The land on which Academy for Human Rights carries out its work is the homeland of the Hodinöhsö:ni’ (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy.The Hodinöhsö:ni’ Confederacy is comprised of the Six Nations:
Kanienʼkeháka (Mohawk) — "People of the Flint”
Onyota’a:ká (Oneida) — "People of the Standing Stone"
Onöñda’gegá’ (Onondaga) —ʼ"People of the Hills"
Onöndawá'ga (Seneca) — "People of the Great Hill"
Gayogo̱hónǫ' (Cayuga) — ʼ"People of the Great Swamp"
Skarù:ręˀ (Tuscarora) — "People of the Shirt"
The disruption of Hodinöhsö:ni’ stewardship over these lands is rooted in U.S. settler colonialism.“The expedition you are appointed to command is to be directed against the hostile tribes of the six nations of Indians, with their associates and adherents. The immediate objects are the total destruction and devastation of their settlements and the capture of as many prisoners of every age and sex as possible. It will be essential to ruin their crops now in the ground and prevent their planting more.”
Letter from George Washington to Major General John Sullivan
31 May 1779
In 1778, members of the Hodinöhsö:ni’ resisted the ongoing colonial expansion of the fledgling United States of America. In response to their resistance, General George Washington ordered Generals John Sullivan and James Clinton to destroy the Hodinöhsö:ni’. Washington’s genocidal directive, called the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign, was enacted through military violence, forced displacement, and deliberate starvation. In the face of this onslaught, the Hodinöhsö:ni’ people were compelled to cede their land in the Phelps-Gorman Purchase, the inequities of which remain unaddressed to this day.
The Canandaigua Treaty of 1798 established peace between the Hodinöhsö:ni’ nations and the United States while affirming Hodinöhsö:ni’ land rights and sovereignty. It has been strained by ongoing land seizures by New York State lawmakers and business interests, but remains unbroken and is the oldest valid treaty in the United States of America.
The continued presence of the Hodinöhsö:ni’ in Western New York stands as a powerful testament to resilience, reflecting generations of strength, adaptability, and commitment to preserving culture, sovereignty, and community.
Decolonizing education requires prioritizing Native voices.For further learning, the Academy recommends:
Ganondagan State Historic Site Youtube Channel - Educational videos from Ganondagan State Historic Site.
Native-Land.ca - Interactive digital map of Indigenous territories, languages, and treaties globally.
National Indigenous Women's Resource Center - Providing national leadership to end violence against American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women and communities by lifting up the collective voices of grassroots advocates and offering culturally grounded resources, technical assistance and training, and policy development to strengthen Tribal sovereignty.
The American Indian Digital History Project - Digital History Cooperative founded to recover and preserve rare Indigenous newspapers, photographs, and archival materials from all across Native North America.