Wild Center Hosts "Ways of Knowing" Celebration

Hundreds of people gathered at the Wild Center, located in Tupper Lake N.Y, to join the "Ways of Knowing" Celebration on July 7th. The Wild Center is located approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes always from Akwesasne, but the distance did not deter local community members from joining the celebration. The day was filled with activities, demonstrations, storytelling, exhibitions and tours all related to the Haudenosaunee culture.

The Wild Center recently partnered with the Akwesasne Cultural Center, the Six Nations Indian Museum and the Native North American Travelling College to share in telling the story of the Haudenosaunee. The "Ways of Knowing" Exhibit was officially opened to the public on May 25th, with their previous Oxbow, Living Wetland exhibit, being reinterpreted by Dave Fadden. Dave was able to transform the space into his interpretation of the Ohenton Kariwahtehkwen with his beautiful art work.

The Native North American Travelling College also has their sacred foods exhibit on display, and a real 'three sisters' garden growing just outside the building for visitors to be able to interact with.

The Akwesasne Cultural Center also has their "We are From Akwesasne" exhibit on display in the center of the exhibit floor alongside the Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge exhibit. The three travelling exhibits will be on display throughout the summer, with Dave Fadden's "Thanksgiving Address" exhibit on permanent display.

The celebration was a day full of learning and laughter, as people from all over the world were able to experience some of the Haudenosaunee culture. The event kicked off at 10am with local artists from Akwesasne selling their art and crafts. Dave Fadden had a table set up with artifacts for visitors to ask questions and learn; he also did storytelling. The "Ways of Knowing" interns, several of whom are individuals from Akwesasne, were able to help in many ways such as educating visitors throughout the exhibits and on edible food walks.

The NNATC held a social for everyone to participate in, which was really fun for everyone involved. The Village Lunch Stop and Catering was set up selling traditional Haudenosaunee food. Neil Patterson guided a canoe trip on the Racquette River. The was also a live demonstration of ash log pounding by Joey Arquette. Live basket making was done by Robin Lazore, who also held a sweetgrass bookmark workshop. There was definitely no shortage of entertainment and activities.

Executive Director, Stephanie Ratcliffe states "I am honoured that our partners collaborated with us to add this missing voice to the Wild Center. Offering different perspectives has been as integral part of our philosophy since opening, and the traditional ecological knowledge of the indigenous people enhances western science and the Wild Center. We hope that people are inspired to visit the other partner sites for additional Haudenosaunee experiences."

It was great to see Akwesasne included in the telling of our story. Mindful of cultural appropriation, the "Ways of Knowing" interns help out a lot when it comes to explaining and teaching the Wild Center staff what may be inappropriate or offensive. One young lady did an edible foods walk but did not feel comfortable speaking about the significance of certain plants to the Haudenosaunee culture. Instead she included one of the "Ways of Knowing" interns from Akwesasne to co-lead the Walk, which turned out to be more authentic and enriching.

If you get a chance to make it out to the Wild Center; it is free admission for anyone with a tribal ID or status card, has no set date when it will end and it's definitely worth the scenic drive.