On Saturday March 10th there was an event held at yogi’s barn at 2318 Chiefswood Rd. The event was put on by Tricia Sandy and family members. The event was to speak on the duties of the men and the women to the young ones and old ones and to Creation itself and to each other. Throughout the meeting there was also talking of the duties and roles of the chiefs and clan mothers to the people all within “Deyodyohkwahnhasta” which means “For the people by the people”.
During the day there were several featured guest speakers who facilitated the meeting which were Tehahenteh Frank Miller, Karahsaraken Loran Thompson and Tekarontake Paul Delaronde, all who are fluent mohawk speakers and influential voices within Haudenosaunee communities.
The day began at 7:00 am with a tobacco burning that followed a breakfast and a welcoming of the people. At 10:00 am the information session and speaking began where an introduction was done by Tehahenteh Frank Miller where he began by stating we are coming together as one mind and the purpose of the meeting is to talk about our issues at hand and what can be done as opposed to what should have been done in the past as we move forward as people. He then went on to say, “we’re not here to blame, we’re here to remind ourselves we have our own constitution”.
During each break of the meeting throughout the day there were meals prepared for community members and community members gathered and conversed about various topics discussed throughout the day. One commonality amongst everyone in attendance was that it felt good to have an open space to meet and get together again after the years of distance due to covid.
Other topics discussed that sparked large conversation was land treaties, self-governance and the growth and wellbeing of Haudenosaunee economies. As many different nations within the Haudenosaunee attended and came together as one mind it was a testament to what could be done in a larger scale if the nations decided to have larger meetings. Many suggestions were to have a gathering of nations that would last several weeks to come together as one mind to bring unity amongst the people.
The meeting had around 120 people attend throughout the day and lasted over 11 hours in total with 3 breaks during the day. Some of the additional topics included land treaties, self-governance and the growth and wellbeing of Haudenosaunee economics. The meeting was an open forum with a microphone shared amongst the community to give input and to address any concerns that pertain to Ohsweken and any of the other Haudenosaunee territories.
