Cornell University Library: Artifacts From Upstate New York Indigenous Towns Digitized, Repatriated

From the Cornell University Library:

Unearthed, digitized and soon to be repatriated, artifacts from two Native American towns are beginning to share their rich stories online thanks to a collaborative project by anthropologists, librarians and Indigenous community members.

The recently launched digital collection – Onöndowa’ga:’ (Seneca) Haudenosaunee Archaeological Materials, circa 1688-1754 – features two historical locations – White Springs and Townley-Read, both near Geneva, New York – which were inhabited consecutively by members of the Onöndowa’ga:’ (Seneca) Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois) after they fled the French military destruction of the town of Ganondagan in 1687.

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The project will also physically reunite descendant communities with their heritage objects when the original physical artifacts are transferred from Cornell’s Department of Anthropology to the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca, New York. The transfer of materials is scheduled to start next summer.

“Bringing the materials back empowers the Seneca community,” said Joe Stahlman, director of the museum and a consultant on the project. “This becomes an opportunity for the Seneca to contribute to the research but also to show themselves as knowledge holders.”

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