I want for my Mother Earth.”
(Mark Banick is a newspaper journalism major with a minor in religion.)
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