Iroquois Nations to Discuss Spirituality at St. Bonaventure
Members of all six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy will gather for three days at St. Bonaventure University this week to “raise awareness of the true strength and power of Native spirituality,” said Lehman “Dar” Dowdy, conference organizer.
The first Iroquoian Spiritual Conference begins Thursday, with Friday and Saturday events open to the public. As many as 200 members of the six Iroquois nations — Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora — are expected to attend, said Stephen Gordon, speaker coordinator for the event.
“We even have a couple of Oneidas coming from as far as Green Bay, Wis.,” Gordon said.
The conference, Gordon said, hopes to address a problem not specific to Indian nations — the erosion of spirituality.
“The basic intent is to help people foster an awareness of their spirituality, and to show how bolstering spirituality can enhance a person’s own well-being,” Gordon said. “I think that’s a lesson not just for us, but for the general public.”
In a powerful letter to Iroquois members promoting the conference, Dowdy, chief executive officer of the Faithkeepers School in Steamburg, stressed his desire “to find a way to help our people, to give them the spiritual strength to better themselves, their families and their communities.”
Said Dowdy: “I do not recommend a return to the ‘old ways’; history will not allow us to go backwards. I’m recommending a going forward with our language, culture and traditions firmly preserved and rooted in our communities.”
Dowdy said it’s critical that the Iroquois “come together again as a community, as an extended family of caregivers” to help reverse the trends of cultural persecution, prejudice, relocation, substance abuse, and health disorders that have plagued the nations.
The public portion of the conference begins Friday morning, with speakers from several nations taking the Quick Center for the Arts theater stage from 9 a.m. until noon. A speaker panel with a question-and-answer period will be held from 1-4 p.m. Social dancing will take place in Butler Memorial Gym from 7-10 p.m.
Saturday features a conference recap and open discussions from 9-11 a.m. in the Quick Center.
The final event of the conference is an Iroquois blessing of St. Bonaventure and its president, Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Quick Center. The blessing was supposed to be given at Sr. Margaret’s inauguration in 2004, but an illness prevented it from happening.
There in no charge to attend the lectures, panel discussion or social dancing. Lunches and dinners are reserved for the conference members.
The first Iroquoian Spiritual Conference begins Thursday, with Friday and Saturday events open to the public. As many as 200 members of the six Iroquois nations — Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora — are expected to attend, said Stephen Gordon, speaker coordinator for the event.
“We even have a couple of Oneidas coming from as far as Green Bay, Wis.,” Gordon said.
The conference, Gordon said, hopes to address a problem not specific to Indian nations — the erosion of spirituality.
“The basic intent is to help people foster an awareness of their spirituality, and to show how bolstering spirituality can enhance a person’s own well-being,” Gordon said. “I think that’s a lesson not just for us, but for the general public.”
In a powerful letter to Iroquois members promoting the conference, Dowdy, chief executive officer of the Faithkeepers School in Steamburg, stressed his desire “to find a way to help our people, to give them the spiritual strength to better themselves, their families and their communities.”
Said Dowdy: “I do not recommend a return to the ‘old ways’; history will not allow us to go backwards. I’m recommending a going forward with our language, culture and traditions firmly preserved and rooted in our communities.”
Dowdy said it’s critical that the Iroquois “come together again as a community, as an extended family of caregivers” to help reverse the trends of cultural persecution, prejudice, relocation, substance abuse, and health disorders that have plagued the nations.
The public portion of the conference begins Friday morning, with speakers from several nations taking the Quick Center for the Arts theater stage from 9 a.m. until noon. A speaker panel with a question-and-answer period will be held from 1-4 p.m. Social dancing will take place in Butler Memorial Gym from 7-10 p.m.
Saturday features a conference recap and open discussions from 9-11 a.m. in the Quick Center.
The final event of the conference is an Iroquois blessing of St. Bonaventure and its president, Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Quick Center. The blessing was supposed to be given at Sr. Margaret’s inauguration in 2004, but an illness prevented it from happening.
There in no charge to attend the lectures, panel discussion or social dancing. Lunches and dinners are reserved for the conference members.
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