Three days of events will celebrate the opening of a new exhibition at Auburn’s West End Arts Campus.
The campus, which houses the Cayuga Museum of History & Art and Case Research Lab and Schweinfurth Art Center, will hold special programming on Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday in conjunction with its new exhibition, Cayuga People, We Returned, exploring the forced displacement and return of the Cayuga People to their ancestral lands.
The events kick off Saturday at 10:30a at the West End Arts Campus at 203-205 Genesee St. A schedule of events is as follows (events will move indoors in the event of rain):
- 10:30 a.m.: Ganǫ́hǫnyǫhk (also known as the Thanksgiving Address) by Soyǫ́:wi:s Sam George (Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ/Cayuga, Bear Clan), Carriage House Theater
- 10:30 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.: Art vendors will be set up throughout the West End Arts Campus
- 11 a.m. – noon: Our Sacred Responsibility to Place, a welcoming talk by Dan Longboat Roronhiakewen (Ganyę́gehó:nǫˀ/ Mohawk), Carriage House Theater
- 12:30 until gone: Sample traditional Hodinǫhsǫ́:nih Corn Bread compliments of Rick Lazore (Ganyę́gehó:nǫˀ/ Mohawk) and Traditional Hodinǫhsǫ́:nih Corn Soup, Hot Scones & Strawberry Drink compliments of Hazel Powless (Onę́yotga:ˀ/Oneida) and Will Powless (Onę́yotga:ˀ/Oneida) in the parking lot behind the Schweinfurth
- 12:30 – 1:15 p.m.: Solo performance by Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ/Cayuga flute player Dan Hill, in the performance area
- 12:30 – 1:45 p.m.: Make-and-take beaded bracelets with Melissa Sprague-Mcann (Onę́yotga:ˀ/Oneida), in the children’s tent
- 1:30 – 2:15 p.m.: Chris Thomas (Onǫdagehónǫˀ/Onondaga) and the Smoke Dancers, in the performance area
- 2 – 3:15 p.m.: Make-and-take Cornhusk Dolls with Bernadette Scott (Onǫdawáˀga:ˀ/Seneca) in the children’s tent
- 2:30 – 3:15 p.m.: Onę́yotga:ˀ/Oneida storyteller Melissa Sprague-Mcann sharing traditional Hodinǫhsǫ́:nih stories in the performance area
- 3:30 – 4:15 p.m.: Chris Thomas (Onǫdagehónǫˀ/Onondaga) and the Smoke Dancers, in the performance area
- 3:30 – 4:45 p.m.: Make-and-take raised beadwork with Doose Shenandoah (Onǫdagehónǫˀ/Onondaga). For older children (ages 9+) and adults
Campus staff will be at the Cayuga/SHARE Farm (4061 Truesdale Rd, Union Springs) on Sunday to assist with the farm’s annual picnic. Below is a schedule of events for Sunday
- 11 – 11:30 a.m.: Opening greetings
- 11:30 – noon: Open mike
- Starting at noon: Musical entertainment by Paleface – Mark Porter & Friends; Lydia Garrison; Corn Bred; Le Beaver Bleux; Spuds & Tagget; Miss Marty & SGB; Midnight Society; and an open mike jam
- 1 p.m.: Potluck lunch – bring a dish to pass
- 1 – 3 p.m.: Lyle Logan’s Celestial Sunflower painting workshop; register online at https://www.schweinfurthartcenter.org/inspire-eventsdc0b/1051
- Throughout the day:
- Sovereignty talk by Angela Ferguson
- Hands-on strawberry painting project
- Pickup lacrosse game
Finally, on Wednesday, there will be a panel discussion offering different perspectives on the displacement and return of the Cayuga People. The speakers include Peter Whiteley, from the American Museum of Natural History in NYC; Steve Henhawk, Research Associate with the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program at Cornell University; and Professor Kurt Jordan, from Cornell University. The discussion will be held at 6:00p at the Cayuga Museum’s Carriage House Theater.
All events are free and open to the public.
The exhibition runs now through September 19 at both the Cayuga Museum and Schweinfurth Art Center.
