Melissa Taub

On the final day of the demonstration, the pier was mobbed with people waiting to greet the paddlers. There were hundreds of Iroquois; Quakers who have been lobbying the Senate for indigenous rights; Algonquian who had also made treaties with the Dutch; a Buddhist monk who led a group that walked on the shore alongside the rowers; and media, environmentalists,NGO groups, and curious New Yorkers. Additionally. The Unity Riders, a contingent from the Dakota Nation, who traveled from Manitoba to NYC, saddled up and mounted their horses by the pier to ride them on the march to the UN.

"Without the help of the Iroquois, the Dutch settlers would have never survived here," said Dutch Consul General Rob de Vos, who, with Dan Maffei, Congressman for the Syracuse region, met the paddlers and the nations' chiefs on the pier. "Let's stay together, listen to each other, and find solutions for future generations." Each side held one end of the Two Row Wampum belt, signifying the treaty between the Iroquois and the Dutch, and having exchanged gifts, the chiefs then smoked a peace pipe with de Vos.

Hickory Edwards, the leader of the paddlers, brought out a jug of water that he had collected from a stream near Onondaga. "This clean, clear water, it's life," he said. "It's a shame that we have to fight the government to protect the environment, but if that's what we have to do, that's what we will do!"

The paddlers and their allies, singing songs, beating drums, and carrying flags of the Two Row, then marched to the UN for an event titled Indigenous Peoples Building Alliances: Honouring Treaties, Agreements and other Constructive Arrangements, intended to open up dialogue for the resolution of treaty disputes between natives and settlers throughout the world.

The UN conference room filled with people from member states and indigenous delegates. It opened with a Mohawk traditional greeting and introductions from UN chairmen, including Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon. The panelists revealed that the Two Row Wampum Campaign was the inspiration for the theme of the conference.

When the Iroquois spoke, one of the women from the paddling trip got up and handed the flag to the UN to archive. As she did that, someone from the back shouted "Fly it out front!" The crowd cheered. Another audience member asked the panelists for the chance for indigenous nations to become full member states. "We're still on the outside looking in," he said.

Two days before, High Commissioner of Human Rights, Ravi Pillay, had encouraged member states to respect treaties with indigenous peoples. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, made a similar statement, saying that: "Broken treaties must become a thing of the past." The Netherlands is commemorating the Declaration of Rights for Indigenous Peoples on September 13th and is planning to dedicate the event to the Two Row Wampum and working to invite Iroquois representatives. Additionally, Consul General de Vos stated that he plans to visit the Onondaga Nation, although no date has been set yet.

The Two Row Wampum belt (Melissa Taub)

"We've worked hard to get here," said Lyons. "It still is a work in progress. But in spite of everything, the Two Row still prevails. Our allies, our friends, our brothers from across the sea, are here."

And if the nation won their land rights claim? "What that would look like is pretty much what it is now: people living side by side with our neighbors," Frichner explained. She noted that Syracuse sits on Onondaga land and that New York State pays for the right to use the land. "This relationship is still in place."

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