Pete Seeger/Joanne Shenandoah Pay Homage to Ray Fadden-Tehanetorens at Clearwater

Folksinger and environment protector Pete Seeger, 92, joined Oneida performer Joanne Shenandoah to pay homage to the late Ray Fadden-Tehanetorens as one of the great teachers of the 20th century.

Fadden was acknowledged as one of the early environmentalists who inspired generations of Mohawks as a teacher, writer and outspoken advocate for the rights of the natural world.

Seeger said he had visited with Fadden a number of times beginning in the 1940’s when the Mohawks had a performing group which toured the Hudson River area.  He said Fadden took his students on long excursions in his station wagon to visit the important historical sites in the east as well as to meet with other native nations to renew the old ways based upon a respect for the natural world.

Seeger was speaking at the annual Clearwater Festival on the Hudson River June 18 at a special blessing of the waters ceremony featuring Joanne Shenandoah and Margo Thunderbird of the Shinnecock Nation.

He cited Fadden as one of his great inspirations and told the audience gathered at Croton Point Park, the site of the Festival, about how the Mohawks had joined with the other Iroquois nations to establish the Haudenosaunee Confederacy on the shores of Onondaga Lake, an epic event in human history.

Seeger said the Peacemaker had found a way to end wars among nations with his message given power when the moon came between the earth and the sun with that eclipse predicted by the prophet.

Seeger’s remarks were followed by the singing of a Seneca social dance song with Shenandoah and Thunderbird in harmony.  Shenandoah then sang a Fish Dance with had the crowd dancing along the banks of the river to honour the animals which lived on, near or beneath the waters.

Shenandoah was also featured at the Rainbow Stage on June 19 as one of the main performers for the Festival. Other singers included Arlo Guthrie, John Sebastian, the Indigo Girls, David Amram, Dar Williams, Suzanne Vega, Tom Chapin and Janis Ian.

Tens of thousands of people attended the two day event which had performance venues for children, folk dancing, political activists and environmentalists. Dozens of craftspeople were able to show their goods alongside a food market, green living expo and a waterfront harbor with sailing vessels including the Clearwater sloop, Seeger’s research ship for the study of the Hudson River.

Shenandoah’s performance was highlighted by a new song “We Will Rise Up” which acknowledges the present ecological changes with the affirmation that human beings will endure.  Her hour long set had an environmental theme which was central to Seeger’s decades long efforts to clean up the Hudson River.