Native American Heritage Month Flag Raising at Niagara Square

As seen on WBFO's website here, originally posted by Ryan Zunner

The Haudenosaunee flag is flying proudly over Niagara Square today – raised in honor of Native American Heritage Month. Speakers took time to talk about traumas faced by the Indigenous community, like the boarding school system, land loss, and negative or absent portrayals in media. And also showcase the vibrancy of culture.

It’s just the second time the Hiawatha Belt flag has flown over city hall – and it’s a feeling that has great pride for Seneca Nation member Samantha Nephew – fighting back against the feeling that Indigenous people are “others” within urban communities.

“The othering holds little power, when we know we are worthy of time, of space, of whatever place we want to plant our own flags," said Nephew, who also organized the event through Buffalo Center for Health Equity. "We come together to honor this Haudenosaunee flag as a symbol of the land we reside on today. We hold this honor for our ancestors before us who were ridiculed, cast off because they dared to be who they were.”

Joined by elected officials near the climax of election season, Executive Director of Native American Community Services Michael Martin said it’s important to remember the contributions Haudenosaunee governance has given to the United States.

“They became the United States because they listened to our Haudenosaunee leadership. They saw our confederacy, which has been in existence well before the United States, well before others had come into our lands. It's still strong and dominant today in our teachings, our ways and our governance and our sovereignty," said Martin, an Onondaga Beaver Clan faithkeeper. "And they learned from us that they could be stronger together than they could be apart. And the Founding Fathers of the United States listened to our leadership and borrowed those principles and became the United States.”

In 1988, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution acknowledging Haudenosaunee influence on the Constitution – and Bill of Rights.

Martin also stressed the importance of good minds and unity in what can be a divisive time nationwide. Drawing on the beginnings of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Five Nations (now Six Nations).

"The Peacemaker went to each village. He found the strongest warrior in each village, and he gave him an arrow, and he asked him to break it, and he was able to do so," Martin said. "And then he gave him five arrows, bundled together to signify the coming together of those five nations. Gave it right back to that warrior, and he couldn't break it. The simple act demonstrated that we are stronger together, when bounded together with good minds. Let that serve as a reminder."

Traditional dancers and singers also took center stage during the event. It was capped off with students from Native Magnet Buffalo Public School #19 taking turns on helping to raise the Haudenosaunee flag to the top.