AN EVENING WITH CHIEF IRVING POWLESS

“Apologies to Mother Earth,” is the title Onondaga Chief Irving Powless, Jr. (Chawhdayguywhawdoes) has given to his talk about the effects of the dominant cultures’s destructive relationship with the earth and each other. He tells the story of how his people, the Haudenosaunee, first invited the Europeans to live peaceably and responsibly in this region, made an agreement with them known as the Two Row Wampum Treaty, and observed in dismay the way the newcomers mistreated the earth and human and other beings.  With humor, Chief Powless, asks, “Who are these people, anyway?”

The Haudenosaunee have been trying to bring us to our senses for nearly 400 years, since the Two Row Wampum was agreed to. Chief Powless carries the responsibility of holding and retelling the history of his people and their treaty relations.  The Haudenosaunee carry the responsibility, as we all should, to give greetings and thanks, love and respect to Mother Earth, and given the crisis we now face, also our apologies.  This is not an entertainment nor a discussion. It is an opportunity to learn history and Indigenous values from someone who knows and has lived them deeply and for many years. In the tradition of Haudenosaunee speakers, expect a full and long evening.

Sponsored by the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign. For more information, visit www.honorthetworow.org

Together we can build this initiative so that it develops a powerful alliance to push New York State to honor the treaties with our native sisters and brothers and, in the process, shifts us toward a sustainable relationship with the natural world.

Open to the public. Sliding scale suggested donations from $1 – $50