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Michelle Schenandoah, an SU alumna, spoke on “The Land You’re On: Acknowledging the Haudenosaunee” podcast to amplify Indigenous voices where they have been historically unheard.

“Fundamentally, what is flawed is that the educational system really doesn’t provide those stories of history that include us, as Indigenous peoples, and what those relations were, how people came to be able to live on the lands that they live on,” said Schenandoah, who is also a co-founder of Indigenous Concepts Consulting, which educates organizations on how to incorporate Indinegous values into their missions and goals.

Inspired to elevate Indigenous voices and stories, iSchool interim dean David Seaman, along with his team of sound experts and Newhouse students, created the podcast to analyze SU’s Land Acknowledgement through candid conversations with members of the Haudenosaunee community. The project, which will have twelve total episodes, is available on Spotify and other podcast platforms.

Events at Syracuse University always begin with an acknowledgement of “the Onondaga Nation, firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee, the Indigenous people on whose ancestral land Syracuse University now stands.” But Seaman realized that he had no concrete idea of what this really meant, and he decided to dive into this statement in order to fully respect and understand the meanings behind it.

Along with many other SU librarians, Seaman met with University Ombuds Neal Powless, a member of Onondaga Nation’s eel clan, to gain a better perspective of what the land the university is built on means to the Haudenosaunee community. Powless is also a co-founder of Indigenous Concept Consulting with Schenandoah.

“I left there with a whole bunch of new knowledge, but also (with) a slightly uncomfortable feeling — that I’ve been here since 2015 on this campus and (this) was all new to me,” Seaman said.

After the meeting, Seaman shared his vision with the producer of Access Audio, Jim O’Connor, hoping to give Haudenosaunee people a space to share their culture and identities through a new podcast.

O’Connor grew up about a mile up the road from Onondaga nation, but he never learned anything about the Indigenous people or their practices. Motivated to educate himself and others about the people that he grew up next to, O’Connor jumped at the opportunity to create the podcast with Seaman, he said.

“It is impossible to genuinely acknowledge a people if you don’t know a lot about them,” O’Connor said. “Students come to Syracuse University from all over the world, but even those who come from down the street are never taught this information in school.”

The team included as many voices as possible, featuring conversations with Haudenosaunee members, students, alumni, staff and faculty. One episode focuses on traditional lacrosse stick master craftsman Alf Jacques at his workshop in Onondaga, delving into the creative process and cultural significance of the lacrosse stick.

Tehosterihens Deer, a Syracuse University Senior and the President of Indigenous Students at Syracuse, also conducted two interviews with Indigenous students.

“We all come from different areas. But in a weird way, we are very similar. Like I could talk to indigenous people from South America, to somewhere in middle America, to Hawaii, and we can all have totally different experiences, but somehow have that same connection and understanding of where we are in life,” Deer said.

Deer ensured that the project included several different voices to respect all Indigenous people in Syracuse. He stressed the importance of giving SU students an education about where they are, as the University does not do the best job at telling Indigenous stories.

“We’re in the birthplace of the Haudenosaunee Confederation. And not a lot of [students] know that, and it’s unfortunate,” Deer said. “I think this is a good stepping stone for educating a lot of the students that are here.”

Through the podcast, members of the Syracuse community have the opportunity to educate themselves about the very land that they are walking, living and studying on, instead of turning to members of the Haudenosaunee community to give them that education, Schenandoah said.

“As Haudenosaunee, as a Confederacy, we’re still here. And we still have our government that is founded on peace,” Schenandoah said. “And that inspired the U.S. Constitution and womens’ rights. Don’t you think that’s worth investigating?”

Schenandoah admired the way O’Connor and Brett Barry, an SU alumna who hosts the podcast, captured authentic stories and reactions from the people they interviewed.

“They really let each individual truly tell their story, and did not try to shape the narrative into something that they were seeking,” Schenandoah said.

Along with the podcast, SU Librarian Winn Wasson also created an extensive research guide that provides transcripts, additional information and resources to listeners looking to dive deeper into any topic mentioned in an episode. The guide will also include the unedited conversation recordings in the future, O’Connor said.

O’Connor and his team have hopes that the podcast will be used in the SU’s First Year Seminar class to give all incoming students an extensive knowledge of Haudenosaunee culture in the first months of their Syracuse experience.

“These are very candid conversations with students and if you work at a university you ought to be interested in what students think,” O’Connor said.

CLARIFICATION: In a previous version of this post, Jim O’Connor’s position was not stated. He is the producer of Access Audio. Additionally, it was stated that the podcast’s resource guide had unedited recordings. These are not yet available, but may be in the future.

Published on November 16, 2022 at 10:08 am