Ithaca City School District to recognize Haudenosaunee natives with flag raising.
This article has been edited to include comment from a member of the Onondaga Nation.
The Ithaca City School District Board of Education voted Tuesday to fly the flag of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy at Ithaca High School to commemorate “the district’s commitment to reversing the legacy of racism and establishing communities built on love and joy,” according to a statement from the district.
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is a group of six Native American nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora.
The flag depicts the Hiawatha belt, traditionally created using Wampum shell beads, and is a symbol of unity, peace, and strength among these nations.
Members of the Onondaga and Cayuga nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the flags representation in the Ithaca-based district.
“We as Ithacans are on unceded lands,” Ithaca High School junior Brenna Lucio-Belbase said, in the statement from the district, “and flying the Haudenosaunee flag, we would not merely demonstrate allyship and show support, we would additionally do the necessary step of acknowledging a sovereign nation’s rightful lands with a unique culture and unique regulations.”
Bradley Powless, a long-time teacher at the Onondaga Nation School said that just seeing the flag will help expose more youths to the fact that many of their neighbors or coworkers may be Haudenosaunee and push them to learn about native cultures.
"I think that it is great that educators teach about the Haudenosaunee’s past, but it is also important to learn about the current issues facing the Haudenosaunee people today," Powless said Friday. "Children of the Caroline Elementary school may one day be going to school or working alongside a Haudenosaunee person. It will be great for them to know a little bit about their neighbor."
Flag proposal
The proposal to fly the Haudenosaunee flag was first introduced to the Board on Oct. 24 by a group of Ithaca High School students, administrators, teacher, and caregivers, who urged the board to pass a resolution to fly the Haudenosaunee flag at all ICSD buildings.
At the Nov. 14 board meeting, the proposal was modified in consultation with the Haudenosaunee community, students, and staff due to the laws surrounding how flags can be flown. Ithaca High School has two flag poles that can be used to fly both flags.
“Flying a flag here would be a great platform to build off of,” Ithaca High School senior Rhianne Rushing said, in the statement, “and start to represent a group that typically is not well-represented or represented at all.”
"It is important to learn about the indigenous people that live here," Powless said. "We as indigenous people have a history prior and with our new neighbors and learning about the Two Row Wampum Belt and the George Washington Treaty will show how we are to live together peacefully and respect each other as equals. "
This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: ICSD Native American flag raising
