569-acre site featuring a reconstructed Seneca Bark Longhouse, like the structure that would have housed up to 30 members of a Seneca ex- tended family during the late 1600s. He raised funds for a new visitor center and gallery and moved his own studio into a restored school- house on the site. It was a major step in a journey that was
already underway. After his first sojourn to Manhattan in 1968, he spent some time on both the Cattaragus and Allegany Seneca territories as director of the Seneca Nation Organization for Visual Arts. In his late 20s, his job was “to find out who the people con- sidered to be the best artists” and to organize workshops in which they would demonstrate their skills. One of the artists insisted that Jemison attend the sessions himself, and he began to appreciate the training and depth of knowledge that tradition demanded. “It would take a lifetime to learn,” he says. In addition, although he was raised a
Christian, Jemison had embraced the teach- ings of the 18th-century Seneca prophet Handsome Lake as early as 1972. After arriv- ing at Ganondagan, Jemison became more committed to following Handsome Lake’s teachings. The prophet gave a clear analysis of the problems afflicting his people, Jemison
Night Creatures. This painting examines the light available at night. This one at twilight imagines a scene of chance encounters between a coyote, a white-tailed deer and a panther.
“Night Creatures,” G. Peter Jemison (Seneca), 2017, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 36".
says, including alcohol’s damaging impacts. On New Year’s Eve in 1982, Jemison gave up drinking alcoholic beverages. He also began to learn the difficult Seneca language. Tribal elders recognized his increasing stat-
ure as a “cultural worker,” as Jemison describes himself, and asked him to represent the Seneca Nation on the Haudenosaunee Repa- triation Committee to implement the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. He was deeply involved in the return of a collection of ancient Iroquois masks in the NMAI that traditionalist visitors considered to be living beings and very unhappy where they were. His work to repatriate sacred and funerary objects continues. Jemison became a student and commu-
nicator of Seneca history. As a filmmaker, writer and occasional reenactor, he has told stories of the 1613 agreement between the Dutch and Haudenosaunee, the punitive 1779 Clinton–Sullivan campaign in which General George Washington ordered the destruction of Seneca villages and the 1794
peace Treaty of Canandaigua between the United States and the Six Nations of the Iro- quois Confederacy. His work at Ganondagan has also reshaped
his art. The nature trails he maintains at the site have brought landscapes and wildlife into his previously abstract vision. His own web- site observes that “his art embodies ‘orenda,’ the traditional Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) belief that every living thing and every part of creation contains a spiritual force.” His grounding in Seneca tradition has
strengthened his role as a bridge between cultures. He now serves on the boards of the NMAI and the New York State Museum. At the same time, his long list of exhib- ited works continues to grow. “It’s time- consuming,” he says. “Today, even in the midst of a health crisis, I continue to make my art. I remain an optimist.” X
James Ring Adams is senior historian in the History and Culture Unit of the National Museum of the American Indian and managing editor of American Indian magazine. To learn more about Jemison’s work, visit
ganondagan.org and
gpeterjemison.com.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 45
PHOTO BY ANDY OLENICK
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