The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ were a flourishing nation of the Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:nih Confederacy in the Finger Lakes Region, an alliance of six sovereign nations, until the American Revolutionary War. Although the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ remained neutral, the U.S. military attacked their communities, destroying villages and burning fertile cropland during the 1779 “Scorched Earth” campaign ordered by General Washington and executed by General Sullivan and Colonel Butler. This was an act of genocide during which the colonial army attacked over 40 Cayuga villages along the shores of Cayuga Lake, including Goiogouen - a major village with hundreds of acres of croplands. Other Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:nih Nations faced similar military attacks. After the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ were violently expelled from their territory, the land was dispersed in parcels to American soldiers. The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ were separated from their homeland for over two hundred years, and today remain unrecognized as a sovereign nation by the state of New York which hinders their ability to live and thrive on their native land.

 

To learn more and support ongoing rematriation efforts, please visit www.gayogohono.org.

 

Kitchen Theatre Company collectively acknowledges that our theatre occupies space on the unceded traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ . The Kitchen Theatre continues to pursue ways of paying respect to the Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:nih and all Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this land throughout the generations, and to their ongoing contributions: culturally, intellectually, artistically, and spiritually. We acknowledge the painful history of dispossession towards the Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:nih and Indigenous people, and honor the ongoing connection of their people, past and present, to the lands and waters of Tompkins County.

 

Visit www.native-land.ca to find information about the Native Lands you come from and live on currently.