Winter time at Onondaga brings lots of snow! So with the snow out came the Gahwanda or snowsnakes. The snowsnake track was built very quickly with the large amount of snow for the trackmakers to work with. The kids at the school were so excited and came prepared to whether the cold weather with hats and gloves and many layers so that they could go out and play. They … [Read more...] about Snow Snake
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Digital TV
Growing up at Onondaga (the People of the Hills), we all live at the bottom of a large hill. Large enough to block the tv towers. So I grew up watching channels 3 (NBC) and 5 (CBS) only, and when it snowed, how exciting, we could watch PBS too! So when I settled down in my own home with my wife and children, I was used to the limited channels. Satellite T.V arrived and … [Read more...] about Digital TV
Happy New Year!
What a wonderful time of year! It is a great time to wish everyone a Happy New Year. At Onondaga it is a tradition for the children to walk to the homes and shout "New Yea! New Nea!" and this year was no exception. But this morning we woke to a cold cold morning. The clear blue sky against the newly fallen snow was just beautiful. So after breakfast and some puttering … [Read more...] about Happy New Year!
December Moon
As the cold, icy air eases in for the season, the moon of winter now rises in the eastern skies. A fine mist of snow powders the ground casting a bluish haze upon the quiet evening dusk, sparkling flakes, frost the evergreen limbs of the Tree with the Long Leaves. It is as if the forest itself awoke, and sat silently admiring its new seasonal coat. The footprints of our lives … [Read more...] about December Moon
Festival of Races
I don't know how my wife does this but she talked me into a running a 5K race. We signed for the 16th annual Festival of Races here in Syracuse NY. It seemed like a great idea until the first Kilometer. Well I knew that I was in trouble when I told my wife, "Oh, no we're too late. They already started the race!" "No Dear, we're not late, they're just getting … [Read more...] about Festival of Races
Genundowa, or Festival of Lights
For the end of summer for our family means one thing, traveling to Hammondsport, N.Y. for the Festival of Lights. A quite a few years ago, my niece was asked to join a Haudenosaunee dance troop which shares our Onondaga social dance songs with the people and visitors o the small town of Hammondsport on the bottom of Keuka Lake. When my niece started dancing, she was just a … [Read more...] about Genundowa, or Festival of Lights
Kheksdenh – My Wife
Its our 16th anniversary today. We were talking over a quiet dinner (babysitting is awesome) about that day 16 years ago. The Haudenosaunee have different marriage rites. We don’t have bride’s maids, best men, a walk down the isle, and a long white dress you can get at Bloomingdales. We were talking about how busy we were in preparing our wedding outfits… the cutting, … [Read more...] about Kheksdenh – My Wife