Intertribal Life Newspaper -

ITHACA, N.Y.-For the first time in Cornell University's 154-year history, students have been able to take a class to learn the language of the Cayuga Nation, whose traditional territory is now home to Cornell's Ithaca campus.

The launch of the class in Fall 2019 coincided with the United Nations' declaration that 2019 was the Year of Indigenous Languages. Stephen Henhawk, a Cayuga speaker and historian, teaches the hands-on class, which focuses on the relationship of language and culture to plants and growing.

"A lot of our language is connected to nature, so many of the lessons will revolve around the planting cycle," said Henhawk, adding that the class will visit a traditional Cayuga garden that he planted at the Cornell Botanic Gardens. The plants there are grown from heirloom seeds his family saved from the Cayuga Lake region.

Central New York is home for the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy, of which the Cayuga Nation is a part. During the American Revolution, military campaigns destroyed major Cayuga villages, forcing many members of the nation to resettle with other Haudenosaunee Nations or move to Canada. Some Cayuga Nation members remained in the region; others have returned over the past 20-30 years.

"A lot has been written about our culture, but I wanted to give students an account from our own people," said Henhawk, who was immersed in the language and culture as a child raised by his Cayuga-speaking grandparents. "I feel really deeply connected to this geographic area. This needs to happen here."

Students in the Cayuga Language and Culture class receive basic language instruction and discuss Cayuga Nation culture, history and future, Henhawk said. The class has been offered in both the fall and spring semesters.

Jolene Rickard, director of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program and associate professor of art, history of art and visual studies, and John Whitman, professor of linguistics, is co-teacher of the class.

"We're not expecting students to become proficient in speaking in one semester, but we do want them to understand the key concepts in the language, which will help ensure they have the correct foundation to understand an indigenous language," Rickard said. "We're hoping they might want to take this up and pursue it further."

Cornell Chronicle

In the new Cayuga Nation class, students learn the language and discuss the history, culture and future of the Cayuga Nation.

The Cayuga language is going through a revitalization, Rickard said, because community leaders realize the need to make sure the language is carried on to the next generation. "People are deeply invested in maintaining the Haudenosaunee culture," Rickard said.

The Haudenosaunee, or Six Nations, are made up of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora nations, whose homelands are throughout New York and Canada.

"I think there's a generation of young people coming up who have had the benefit of language immersion programs and classes in their communities," Rickard said. "They are coming into adulthood with a working conversational vocabulary."

Henhawk said people in the Cayuga Nation realize the importance of outreach into the community.

"A lot of times we don't get our due," he said, "so this puts us out there and creates an awareness of what's going on with our people."

Kathy Hovis is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. News courtesy of the Cornell Chronicle.