Native America: Nature to Nations

Pictured: G. Peter Jemison (Seneca/Onӧndowa’ga:’) in Longhouse. Seneca is the name English speakers use referring to the Onӧndowa’ga:’, which translates to “people of the Great Hill."

Credit: Courtesy of Providence Pictures

Episode two of this four-part series visits Ganondagan State Historic Site to talk with G. Peter Jemison.

Weaving history and science with living Indigenous traditions, Native America brings to life a land of massive cities connected by social networks spanning two continents, with unique and sophisticated systems of science, art and writing. Made with the active participation of Native American communities and filmed in some of the most spectacular locations in the hemisphere, Native America illuminates the splendor of a past whose story has for too long remained untold. Narrated by Robbie Robertson (Mohawk and member of the famed rock group The Band), each hour of Native America explores Great Nations and reveals cities, sacred stories and history long hidden in plain sight.

Nature to Nations, airing Tuesday, October 30 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV, explores the rise of great American nations, from monarchies to democracies. The episode investigate lost cities in Mexico, a temple in Peru, a potlatch ceremony in the Pacific Northwest and a tapestry of shell beads in upstate New York whose story inspired our own democracy. Ganondagan State Historic Site Manager G. Peter Jemison explains the message that united the Haudenosaunee people, the Great Law of Peace. He shares the roles of the three individuals who were responsible for sharing the message, the principles, and to understand what happened when the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga and Mohawk accepted the message of peace.