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ONEIDA, NY |
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The community of Oneida is located in central New York, east of Syracuse. The reservation is about 13,000 acres in size and home to about 500 Oneidas. Oneida has a library, Children and Elders Center, gym, and recreation program with hockey, basketball, lacrosse, and softball teams for all ages. Like many Haudenosaunee communities, Oneida also has its own cultural center dedicated to teaching and preserving the Oneida culture. Oneida’s center is called Shako:wi (“he gives”) and it is named after Dick Chrisjohn, a respected Oneida Wolf Clan artist and teacher. The Center welcomes hundreds of people who come to the reservation to learn about Oneida history and culture. There, students from local schools get to learn from an Oneida point of view. They learn about the Great Law of Peace, music, and how Oneida people’s lives changed after Colonial contact.
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Not only the adults enjoy sharing their heritage and traditions. Young Oneida’s proudly demonstrate social dancing at the New York State Fair and local festivals. The Silver Hawks team features youth 9 – 16 and keeps the ancient game of lacrosse in the news. In 2008, students from the Oneida reservation created a five-minute video postcard about beadwork, lacrosse, and making fry bread. They exchanged their postcard with a school in Pertunmaa, Finland! |
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| Oneida has a large variety of community-owned businesses. The Turning Stone Resort and Casino was founded in 1993 at Oneida and today is one of the top five tourist destinations in New York State. There are marinas and fishing retreats for vacationers, golf courses, gas stations, and a weekly newspaper called Indian Country Today. Four Directions Media makes props, creates animation, and encourages up and coming Native actors. The income from these businesses supports education, housing, health services, and programs for Oneida children and elders. It also provides for the Nation’s college scholarship program. College tuition and living expenses are paid for by the Nation for any Oneidas who want to continue to learn after high school graduation. More than 150 Oneidas have graduated from college since the scholarship program was established. |
Work skills are valuable to everyone and young Oneida are no different. Young people 13 – 20 can join the Youth Work/Learn Program. In the Program each day starts with an Oneida language lesson and fieldwork on an archaeological dig. The remainder of the day is spent doing maintenance jobs in the community, helping in the Early Learning Center, or working for the 4 Directions Media Project.
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Shako:wi Cultural Center |
ONEIDA INDIAN NATION OF NEW YORK STATE 223 Genesee Street Oneida, NY 13421 tel. (315) 361-6300 fax: (315) 361-6333 |