Oren Lyons Day

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OREN LYONS DAY WHEREAS, Today we celebrate and acknowledge the life and contributions of Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, member of the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, Haudenosaunee or “People Building a Long House”, consisting of Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and Tuscarora Indian reservations in northern New York State, and recipient of the Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor, the National Audubon Award, the First Annual Earth Day International Award of the United Nations, and the Elder Wiser Award of the Rosa Parks Institute for Human Rights; and WHEREAS, Oren Lyons has dedicated his life to serving the needs of “our” seventh generation, through the preservation, teaching and sharing of the customs, traditions, values and history of the Turtle Clan; and WHEREAS, Born in 1930, he was raised on the Seneca and Onondaga reservations, and is co-editor of the book, Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations, and the U.S. Constitution, publisher of Daybreak, a national Native American Magazine and a Professor of American Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo; and WHEREAS, Mr. Lyons graduated from the Syracuse University College of Fine Arts in 1958. He worked as a professional artist before returning to the Onondaga Nation and his art reflects the history and spirituality of his people. In 1992, he was invited to address the General Assembly of the United Nations and open the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People. Mr. Lyons was an All-American lacrosse player and currently serves as Chairman of the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team; and WHEREAS, It is our honor and privilege to join in dedicating Lyons Residence Hall on the Syracuse University campus in honor of Mr. Lyons. His legacy represents peace, knowledge, wisdom and the boundless possibilities history, hope and caring can bring. NOW, THEREFORE, I, NICHOLAS J. PIRRO, County Executive of the County of Onondaga and I, MATTHEW J. DRISCOLL, Mayor of the City of Syracuse, do hereby proclaim this twenty-eighth day of November, Two Thousand Seven as OREN LYONS DAY In the County of Onondaga and the City of Syracuse IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands and caused the Seals of the County of Onondaga and the City of Syracuse to be imprinted this twenty-eighth day of November, Two Thousand Seven. ____________________ ____________________ Nicholas J. Pirro Matthew J. Driscoll County Executive Mayor .

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The Haudenosaunee Story
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