Central New Yorkers looking for a way through today’s turbulent times can seek some context in a series that explores the principles of democracy embedded in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
The talk show is calledRematriated Voices, and is hosted by founder of Rematriation Michelle Schenandoah. The series is in the middle of its five episode run on WCNY Public TV. Schenandoah, a member of the Onʌyota’:aka (Oneida) Nation Wolf Clan, said her interviews tap the perspectives of Indigenous leaders who provide more to think about in these uncertain times.
“That's something actually that the Haudenosaunee do have as a very powerful story is moving through our own turbulent and dark times and then being able to be united in peace between multiple nations, multiple clans, multiple contingencies, multiple perspectives,” she said.
Many don’t realize the roots of the U.S. Constitution are inspired by Indigenous people and culture, Schenandoah said.
“It's not some wild part of the imagination and some like dream world that, oh, we can have a relationship with the Mother Earth and we can have a relationship with each other that's peaceful," she said. "We can agree to disagree and still be at peace with each other. I can still call you a friend.”
Schenandoah said there’s also much to be learned from the matrilineal foundation of Haudenosaunee governance and culture. One episode features a discussion with three men who were raised in it.
“A lot of men might think that could be very intimidating. They could potentially be fearful of something like that," Schenandoah said. "But yet you see these men who live into the fullness of being leaders within the community. They are able to express their own masculinity through fatherhood, through sports, through their professional fields.”
The third episode of Rematriated Voices airs Saturday evening at 8 p.m. on WCNY. The series continues Saturday nights through November, during Native American Heritage Month.
The series is produced in collaboration with Access Audio, a storytelling initiative from the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University Libraries. It's available for streaming on PBS, and also through companion podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and all major podcast platforms.
