The nation eventually lost its foothold on the lake, which became polluted in the 19th and 20th centuries as industries dumped mercury, salt and other contaminants into the water. The lake is much cleaner now after restoration efforts, but there are still signs warning that its fish may be harmful to eat.
Yet the lake is still “a living relative to our people,” according to Sid Hill, the Tadodaho, or chief, of the nation. He told Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon in a letter this March that “We have ceremonies which need to be practiced on its shores and other obligations.”
