Post by Moon Seeker on Jul 23, 2009 19:50:28 GMT -5
Ganondagan celebrates with its 18th music festival
James Goodman • Staff writer • July 21, 2009
With various performances and an art market, the Native American Dance & Music Festival this weekend showcases the Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor.
Now in its 18th year, the annual festival takes place at the site where a thriving Seneca community was located 350 years ago. A French-led army destroyed the community in an attempt to assert dominance in the fur trade.
Ganondagan, which has come to mean "town of peace," reopened as a state historic site in 1987 and has become a regional attraction, with programs and activities on its 619 acres.
"We are a living culture — a living group of people," said G. Peter Jemison, the longtime manager of the site.
Ganondagan is run the by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which owns the site and has experienced a 15 percent reduction in its overall budget over the past two years.
But Jemison and his small staff have worked with Friends of Ganondagan to add programs and to move ahead with plans for an art and education center there.
Jeanette Miller, who has directed Friends of Ganondagan since this nonprofit group was established 20 years ago, is married to Jemison.
"We jokingly call them a mom and pop operation that has gone big," said Victor resident Ebets Judson, who is a member of the Friends of Ganondagan board.
This summer, Ganondagan staff is offering a "Savor the Summer Series," a new program to attract more visitors. On eight Saturdays or Sundays from May through September, Ganondagan has been providing special presentations about Seneca culture.
Many of the programs are held on the southeast part of the site, near the intersection of Route 444 and County Road 41.
Attendance has grown steadily, with programs reaching more than 44,000 people last year, compared with about 35,500 in 2004,
Jemison, 64, who is a member of the Seneca Nation, and Miller, 56, who is a member of the Mohawk Nation, live in a house on the Ganondagan site.
Over the past two decades, the couple has — at various times and for any number of reasons — taken care of 18 Native American children who needed a home.
(2 of 2)
Virginia Fifield, 60, of Rochester, a longtime volunteer at Ganondagan, praises Miller's skills for putting together such programs as this weekend's event.
"Jeanette is organize, organize, organize. She makes sure every 'T' is crossed and every 'I' is dotted," Fifield said.
She describes Jemison as an ambassador to the general community.
Currently, Ganondagan staff members give guided tours from May through October. A visit to a replica of a longhouse is a featured part of the tour.
Ganondagan's marked trails, which tell about the importance of Seneca culture, are open year-round.
Almost $10 million, mostly from private donations, has been pledged for the art and education center planned on the west side of Ganondagan's grounds, along School Street.
"It would open us up for year-round programming," said Miller.
More than a third of Ganondagan's visitors come from school groups, but the visitor center that now is used for indoor programming only seats 25 people.
Friends of Ganondagan would build the art and education center, which would provide about 15,000 square feet of exhibition and meeting space.
"We hope to begin in 2010," said Jemison about how plans are moving forward.
JGOODMAN@DemocatandChronicle.com
www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090721/NEWS05/907220301/-1/Victor/Native+American+niche+in+Victor
James Goodman • Staff writer • July 21, 2009
With various performances and an art market, the Native American Dance & Music Festival this weekend showcases the Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor.
Now in its 18th year, the annual festival takes place at the site where a thriving Seneca community was located 350 years ago. A French-led army destroyed the community in an attempt to assert dominance in the fur trade.
Ganondagan, which has come to mean "town of peace," reopened as a state historic site in 1987 and has become a regional attraction, with programs and activities on its 619 acres.
"We are a living culture — a living group of people," said G. Peter Jemison, the longtime manager of the site.
Ganondagan is run the by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which owns the site and has experienced a 15 percent reduction in its overall budget over the past two years.
But Jemison and his small staff have worked with Friends of Ganondagan to add programs and to move ahead with plans for an art and education center there.
Jeanette Miller, who has directed Friends of Ganondagan since this nonprofit group was established 20 years ago, is married to Jemison.
"We jokingly call them a mom and pop operation that has gone big," said Victor resident Ebets Judson, who is a member of the Friends of Ganondagan board.
This summer, Ganondagan staff is offering a "Savor the Summer Series," a new program to attract more visitors. On eight Saturdays or Sundays from May through September, Ganondagan has been providing special presentations about Seneca culture.
Many of the programs are held on the southeast part of the site, near the intersection of Route 444 and County Road 41.
Attendance has grown steadily, with programs reaching more than 44,000 people last year, compared with about 35,500 in 2004,
Jemison, 64, who is a member of the Seneca Nation, and Miller, 56, who is a member of the Mohawk Nation, live in a house on the Ganondagan site.
Over the past two decades, the couple has — at various times and for any number of reasons — taken care of 18 Native American children who needed a home.
(2 of 2)
Virginia Fifield, 60, of Rochester, a longtime volunteer at Ganondagan, praises Miller's skills for putting together such programs as this weekend's event.
"Jeanette is organize, organize, organize. She makes sure every 'T' is crossed and every 'I' is dotted," Fifield said.
She describes Jemison as an ambassador to the general community.
Currently, Ganondagan staff members give guided tours from May through October. A visit to a replica of a longhouse is a featured part of the tour.
Ganondagan's marked trails, which tell about the importance of Seneca culture, are open year-round.
Almost $10 million, mostly from private donations, has been pledged for the art and education center planned on the west side of Ganondagan's grounds, along School Street.
"It would open us up for year-round programming," said Miller.
More than a third of Ganondagan's visitors come from school groups, but the visitor center that now is used for indoor programming only seats 25 people.
Friends of Ganondagan would build the art and education center, which would provide about 15,000 square feet of exhibition and meeting space.
"We hope to begin in 2010," said Jemison about how plans are moving forward.
JGOODMAN@DemocatandChronicle.com
www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090721/NEWS05/907220301/-1/Victor/Native+American+niche+in+Victor