ICN Special Reports

"It is our responsibility to remember the people who have been erased from history," Jack Rossen, an anthropology professor at Ithaca College, told a crowd of about 85 people gathered last Sunday to celebrate the re-lighting of the Tutelo Council fire. "Especially if they're still here."

Rossen motioned back to Heriberto "Airy" Dixon, a Tutelo Elder, who went on to tell the history of the Tutelo Indians. In 1753, they settled a town called Coreorgonal near the Cayuga Lake inlet, just west of Buttermilk Falls. Having been displaced by other warring tribes, they had previously lived in Virginia before migrating to New York.

Moving north to what is now Ithaca, the Tutelos were "adopted" by the Cayuga Indians. They settled in a valley west of the Inlet, approximately three miles south of the lake. The land was fertile, and they successfully grew many crops.

In 1779, under the orders of George Washington, General Sullivan's army burned and razed much of the Cayugas' land, including the Tutelo village, in what is known as the Sullivan/Clinton Campaign. Most of the Tutelos managed to flee Coreorgonal before Sullivan's army arrived on September 24, 1779, destroying all their homes and crops. The Tutelos walked 120 miles to Fort Niagara, seeking refuge from the British, though hunger and scurvy plagued them that winter.

After the American Revolution, the remaining Tutelos scattered in several directions. By the early 1800s, most Cayugas were stripped of their land thanks to treaties that forced them onto reservations. Some settled in Canada, others in Ohio. One hundred years later their destruction was celebrated in a bi-centennial publication: "Here their council fire, fauned by the last expiring breath of a once brave and numerous people, was extinguished forever."

Today, however, the Tutelos are coming home, and the council fire has been reignited.

"Now with the dedication of Tutelo Park in Ithaca," says Airy, "We can come home in celebration and thanksgiving."

Tutelo Park

No one really knows how many Tutelos are living today, but Airy is on a quest to find them. He's traveled all over the East Coast and Canada in search of living relatives. And for the past several years, Airy and several others have been gathering at the site of what is now formally Tutelo Park to light the council fire.

In 1999, the Town of Ithaca resolved to name one of its future parks in commemoration of the Tutelos. Finally, after years of planning and several delays, Tutelo Park is a reality. To celebrate, organizers expanded the event into a two-day festival. On Saturday, members of neighboring tribes united with community members to dance, sing, and celebrate the new park. Sunday marked the traditional lighting of the council fire.

Cathy Valentino, Town of Ithaca Supervisor, and Lisa Ryerson, President of Wells College, unveiled a dedication sign at the celebration Saturday. Valentino said, "I'm really pleased that I've been able to help facilitate this wonderful dedication to the Tutelo Indians."

Many people worked together to help the town create the park, from historians and archeologists, to community activists and Tutelo Elders. The park includes a baseball diamond, a large pavilion with picnic tables, and a short hiking trail through the woods, leading to a clearing where the council fire is lit amidst a garden of native plants.

Marnie Kirchgesser, the Recreation and Youth coordinator for the Town of Ithaca, applied for and won the grant that enabled the park to get its legs. The grant came from the Tompkins County Tourism Program. "I thought [the idea of the park] was consistent with the board's philosophy," she says. "Respect for the Earth and living in harmony, and respect for this nation by renaming the park after the Tutelos."

She says that the Native Americans hope to build some sort of monument on the land.

Beautiful Day for a Festival

The festival itself was co-organized by several groups and supported by Ithaca College, William and Hobart Smith Colleges, and Wells College, who has traditionally hosted the Peachtown Festival—a Native American festival that, in previous years, took place the same weekend in September.

This year, the Tutelo Festival took the place of the Peachtown one. "It just seemed like the right time for all the co-collaborators to come together for this dedication," Ryerson explained. Many of the organizers [of Peachtown] would celebrate in Aurora on Saturday and then head down to Ithaca for the lighting of the Tutelo fire on Sunday. It's possible, Ryerson says, that the festival will be held every year at Tutelo Park, replacing Peachtown.

Brooke Hanson, the coordinator for Native American studies at Ithaca College and one of the organizers of the event, said she was thrilled with the turnout. "When I saw all those people gather for the round dance, I thought, 'We really pulled this off." The round dance involved traditional Native American drumming and singing. At least 150 people gathered around the large pavilion to hold hands and dance in unity and celebration.

Marcella Kane, a cornhusk doll maker who traveled from the Cattaraugus Reservation in Gowanda, about thirty miles south of Buffalo, agreed with Hanson's assessment. "I thought the festival was awesome," she said, as two girls watched intently as she made cornhusk dolls for them.

At the closing ceremony on Sunday, Airy gave thanks for all that is, explaining earlier that Tutelos give thanks for small things and take nothing for granted.

To see photos of the event, go to: http://ithacanews.org/gallery/index.htm?id=71

To submit more photos for the gallery, first email Elizabeth before sumbitting photos. Thank you.