Learn about the indigenous people of the New York State area. The Haudenosaunee, also known as the Six Nations, have lived in the Finger Lakes Region and across New York State. Explore how their example of governance, women’s rights, culture, and agricultural lifestyle impacted the US culture and the formation of US government.
Native Government & Early Democracy from Native America Series (Including the Haudenosaunee)
WXXI News Coverage of Haudenosaunee History, Culture and Current Day Updates
More Resources
Molly, Trini, and Vera are excited to plant the community garden with Auntie Midge’s Wampanoag friend, Gertie, but the girls keep quarreling and can’t get anything done! They learn about the Three Sisters story from the Haudenosaunee, People of the Longhouse about working together to find success. /After discovering that Grandpa Nat doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, Molly, Tooey, and Trini learn about the history of the holiday. Motivated to help, the kids work to create a feast that honors the people who came before them.
Online Resources from Ganondagan State Historic Site: https://www.ganondagan.org/resources including stories, cultural information, virtual field trips, and videos.
Ganondagan State Historic Site located in Victor, NY is a National Historic Landmark, the only New York State Historic Site dedicated to a Native American theme (1987), and the only Seneca town developed and interpreted in the United States. Spanning almost 600 acres, Ganondagan (ga·NON·da·gan) is the original site of a 17th century Seneca town, that existed there peacefully more than 350 years ago. The culture, art, agriculture, and government of the Seneca people influenced our modern understanding of equality, democratic government, women’s rights, ecology and natural foods.
Ganondagan’s full-size, Seneca Bark Longhouse (1998) is fully furnished to reflect a typical Seneca family from the late 1600’s, complete with reproductions of 17th century Seneca objects and colonial-era trade goods.
The Seneca Art & Culture Center (2015) at Ganondagan State Historic Site is a 17,300-square-foot center that tells the story of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) contributions to art, culture, and society. Designed to fit into the natural landscape, the center features an interactive, multi-media Exhibit Gallery, including a changing exhibit space, Orientation Theater (featuring the Iroquois Creation Story film), auditorium, and gift shop.
The grounds surrounding the center include two signed interpretive trails that educate visitors about the significance of plant life, Haudenosaunee culture and history. A third trail just a mile away from the center, interprets the history and the importance of Fort Hill, a large palisaded granary.