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Shenandoah-Kirkland Initiative connects with the Oneida Indian Nation

By Rylee Carrillo-Wagner ’19

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Before Hamilton College was Hamilton College, it was the Hamilton-Oneida Academy, founded by Samuel Kirkland with the intention of being a school for Anglo-American and American Indian students to study together. The Oneida Nation community gifted the land to Kirkland for free in order to create the school. However, when the school was finally up and running, only two students were American Indian; by the time Kirkland passed away, there were no American Indian students in attendance. In 1812, the Hamilton-Oneida Academy became chartered as Hamilton College, leaving little remembrance of Hamilton’s founding history.

In response, last spring Christina Florakis ’19 and Lilly Pieper ’18 began to develop an initiative to remember this history; this fall, the two founded the Shenandoah-Kirkland Initiative. Pieper’s idea for the name came from the friendship between Chief Shenandoah and Samuel Kirkland. Shenandoah gifted Kirkland this land with the intention of creating a co-learning space for their two communities. The two are now buried beside one another, per Shenandoah’s request. Florakis commented that “we’re basically trying to do what they intended to do in the first place,” and emphasizes the two main goals of the initiative: “to raise awareness of our history—to be aware and appreciative of the past—and to connect with the Oneida community.” Florakis adds, “It’s pretty much a historical disgrace so we’re trying to fix that.” Students Molly Clark ’19, David Gagnidze ’20 and Cedar Weyker ’17 have all joined Florakis and Pieper on the Initiative’s e-board. All members emphasize the vital role which Chaplain Jeff McArn, the club advisor, has played in developing the group and creating a relationship with the Oneida Nation community. Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Meredith Moss also aided the initiative by debriefing the group on the college’s historical relationship with the Oneida Nation, providing insight into the administration’s perspective as well. Gagnidze commented, “I think we owe it to Hamilton itself to know its history… we can’t separate it from the Oneida community—this is their land that they gave to us.”

On Friday, Feb. 3, a group of about 30 Hamilton students, three faculty members, one staff member and some of their families gathered together. They loaded into jitneys, other college vehicles and personal cars to head over to the Oneida Nation reservation a mere twenty minutes away from campus to 20 in the Nation’s bi-monthly social dance. After the dance Florakis reflected, “I was tentative at first—we had more Hamilton students than Oneida Nation community members—but they were so accepting and welcoming! They gave an intro for us and throughout the night everyone I talked to expressed how appreciative they were that we came and that we care.” Gagnidze added, “This beats any party on campus… it was like you were going into their family… because of their welcoming gesture to allow to dance and share in their tradition. They understood how significant it was. I felt like I was a part of their culture almost… it was a very intimate setting… I think we owe it to them to welcome them here too.”

Welcoming the Oneida Nation community members here is in fact a high priority for the Shenandoah-Kirkland Initiative. The board members, along with McArn, met with Kandice Watson, director of education and cultural outreach for the Oneida Indian Nation, to hear her perspective on how the initiative can have the most positive impacts possible. Watson suggested a co-mentor program with the Oneida youths. She explained that many Oneida Nation members used to have a government stipend, so going to school or having a job was not necessary. However, members can currently only receive the stipend if they are employed or are a full time student. Consequently, many youth members are now left without an education or professional skills. Watson suggested that they could pair up with Hamilton students who could show them the resources available on campus, such as the Career Center, in order to connect with them and be a source of motivation.

Florakis explains, however, that the board also thought that while “mentorship is a good idea… we want a co-learning space. A space where we can learn together. We can teach them about our resources but also learn from them about their history and culture.” Gagnidze added that “we want them to come on campus to make them comfortable—they don’t really feel welcome here… as result of old relationships with previous administrations. We hope to get them motivated, get their perspective changed and show them that Hamilton is actually a resource for them.” Gagnidze also commented that “you go to college and it’s a bubble from the space around it… colleges shouldn’t be promoting this sense of separate entities. This expands the scope of students’ experiences, it teaches us and is a great opportunity to have a cross cultural experience.”

All of the e-board members share the belief that connecting with the surrounding indigenous population is vital. Florakis noted that Watson “informed us that there’s a large want in the community for Hamilton to connect with Oneida but no action has been taken before.” Weyker also points out the lack of conversation around the political issues embedded within Hamilton’s foundation. She explained that “it’s a legacy that these kind of colleges built off of boarding schools for American Indians… we can take classes on colonialism and American history and conveniently ignore our own part in it.” Florakis contributes, “there’s apathy towards different communities that’s directly related to how we deal with history… Oneida’s been waiting for Hamilton in a sense,” to recognize that history and reconnect with that knowledge in mind.

The group has a long term goal to get “the administration to recognize Hamilton’s history and create a structure to help Oneida members go to Hamilton,” but for now, the group is seeking more recognition on campus. They have developed a Facebook page, are planning to attend more social dances to allow more Hamilton students to partake in the experience, and are starting their colearning program this semester. In fact, this Saturday, Feb. 11, they are hosting a sensitivity training in hopes to enable students to create, in Weyker’s words, “a positive relationship as a non-native person, preparing and educating you as a colonizer… and developing practices that will lead to a positive experience.”

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