Bucknell University Athletics
Iroquois Faithkeeper Oren Lyons Visits Bucknell, Participates in Ceremonial Planting of Peace Tree Outside Langone Athletics & Recreation Center
11/6/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Nov. 6, 2003
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and one of the world's most prominent indigenous leaders, joined Bucknell head men's lacrosse coach Sid Jamieson last Friday, October 31, for a ceremonial planting of a Peace Tree just outside the Kenneth G. Langone Athletics & Recreation Center.
An active leader in international indigenous rights and other international forms, Lyons was an All-America goalie at Syracuse University in the late 1950s and was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1992. Ten years earlier, Lyons and Jamieson helped found what is today the Iroquois National Team - Lyons as the executive director and Jamieson as the team's first head coach.
"At the time Syracuse was winning national championships with some tremendous Native Americans, who mere making All-America," recalls Jamieson, a frequent lecturer himself on Native American issues. "But the Nations were not being recognized, and soon an organization and structure was culled into the Iroquois National Lacrosse Program. That led into the first event, which was the 1984 World Games in Los Angeles, when the International Lacrosse Federation was invited to participate in pre-Olympic cultural events."
Lyons, whose grandson Montgomery is a second-year student at Bucknell, is an associate professor of American studies at SUNY Buffalo and publishes "Daybreak," a national Native American news magazine. On his visit to Bucknell last week, he delivered a talk called "Sacred Places and Our Responsibility to the Future: Contemporary Indigenous Voices."
Bucknell junior Daryl Seymour, a defenseman on the Bison lacrosse team, played for the Iroquois National Team at the 2002 World Games and had a chance to meet Lyons during his recent visit to campus.
With their lacrosse backgrounds providing the backbone of a longtime friendship, Lyons and Jamieson helped plant the Peace Tree, which according to Jamieson is one of the oldest symbols of democracy in the world. The Peace Tree is specifically a white pine, the same species under which native people came to a peace agreement many years ago.
"It was a tremendous honor to have Chief Oren Lyons come to the Bucknell campus and take part in such an important celebration," said John Hardt, director of athletics and recreation. "Not only is he a legend in the sport of lacrosse, but he has taken a foremost leadership role on global issues of much greater significance."
Having a man of Lyons' stature on hand was a memorable experience for Jamieson. "To me, it is the equivalent of the President of the United States coming over for dinner, then being nice enough to come down and say a few words and help us plant a tree of peace," said Jamieson, who is Bucknell's only men's lacrosse coach in the 36-year history of the program.
"As the Faithkeeper, his responsibility is to ensure that the history, culture and language of his nation continues to exist," said Jamieson. "That's a powerful thing. Even though he is who he is, he is still family. That's why he likes and is willing to come to the Bucknell campus. He has a strong philosophical bond with people that have a burning interest in spirituality and ecology - people such as [Bucknell professors of religion] John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker."
