Onondaga Lake is a symbol of indigenous and American democracy.
The lake is a renowned habitat for bald eagles, and its shores are revered as the sacred site where the Haudenosaunee Confederacy – the oldest existing Western democracy – originated.
When the Onondaga people stand on its shores and speak their language, Lyons says the lake responds; the fish leap from the water, the birds alight on the shores, the eagles circle overhead.
To the Onondagas, the lake and its ecosystem are not commodities or resources – they are living relatives.
“That water is like the blood in our veins,” Lyons said. “It’s who we are.”
