Six Nations Indian Museum

The Six Nations Indian Museum provides for the viewing of 3000-plus artifacts with an emphasis on the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy; story telling lectures as visitors dictate; gift shop carries Mohawk baskets, bead work, jewelry, soapstone carving, cards, and acrylic paintings reflecting Six Nations Iroquois culture. Season and Hours Open
Open July-August, 10AM-5PM, Tues.-Sun. (closed Mon.), open by appointment to groups during June, and September.
Don’t Miss This When Visiting
Extensive beaded pictographic belts created by the museum’s founder, Ray Fadden, including the 75′ long belt depicting the epic story of the founding of the Haudenosaunee/Six Iroquois Nations Confederacy. Dugout canoe from Lake Placid, centuries old Iroquois/Mohawk pottery bowl from near Silver Lake, educational charts, birch bark canoes, and many other items. There are also modest outdoor displays.

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Identify And Describe The Management Organization
The museum is a family creation, and is currently operated by third generation of Fadden family members.

Suggested Further Reading
A List of publications concerning Native American Indians with an
emphasis on the Haudenosaunee (Six Iroquois Nations Confederacy):

Akwesasne Notes, ed. Basic Call to Consciousness, Rooseveltown, NY:
Akwesasne Notes, 1986. Reprinted by Book Publishing Co.
Haudenosaunee philosophical/spiritual/political priorities as
expressed in presentations to the Non-governmental Organizations of
the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland in September of 1977.

Arden, Harvey. “The Fire That Never Dies”. National Geographic
172:3 (September 1987) 375-403.
Overview of Haudenosaunee history and contemporary realities.

Barreiro, Jose, ed. Indian Roots of American Democracy. special
edition: Northeast Indian Quarterly. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University,
1988.
Evidences supporting Haudenosaunee influences upon the US
Constitution presented by various scholars at a Cornell University
symposium during September 1987.

Barreiro, Jose and Carol Cornelius. Knowledge of the Elders: The
Iroquois Condolence Cane Tradition. Northeast Indian Quarterly.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1991.
Traditions and symbolism in the Haudenosaunee condolence
traditions, and explanations of various wampum belts and wampum
strings.

Bonvillain, Nancy. Hiawatha: Founder of the Iroquois Confederacy.
New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1992.
Junior High and High School level presentation of the epic story
of the foundation of the Haudenosaunee, League of the Iroquois.

Bruchac, Joseph. The Wind Eagle and Other Abenaki Stories.
Greenfield Center, NY: Bowman Books, 1985.
Collection of stories of the Algonquin speaking Abenaki.

Bruchac, Joseph, ed. New Voices From The Longhouse. Greenfield
Center, NY: The Greenfield Review Press, 1989.
Collection of poems, short stories and essays by contemporary
Haudenosaunee writers.

Caduto, Michael J. and Joseph Bruchac. Keepers of the Earth: Native
American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children. Golden,
CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 1988.

Collection of Native American stories from across the country
accompanied by “lesson plans” relating to the topic expressed in each
story.

Caduto, Michael J. and Joseph Bruchac. Keepers of the Animals:
Native American Stories and Wildlife Activities for Children. Golden,
CO: Fulcrum Publishing,1991.
Collection of Native American stories from across the country
accompanied by “lesson plans” relating to the topic expressed in each
story, with an emphasis on animals.

Campisi, Jack and Laurence M. Hauptman. The Oneida Experience:
Two Perspectives. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1988.
Academic monographs concerning the Oneida Nation.

Churchill, Ward M. A Little Matter of Genocide. San Francisco, CA:
City Lights Books, 1997.
Churchill “explores the history of holocaust and denial in this
hemisphere, beginning with the arrival of Columbus and continuing on
into the present.”

Churchill, Ward. M. Annette Jaimes, ed. Fantasies of The Master Race.
Monroe, MA: Common Courage Press, 1992.
Assimilation/Genocide of Native Americans and the role of
literature, film, & cultural stereotyping from within America as it has
replaced “…troops and guns as the relevant tool of colonization.”

Colden, Cadwallader. History of the Five Nations. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press, 1980 reprint.
A reprint of a 1727 (Part I) and 1747 (Part II) eye-witness
description of Haudenosaunee government, culture and other
observations by the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New York.

Cornelius, Carol. The Six Nations Series. Ithaca, NY: American
Indian Program Cornell University, 1990.
A brief description and history of each of the nations of the
Haudenosaunee with maps, and description of contemporary realities
with indications of present day reservations.

