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Learned a new thing today about the #Indigenous #history of the land I now live on. I grew up in Oswego, NY, "The running out place", where Haudenosaunee Nations gathered together to share the river, natural harbor, lake and wetlands resources.
It turns out that prior to to the advent of the Monongahela Nation's stewardship of what is now known as Mt. Oliver, an autonomous neighborhood in Pittsburgh I now live on, this land was also a common-use, predominantly camp-based area.
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The Monongahela were murdered by European incursions and diseases, and after the dissolution of the Nation, Haudenosaunee and other Nations fled their own persecution to live here.
I am drawn to the mixing places. I hesitate to even Allude to identification with Native faith, and if I am out of line, I hope someone will tell me, but this feels more like something fundamental to the land itself. For better or for worse, this is where I live. I would rather feel its energy, than not.
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Addition for Transparency:
My info comes from work with the Oswego Historical Society and study with members of Seneca Nation. When I lived there, Native history was slightly more integrated into our local education/experiences, in part because the older generations were often mixed-heritage.
My own background is almost solidly Irish, dash o'Swiss. My family arrived during the Civil War and settled near Pittsburgh. I have no Native American ancestry that I'm aware of.
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