Honoring Oren Lyons: A Legacy of Indigenous Leadership
On Monday, October 14, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Thomas Berry Foundation honored Oren Lyons, a Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, with the 2024 Thomas Berry Award. The ceremony, co-sponsored by Union Theological Seminary and the Center for Earth Ethics, was held in Union’s James Chapel.
The Thomas Berry Foundation confers this award to individuals who have dedicated their lives to service to the Earth. The 25 recipients of this award, first presented in 1998, include acclaimed musicians, professors, spiritual leaders and leaders of international foundations.
Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, president of Union, welcomed everyone and thanked Chief Lyons for his “tireless and courageous work to advance justice for Indigenous communities and for the environment over the course of an incredible lifetime.”
CEE Executive Director Karenna Gore honed in on Lyons’ significance for the Indigenous, environmental and climate justice movements. Remembering a prophetic speech that Lyons delivered more than 20 years ago (which he would later read in the program), she commended him for “speaking with such clarity…which reflects not only what an extraordinary person he is, but the depth of the tradition that he carries.”
John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker, representing the Foundation and the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, presented the award. Lyons had known Berry (1914-2009), a Catholic priest and ecology advocate, since the 1970s, when Lyons began speaking about environmental concerns and Indigenous values. In her remarks, Tucker remarked, “Their mutual appreciation was so great that Berry once said of Chief Lyons, ‘Oren Lyons was undoubtedly one of the persons who would come into my mind immediately as a model of what a human being might be.’”
Legendary saxophonist and composer Paul Winter gave a musical offering before the award was presented. Tucker commended him for his “earth music that he has given to inspire us over so many years, and it’s always been connected to the activism of change.”
In accepting the award, Lyons, who was raised in the Onondaga Nation in central New York State in the 1930s, reflected on a simple, peaceful upbringing in a rural community rooted in traditional values and spirituality. After studying art at Syracuse University, he moved to New York City in the 1950s for a career in the arts. In the late 1960s, the Onondaga clan mothers asked him to return home to help his people. Answering this call led him to work on behalf of the Onondaga, and later the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations). He later worked internationally with Indigenous communities from across the Americas. In 1982, he helped establish the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations, which was instrumental in the formation of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Lyons emphasized the gravity of the challenges facing humanity. “The ice is melting in the north. It’s gone. You always heard about the snows of Kilimanjaro. There’s no snow there. [Or in] the Andes. Everywhere around the world, ice is going and it’s accelerating, and that’s the process. It compounds. Time is of the essence. It’s going to get worse. It’s going to get heavier, and you’ve got to get ready to bear into it now. Get ready for a good struggle. It’s not over, but it’s getting close—and we’re pushing it.”
Leaders of peace must step forward and take the responsibility for a terrible paradigm change in the direction of current lifestyles in Western and materialistic societies.
The need to work for peace, equality and harmony among all people, and between people and the Earth animates Lyons. “Leaders of peace must step forward and take the responsibility for a terrible paradigm change in the direction of current lifestyles in Western and materialistic societies,” he said. “The human species has become the most voracious and abusive consumer of Earth’s resources. We have tipped a balance against the future of our children, and we have tipped the balance against the future of our species.”
“Right now there are wars going on. With every bomb, we lose something. So peace has to prevail now,” he added. “There’s no other option. So we redouble our efforts and we do better—we have to concentrate now.”
He concluded by emphasizing the importance of “small, dedicated enclaves like this that do the work—always have…So you got to keep your head up. Keep your spirit high and get into it. Dig into it,” he said. “Here it is: this kind of enclave right here is really a genesis. It’s really a Spirit. It’s really a grounding.”
Allegra Lovejoy
Allegra Lovejoy is a project manager for events and programs at the Center for Earth Ethics.