Deloria, Vine Jr. Red Earth White Lies: Native Americans and The Myth
of Scientific Fact. New York, NY: Scribner, 1995.
A Native scholar’s critical view of some of the assumptions about
Native America “proven” by methods of western scholarship and the
scientific method, delicately spiced with humor.

Fenton, William, ed. Parker on the Iroquois. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse
University Press, 1968.
Three monographs by Arthur C. Parker published during the
early 20th Century which deal with the
Haudenosaunee use of corn and other food plants, the teachings
of the Seneca prophet, Handsome Lake, and a version of the
Kaianerekowa (Iroquois Constitution, Great Law of Peace).

George-Kanentiio, Douglas M. and Joanne Shenandoah-
Tekalihkwa:khwa. Skywoman: Legends of the Iroquois. Santa Fe, NM:
Clear Light Publishers, 1998.
Traditional stories of the Haudenosasunee as told by Doug
George (Mohawk) and his wife, Joanne Shenandoah (Oneida).
Illustrated by David Fadden (Mohawk) and his father, John Fadden
(Mohawk).

George-Kanentiio, Douglas M. Iroquois Culture & Commentary.
Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers, 2000.
From the backcover: an “…insiders view of Iroquois history,
culture, and traditions—from the founding of the Great Law of Peace
narely a thousand years ago to the current movement to revitalize
cultural traditions and recover some portion of the lost homelands.”

George-Kanentiio, Douglas M. Iroquois on Fire: A Voice From The
Mohawk Nation. Westport, CT, Praeger Publishers, 2006.
This book speaks a bit about the history of the Haudenosasunee,
Akwesasne, Ray Fadden, land claims, court decisions, Oneida,
Akwesasne Collapse (1990), “Warriors,” and the 1990 events including
the fight at Davey George’s on and before May 1.

Graymont, Barbara, ed. Fighting Tuscarora: The Autobiography of
Chief Clinton Rickard. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1973.
Biography of Clinton Rickard, Tuscarora, and his important role
as a contemporary “warrior” defending the rights of his people and
others of the Haudenosaunee against Canada, United States and New
York State.

Grinde, Donald A. The Iroquois and the Founding of the American
Nation. San Francisco, CA: Indian Historian Press, 1973.
Evidences the influences upon the United States Constitution by
the Haudenosaunee.

Grinde, Donald A., and Bruce E. Johansen. Exemplar of Liberty:
Native America and the Evolution of Democracy. Los Angeles,CA:
University of Los Angeles, American Indian Studies Center, 1991.
Compilation of the works of two scholars from divergent trails
who speak of the influences upon the thinking of the founding fathers
of the United States Constitution.

Grinde, Donald A., and Bruce E. Johansen. Ecocide of Native America:
Environmental Destruction of Indian Lands & Peoples. Santa Fe, NM:
Clear Light Publishers, 1995.
Environmental degradations of contemporary society and their
effects on Native American lands.

Hauptman, Lawrence. The Iroquois Struggle for Survival: World War
II to Red Power. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1986.
Political, governmental, and other intrusions from beyond
Haudenosaunee territories during the period of the late 1940’s into the
1970’s, and the defensive reactions of the People.

Hutchens, Alma R. “Indian Herbalogy of North America”. Boston, MA:
Shambhala, 1991.
An illusrated encyclopedic guide to more than two hundred
medicinal plants found in North American. Native American traditions
are compared with traditional uses of the same plants among other
cultures including China & Russia.

Jaimes, M. Annette, Ed. The State of Native America. Boston, MA:
South End Press, 1992.
A collection of essays by noted Native American authors, from
Vine Deloria, Jr. to John Mohawk, exploring
the circumstances confronted by Native people in the US,
including treaty rights, international status, land & fishing rights,
demography, self-governance, identity, education, spiritual
hucksterism and other topics.

Jemison, G. Peter and Anna M. Schein. Treaty of Canandaigua, 1794.
Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers, 2000.
Articles by a group of Haudenosaunee leaders & scholars. This
book tells the complex and intriguing story of he Six nations and their
relationship with the United States over the 200-year period folloiwing
the American Revolution. Lands have been lost in violation of this
treaty and the struggle continues.

