Oren Lyons

I have spoken about Oren Lyons in couple of my writings now because I find him to be a fascinating and unique individual as well as charismatic. Oren Lyons is Faith keeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation since 1967. Lyons has led a distinguished life and has had exposure to both life styles of the white and the Indian Nation. Lyons attended Syracuse University on an athletic scholarship. He is a lifelong lacrosse player for which he speaks in depth about in his Bill Moyers documentary. I didn’t know that lacrosse dates very far back and was originated by the Indians  and is referred to as “The Creators Game”  but it does makes sense that most games we play today came from some tradition many years ago. Lyons graduated Syracuse with a degree in fine arts and worked in New York City for many years.

Lyons is an advocate for Indigenous Rights and has returned back to the Onondaga Tribe in upstate New York after his very successful art career. Lyons speaks of the great peace and about morality and goodness. He speaks of unity and makes a comparison to 1 arrow vs. a bundle of arrows. One arrow can easily be broken but 5 arrows tied together are very difficult to break. Lyons discusses spirituality and expressed that he feels the United States has lost its spirituality. One other interesting point is that the Indians have a deep connection to earth and indicates his feelings that the white man is somewhat short sited and thinks in terms of time in the human being and not the mountain. In other words, we are not conscious of our implications environmentally and the effect it will have on our children and future generations.

Another critical issue Lyons speaks to is the issue of tradition and culture. Lyons indicates that when the language and the people are destroyed, so goes the knowledge, traditions and customs of those people. I thought is 1 hour video was insightful, spiritual and very positive. As he returned to his life on the reservation and reconnected with his people, he also reconnected with his strong customs and connection to all things in nature. Great clip and I encourage all to watch.

                                                                                                NOTES

https://www.syr.edu/alumni/awards/arentsawards/oren-lyons.html

https://vimeo.com/63824649