Resource Library Bundle

Onëö’ gë:n

Teachings, stories, recipes, and more

This collection focuses on Seneca / Haudenausaunee White corn - known as onëö’ gë:n in Seneca - and features the teachings of the Bray family from Cattauragus, Seneca territory. These are some of the many writings, talks, videos and more that have been generously offered to the public with permission to share in these varying formats. They are gathered here as part of ongoing collaboration between The Cultural Conservancy, the Bray family and onëö’ gë:n.

Introduction

Onëö and the Seventh Fire

Excerpt of Essay by Kaylena Bray

Memories of onëö’ gë:n punctuate my childhood, and to this day, each time I take a bite of corn soup these stories are reawakened viscerally and subconsciously. They animate my understanding of corn as both an ancestor, and as an emblem of knowledge passed down by countless hands of farmers, seed savers, youth, and elders. In coming to understand the world of corn, I’ve seen how its spirit vibrates within the people it touches, and I recognize this spiritual element as a binding force that gives face to the legacy of movement, adaptation, and respect that corn has endured over its history as an ancestor. Corn spans a longitude and latitude of movement greater than any other domesticated food source. It is remarkable to think about the extent to which farmers and seeds have endured and adapted to the driest of desert landscapes in the Southwest and across Turtle Island to the thunderous and snowy regions of the northeast.

The ancestral lineage carried through seeds has become a tangible reminder for me of what it means to be an ancestor. The grandfather pod corn was given its name for a reason. It acts as an ancestral grandfather. It is a source of strength and resilience that carries its influence in unknown and lasting ways and watches protectively. I feel a similar source of influence from the corn I grew up eating, onëö’gan, and it strikes me how unknowingly yet persistently I’ve had this connection my entire life. To this day, when I eat white corn in soups or boiled bread, I think of what life must have been like for my ancestors, and the strength and resilience needed for this corn to be here. I think of the French Expedition of 1687 where they burned half a million bushels of white corn in a raid designed to wipe out the Haudenosaunee people at Gannagaro, present day New York. Despite these attempts we are still here, and the corn is still here. There is a sign displayed prominently in the seed house of this extensive and ancient corn collection. It’s a framed photo of corncobs and imprinted seeds that reads,

“They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.”

Originally published 2021 in What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be?

Map of Onëö’ gë’n’s journey from Seneca Territory to California

This map shows the journey of the onëö’ gë:n Seneca White Corn featured in this bundle, from its origin in Seneca territory, Cattaraugus Reservation near Lake Erie, to The Cultural Conservancy’s farms in Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok territory in Northern California.

Featured Teachings: Green Corn - Early Harvesting and Cooking White Corn

Recipes

Additional Teachings

Credits
Art by John Jairo Valencia
Photos by Mateo Hinojosa