Jennings, Francis. The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism and
the Cant of Conquest. New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company,
1975.
The painful fate of the New England Natives subsequent to the
intrusion of Europeans including “…a land made waste by the diseases
and demoralization introduced by the newcomers.” The events
presented within this publication were repeated across this country
from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Johannsen, Christina B. and John P. Ferguson. Iroquois Arts:
A directory of a People and Their Work. Warnerville, NY: The
Association for the Advancement of Native North American Arts and
Crafts, 1983.
Illustration of continued artistic expression by Haudenosaunee in
the form of beadwork, sculpture, basketry, painting, and other
creative expressions of Native culture.

Johansen, Bruce E. Forgotten Founders: Benjamin Franklin, The
Iroquois and the Rationale for the American Revolution. Boston, MA:
The Harvard Common Press, 1982.
Evidences the influences upon the United States Constitution by
the Haudenosaunee.

Johansen, Bruce E. Life & Death In Mohawk Country. Golden, Co:
North American Press, 1993.
A careful analysis of the many factors that caused death &
destruction in 1989-1990 within the Mohawk community of Akwesasne.

Keoke, Emory Dean and Kay Marie Porterfield. Encyclopedia Of
American Indian Contributions To The World. Facts On File, NYC, 2002
From the back cover: “…a comprehensive resource to the
numerous inventions and innovations made by American Indians.”
“…many do not know that 75 percent of the varieties of food grown in
the world today are indigenous to North, Meso-, and South America.”
“…includes more than 450 entries of offerings made by the indigenous
people of the Americas…”

Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American
History Textbook Got Wrong. New York, NY: The New Press, 1995.
Author’s discovery of, in respect to information in history text
books, “…embarrassing amalgam of bland optimism, blind patriotism,
and misinformation pure and simple.” This book includes examples
of the twisted lies and half-truths about Native America, and other
inaccurate presentations of American history.

Lyons, Oren and John Mohawk, eds. Exiled in The Land of The Free:
Democracy, Indian Nations, and The U.S. Constitution. Santa Fe: Clear
Light Publishers, 1992.
Essays by Native and non-Native scholars reflecting
Haudenosaunee history and culture, and the issue of influences upon
the US Constitution.

Maracle, David. Let’s Speak Mohawk, #AFMH10.
Three audio cassettes and a 112-page book . A beginning-level
course in conversational Mohawk with pronunciation, grammar,
structures and vocabulary: One Thousand Useful Mohawk Words
Dictionary. Further information may be gathered from the following:
Audio-Forum
Suite LA90A
96 Broad St.
Guilford, CT 06437
1-800-243-1234
website:http://audioforum.com/index.php?crn=3468&start=2

Morgan, Lewis H. League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee or Iroquois. 1851.
New York, NY: Corinth Books, 1962 reprint.
Mid-19th Century ethnological study of Haudenosaunee written
by Lewis Morgan with much input from the Seneca, Ely Parker.

Porter, Joy. Land and Spirit in Native America. Oxford, England:
Praeger, 2012.
When white Europeans first encountered Native American
cultures, they often regarded Indian ideas about the earth and the
spiritual world as evidence of their ignorance and primitive society.
Now, traditional Indian wisdom that emphasizes the importance of
maintaining balance within specific places is especially valuable and
relevant as we grapple with sweeping environmental changes.” (from
book cover).

Reid, Gerald F. Mohawk Territory: a Cultural Geography.
Kahnawake, Quebec: Center for Curriculum Development, 1981.
A geographical and geological text concerning the earth with an
emphasis on the Northeast with Native priorities and attitudes
expressed.

Slapin, Beverly and Doris Seale. Through Indian Eyes: The Native
Experience in Books for Children. Philadelphia, PA: New Society
Publishers, 1992.

Collection of articles regarding ‘books about Indians’ from a
Native perspective allowing teachers, parents, and librarians to
understand subtle stereotypes & mythology about Natives in children’s
literature.

Schaaf, Gregory. Wampum Belts & Peace Trees. Golden, CO:
Fulcrum Publishing, 1990.
Schaaf, using previously unknown papers of Colonel George
Morgan, weaves a story of Native Nations of the northeast and their
response to the gathering war clouds of the Revolutionary War.

Stannard, David E. American Holocaust. New York. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1992.
The word ‘holocaust’ brings mind Nazi Germany, ethnic
cleansing in the former Yugoslavia, and the atrocities committed in
contemporary Rowanda…David Stannard’s study informs readers that
a holocaust occurred in the Americas as well, and there were millions
of victims between 1492 and 1890.

