Syracuse University will note Indigenous Peoples Day Monday by unveiling a piece of artwork in the midst of a larger installation meant to acknowledge the relationship between SU and the Onondaga Nation.
Images of Benjamin Franklin, two people playing lacrosse the women’s suffrage movement, and the formation of the Great Law of Peace all come together to make up the art piece called Gayaneñhsä•ʔgo•nah. Artist Brandon Lazore, a member of the Onondaga Nation snipe clan, created it.
“It’s basically explaining the history of the Haudenosaunee that you wouldn’t get in your typical school education,” said Lazore. “It’s history that isn’t really talked about a lot."
Lazore said it was challenging to embody the history and vast contributions of the Haudenosaunee people, that includes the concepts of democracy, peace, harmony and respect for nature. And he learned some things along the way. For example, the contribution of the Haudenosaunee to the women’s rights movement.
“Key figures in the suffrage movement in Seneca Falls had relations with Haudenosaunee women and would pass stories and understand their role in our society in governance,” he said. “And it helped them fight for their rights."
The installation will be in a prominent spot on the SU campus, and takes note of the university’s presence on ancestral land. And if the artwork provokes interest, there’s a chance to get more information.
"There will be a bar code that will take you to a website to further educate people,” said Lazore. “Because there is so much in the painting, it would be hard to put it in one plaque."
