Shortly before noon, Tadodaho (spiritual leader) Sid Hill and other representatives of the Onondaga Nation unfurled a 25-foot blue banner. Iridescent balloon weights were tied to the bottom to hold it down. In large white letters, it read:
Return Maple Bay
Indigenous Lands in Indigenous Hands
#LakeBack
The canary yellow Seneca Chief emerged around the corner a few minutes later, flanked by a tugboat, several kayaks, and an entourage of followers.
“They were cheering for our banner, which tells me something. Which gives me hope,” said Betty Lyons Hill, the executive director of the American Indian Law Alliance and a citizen of the Onondaga Nation, after the ship had disappeared from sight.