Swamp, Jake. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning
Message. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books, Inc., 1995.
The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address designed for the
reading level of children with colorful illustrations by the Tuscarora
painter, Irwin Printup, Jr.

Stokes, John, and Dan Thompson. Thanksgiving Address: Greetings
to the Natural World, Corrales, NM, The Tracking Project, nd.
A pocket-size edition expressing the basic essence of the
Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, illustrated, and with
translations from English to Mohawk by Dan Thompson.

Tehanetorens (Ray Fadden), Legends of the Iroquois, Summertown,
TN: The Book Publishing Company, 1998.
Reprint of story pamphlets that were originally published in the
late 1930s and 1940s by Ray Fadden. These ancient Haudenosaunee
stories are presented in pictographs with English translation, plus they
are supported by illustrations by the author’s son, John Kahionhes
Fadden.

Tehanetorens (Ray Fadden), Wampum Belts of the Iroquois,
Summertown, TN: The Book Publishing Company, 1999 reprint.
A brief history of wampum usage and it’s beginnings among the
Haudenosaunee with photographs of students of the Indian Way
School holding replicas of important Haudenosaunee wampum belts

and strings. Text provides descriptions of the meanings of each piece
and how they fit into the history of the Haudenosaunee.

Tehanetorens (Ray Fadden), Roots of the Iroquois, Summertown, TN:
The Book Publishing Company, 2000 reprint.
A glimpse into the historical underpinnings of the Six Nations
Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee). The Confederacy was
established to bring about peace among the Mohawks, Oneidas,
Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas with the Tuscaroras joining later.
The Confederacy’s principles have been inspirational to many with its
freedoms of speech, of belief, and equal representation for all
(including women).

Trigger, Bruce G. ed. Volume 15 Northeast Handbook of North
American Indians. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press,
1978.
Informative academic treatment of Native Nations of the
northeast.

Venables, Robert W., American Indian History: Five Centuries of
Conflict & Coexistence, two volumes. Clear Light Publishing, Santa Fe,
NM, 2004
“…chronicles the dynamic process of interaction among Indian
nations, Europeans and the United States during the past five
centuries.”

Wagner, Sally Roesch. Sisters In Spirit: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)
Influence on Early American Feminists. Summertown, TN, Native
Voices, Book Publishing Company, 2001.
This publication details the Native American influences upon the
American woman’s rights movement. From the back
cover: “Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women fired the revolutionary
vision of early feminists by providing a model of freedom for women at
a time when EuroAmerican women experienced few rights.”

Wallace, Paul A. W. The White Roots of Peace. 1946. Santa Fe, NM:
Clear Light Publications, 1994 reprint.
A classic gem concerning the underpinnings of the
Haudenosaunee…the epic story of the formation of the Confederacy
nurtured to fruition by the Peacemaker and Aionwatha.

Wandering Bull. POBox 496, Washington, NH 03280
www.wanderingbull.com

Suppliers of beads, leather, thread, feathers, and all sorts of
interesting materials for those interested in making Okwehonwe
things.

Weatherford, Jack. Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas
Transformed the World. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1988.
Gifts to the world in the form of food plants (3/5 of what we eat
today), medicines, government, inventions and other innovations
native to the western hemisphere have improved living conditions
throughout the world.

Weatherford, Jack. Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched America.
New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1991.
Native cultures, deeply rooted in American soil, have influenced
the transplanted European society in language, heritage and cultural
elements which has evolved into the modern America we know today.

Williams, Ted. The Reservation. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University
Press, 1976.
A novel which takes place during the first half of the 20th
Century written with the indelible stamp of Native culture and reality.

Wright, Ronald. Stolen Continents. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1992
Tragedies of the Americas since 1492. A gut-wrenching account
of man’s inhumanity to man rendered by the voices of the victims in
expression of the diabolic truth of the European invasion.

Some of these publications, and others, may be acquired from the
following sources:

Akwesasne Notes Book Store
Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne
POBox 366
Hogansburg, NY 13655
tele: (518) 358-3381
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.mohawknation.org/

Additional Notes And Comments
Brief history of the museum is on the museum’s website, www.sixnationsindianmuseum.com, along with other information including photographic images and art.

Fees
yes
ADA Accessible
yes
Site is Child-friendly
yes
Site is Pet-friendly
yes