Indigenous people that make up the Haudenosaunee are spread out across present-day New York State, Canada and beyond. Service organizations for Native populations on both sides of the border are looking to bridge that divide, quite literally, with a social and educational event.
Midwinter is an annual cultural observance for Haudenosaunee people, the ending and beginning of ceremonial cycles, almost like a lunar new year.
While much of the activities are still reserved for the traditional longhouse setting, Native American Community Services of Erie and Niagara Counties, or NACS, and the Niagara Chapter of Native Women along with scores of other Indigenous-led organizations serving Ontario and New York are coming together this Friday evening, February 6 for a Midwinter social gathering at the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre.
NACS Executive Director Michael Martin, who is Six Nations Onondaga, said the event serves as a great opportunity to reconnect Haudenosaunee people to their traditional teachings.
“We're going to do some social dancing, work off dinner, and then have a break and listen to our speaker, Jock Hill, who's going to talk about the Midwinter ceremonies that our longhouses are in now," said Martin. "[It's] to kind of help people who are are still learning or interested in coming back to longhouse, learn more about what those ceremonies are and what their intent is.”
Martin said many Haudenosaunee have become disconnected, for a variety of reasons. Whether through historical traumas like residential boarding schools, or adoption.
“A lot of people feel intimidated because they don't know the language, or they don't know what's going on," he said. "They don't know where to sit, or they've had a bad experience in some way, and so this kind of helps to bridge that gap.”
Breaking down barriers, Martin believes, is vital. And Friday’s Midwinter social in Fort Erie plays a part in that.
“We're the manifestation of our hopes and dreams of our ancestors, because at a time they thought maybe we wouldn't exist anymore," said Martin. "So the fact that we're here we manifest their dreams, but at the same time, over that course of trying to protect what we have, something's kind of gotten, I don't want to say lost, but unremembered at the moment. That's why we have to work collectively to put the pieces together.”
Friday's event begins at 5 p.m. at the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre on Buffalo Road. Martin said it's just one of many collaborations on the horizon for Indigenous-led service organizations on both sides of the Niagara River.
