Sacred Spaces that Tell the Indigenous Stories of the Finger Lakes
Living on Haudenosaunee land, it is our responsibility to share their stories with accuracy, humility, and respect every day.
Before this place was called New York, before borders, deeds, and state lines, there was a confederacy of nations bound by peace. The Haudenosaunee, the People of the Longhouse, created a government rooted in balance between men and women, between nations, and between humanity and the natural world.
Their Great Law of Peace was a constitution built on listening, respect, and shared responsibility. Long before the United States existed, the Haudenosaunee lived the values America later claimed as its own. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness came to this country through conquest and annihilation. Villages were burned, councils scattered, and crops destroyed.
But the Haudenosaunee never disappeared. They remain on this land, united in their culture, protecting the earth, and reminding all of us that democracy, sustainability, and justice were born here long before anyone called it the “United States of America.”
The following locations hold more than history. They are living grounds that remember peace, loss, and survival.
1. Ganondagan State Historic Site and Bare Hill Unique Area
Victor and Middlesex, Ontario and Yates Counties
Ganondagan was a thriving seventeenth-century Seneca town known as the Town of Peace. The site is directly tied to the Great Law of Peace and to Jikonsaseh, the Peace Mother.
Here, the Great Law of Peace was lived, not only spoken. It guided relationships among nations, honored clan mothers, and placed responsibility to future generations at the center of civic life. The French destroyed Ganondagan in 1687 under Governor General Denonville as part of their campaign against the Seneca, but they could not erase its spirit.
Today, the reconstructed Longhouse and the Seneca Art and Culture Center welcome visitors into a living story. Trails through meadow and forest invite reflection and respect for the people who first called this place home.
A short distance away, Bare Hill rises above the eastern shore of Canandaigua Lake. According to Seneca oral tradition, this is a sacred place of origin and renewal. Long ago a great serpent, known as Genundowa or Nun-do-wah, threatened the village on its slopes. A young warrior answered the call to defend his people and defeated the creature. The scar left on the hillside gave the place its name.
Each year on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, a ceremonial fire is lit on Bare Hill that begins the Ring of Fire around Canandaigua Lake — a thanksgiving for peace and harvest that traces back to ancient Seneca rituals. Standing there at dusk, watching the shoreline glow, it is impossible not to feel the story come alive.
2. Newtown Battlefield State Park
Elmira, Chemung County
In 1779 General George Washington ordered the Sullivan-Clinton campaign to destroy Haudenosaunee villages and crops in an effort to break their alliance with the British. The Battle of Newtown was the turning point. The Continental Army defeated Haudenosaunee warriors and their allies, then burned more than forty towns and destroyed vast harvests that had sustained the people for generations.
Washington was given the name Conotocaurius, the Town Destroyer, a title that carried forward to every president who followed.
Today, the battlefield is quiet. Grasses and wildflowers cover the ground where families once lived. Interpretation at the park now includes Native perspectives, acknowledging both the devastation of the campaign and the survival of the nations who endured it.
3. Letchworth State Park, Council Grounds
Castile and Portage, Livingston and Wyoming Counties
Within the gorge of the Genesee River stands the Seneca Council House and the gravesite of Mary Jemison, known to the Seneca as Dehgewanus, Two Falling Voices.
Mary was captured as a teenager during the French and Indian War and adopted by a Seneca family. She grew into adulthood among them, raised children, and became a respected woman within the community. She received land in the Genesee Valley known as the Gardeau Reservation and lived there until her death.
Her story is not one of captivity and rescue. It is a story of kinship, responsibility, and belonging. She walked between cultures with grace and resilience, carrying the values of both worlds. Her statue faces the river as if still keeping watch.
4. Rochester Museum and Science Center
Rochester, Monroe County
Inside the Rochester Museum and Science Center, two exhibitions tell the story of the Haudenosaunee people. At the Western Door explores four centuries of contact, conflict, and cooperation. Hodinöšyö:nih Continuity Innovation Resilience presents the contemporary life and creativity of Haudenosaunee artists and leaders.
Visitors step through a glass longhouse, hear the voices of clan mothers and elders, and encounter art and objects that speak to both tradition and innovation. The museum worked closely with Haudenosaunee advisors to ensure that the stories are told by the people who live them, creating a living dialogue between past and present.
5. Skä·noñh Great Law of Peace Center
Liverpool, Onondaga County
Skä·noñh means peace and wellness. The center stands on the shore of Onondaga Lake and tells the story of the Haudenosaunee through the perspective of the Onondaga Nation, Keepers of the Central Fire.
This is the spiritual and political heart of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Here, visitors learn about the Creation story, the Peacemaker, and the Great Law of Peace. The center also addresses the continuing issues of sovereignty and stewardship faced by the Onondaga Nation.
Honorable Mention: Seneca-Iroquois National Museum
Salamanca, Cattaraugus County
While technically just outside the Finger Lakes region, I would be remiss not to include the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca as a vital part of understanding Haudenosaunee history and identity. Operated by the Seneca Nation, the museum tells the story of the Seneca people from creation to the present day. A visit here is well worth the drive as I believe it provides deeper context for every other site on this list.
Located within the Onöhsagwë:de' Cultural Center, the museum includes a full-scale longhouse that invites visitors to experience traditional Seneca life and architecture firsthand. It is both a place of preservation and a living space for education and celebration, hosting events that bring together artists, elders, and community members.
The Haudenosaunee are not a story of the past. Their laws still guide communities. Their ceremonies still honor the same sun, water, and soil that sustain all of us. Visiting these places is not about nostalgia or guilt. It is about listening to the land and understanding that peace requires care and that true freedom requires truth.
