Progress on Haudenosaunee Creation Story Project

PLATTSBURGH | An interpretive panel now stands next to the Turtle Sculpture in Peace Point Park at Plattsburgh's Harbor Side. Penny Clute, facilitator for the Tsi ietsenhtha (Gee Yeh Jon' Ta)/Plattsburgh Art Project - the group leading the effort - said "The sign looks stunning and is in a place readily accessible to view Natasha Smoke Santiago's Turtle Sculpture." The Turtle Sculpture is an artwork representing the significance of the Turtle in the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois ) Creation Story. It consists of 13 ceramic tiles, or shell segments, made using traditional Mohawk pottery techniques. There will be two more sculptures - Sky Woman and The Three Sisters - at opposite ends of the Turtle. A dedication will be held early next summer. Each shell tile has a symbol relating to either the Haudenosaunee Creation Story or the Words that Come Before All Else, also known as the Thanksgiving Address. Emily Kassennisaks Stacey, a key member of the group who is Mohawk and co-creator of the Turtle's shell images, said "The Creation Story is the story of our beginning. How we started our journey in this world we now call life. The Thanksgiving Address is a story to never forget the gifts the Creator gives us and to always show respect and give thanks for all things that have life. This message is sent throughout our Haudenosaunee generations. Sometimes we get so busy in our lives that we forget where it all began. " The text on the interpretive panel presents condensed versions of both the Creation Story and the Thanksgiving Address and is the work of Mohawk educators Kay Olan and Sue Herne. The drawing of Sky Woman and Turtle on the panel is by John Kahionhes Fadden, and the map is by David Kanietakeron Fadden, both from the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center in Onchiota. The panel was designed by the Lake Champlain Basin Program. "This project is the fulfillment of something, a vision, that I could barely see from where I sat, but now it has taken shape. Through art, the human qualities of Indigenous people become apparent in their explanation of the inherently unexplainable, their explanations of the everyday and their love of mother nature — human, above all, is what they are," said Vivian Papson, founder of the Red Hummingbird Foundation and co-founder of the North Star Underground Railroad Museum. Work is now underway on Sky Woman, who, at "The Beginning of the Earth, fell from Sky World." As the interpretive panel describes, water birds caught her and lowered her onto the Turtle so that she would not drown. As she was falling, Sky Woman saw water everywhere, until she was safely on the Turtle's back. Don Papson, a leader of this project and co-founder of the North Star Underground Railroad Museum, said "Think of what the Turtle looked like to her, falling from above, seeing only the top of its shell." The artist is pleased with the site chosen for her sculptures. "This peninsula extending into Lake Champlain fits beautifully with the fact that the Mohawk people are the Keepers of the Eastern Door of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. To have my artwork at the beginning of our territory, the Eastern Door, is very meaningful to me." Julia Devine, co-founder of Outside Art: Plattsburgh Public Art Project, a partner of this Working Group, has been the principal grant writer. Other partners are the Clinton County Historical Association and the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center. "We are so appreciative of the broad support we have seen," Devine said. "We received grants from the Clinton County Health Department through the New York State Department of Health, the Charles R. Wood Foundation, Chapel Hill Foundation and the Price Chopper Golub Foundation, as well as at least 100 donations from individuals." Geri Favreau, president of the Board of Directors of the Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA), said that part of the mission of her organization is to interpret and promote Clinton County's history. "We are honored to be a co-sponsor of this important project which tells the story of the first inhabitants of our land and to work with an amazing team who identified the need to tell this story and who have worked so hard to make it happen. Their work will continue through education and the support of CCHA." Having artworks and signs about Haudenosaunee culture in Plattsburgh gives a sense of hope to Emily Kassennisaks Stacey. "When we think of culture and diversity, to include all cultures and races is vital. Our community has yearned for more diversity and the Mohawk sculptures aid in supporting this concept. A foundation must be laid and we can nurture it for the future." Stacey and Clute both said that they hope to do this through developing educational programs and displays on Haudenosaunee values, culture and history in collaboration with other organizations. To start, the group has a PowerPoint presentation by Stacey on the Turtle Sculpture and how it represents Haudenosaunee culture. Anyone interested in hosting a presentation to a class or organization can contact her at emilykasen81@gmail.com. Donations can be made by check to CCHA, noting Turtle Sculpture in the memo line, and mailed to CCHA at 98 Ohio Ave., Plattsburgh NY 12903.

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Progress on Haudenosaunee Creation Story Project

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