On Thursday, October 2, Ontario County’s Ganondagan State Historic Site will be the first of 4 locations in the Northeast to experience “Turtle Island,” an outdoor spectacle representing the Haudenosaunee Creation Story with aerial puppetry, dance, and community engagement.
The performance will take place from 11:00-11:45 a.m. on the hill to the right of Ganondagan Historic Site’s Bark Longhouse. For free, guests can enjoy an intimate, family-friendly rendition of the Haudenosaunee Creation Story as told through a fusion of dance, aerial puppetry, and audience engagement.
“Turtle Island” was put together by Plasticiens Volants under the artistic guidance of Haudenosaunee artist, historian, and educator G. Peter Jemison (Seneca, Heron Clan). Choreography and performance contributions were also offered by William Crouse Sr. (Seneca Nation, Hawk Clan) and the Skywoman Iroquois Dance Theater, and the production was co-produced by Unicycle Productions LLC alongside Plasticiens Volants.
The show was designed with a central initiative of honoring Indigenous artistic leadership. “Turtle Island” is said to honor traditional ancestral narratives while also acknowledging more contemporary themes, such as balance, collective responsibility, and environmental stewardship. Audiences will get to witness an artistic representation of the world’s conception atop the turtle’s back, a tale that resonates cross-culturally and that symbolizes resilience and interconnectedness.
“While other humans in the world focused on great monuments of stone, the Haudenosaunee began with our human nature; the struggle to balance our emotions, those destructive versus peaceful. Can we today learn to love the world we have before mankind destroys every living thing? These twin and opposite emotions live within us. Our elders ask us to honor our teachings. Learn to find balance in our behavior toward one another.”
-G. Peter Jemison, Member of Seneca Nation/Haudenosaunee Artist, Historian, & Educator
The location of “Turtle Island,” Ganondagan State Historic Site near Victor, NY, is the original site of a 17th century Seneca Nation town. The Site has now become a National Historic Landmark, the only New York State Historic Site dedicated to an Indigenous theme, and the only Seneca town developed and interpreted in the U.S. The culture of Ganondagan, including its art, architecture, governance and more, is said to have influenced our contemporary understandings of democracy, equality, women’s rights, ecology, and natural foods.
The Seneca Bark Longhouse, located across from the hill where “Turtle Island” will take place, is fully furnished to emulate the home of a Seneca family from the late 17th century, complete with reproductions of 1600s Seneca objects and trade goods. The Site also houses the Seneca Art & Culture Center, which chronicles major Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) contributions to society, art, and culture. The center also features an interactive Exhibit Gallery, Orientation Theater, auditorium, and gift shop. Please note that admission to the museum and the Longhouse are not included when attending “Turtle Island.”
For more information on the Ganondagan State Historic Site and “Turtle Island,” click here.
Turtle Island Performances
October 2 – Ganondagan State Historic Site, Victor New York
October 3 – TurnPark Art Space, West Stockbridge, Mass
October 4 – Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York
October 5 – 14th Street Park, Hudson River Parks, Manhattan, NY
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