Sacred and the Superfund: History, Pollution, and Restoration of Onondaga Lake

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07 December 2018
Sacred and the Superfund
Human activities have severe consequences for the environment, especially since the industrial revolution. Chemical use destroys fragile ecosystems; garbage pollutes land and water and emissions from energy production contributes to climate change. Restoring the environment and reversing these effects is a complex process that involves various efforts that differ from one place to another. In the chapter “The Sacred and the Superfund” in the book Braiding Sweetgrass Kimmerer (2013) discusses the sacred history, pollution, and restoration of Onondaga Lake. There are nine Superfund sites along the shores of the lake, which was one of the most sacred sites is now one of the most polluted lakes in the United States. This paper seeks to highlight the events surrounding the Onondaga Lake from its sacred history, pollution to restoration.
Onondaga Lake was the ancestral home of the Onondaga people, the center of Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The people had a sacred view of the world and considered it as a gift, one which they had a responsibility to protect. “Water’s gift is its role as life sustainer, and its duties are manifold, making plants grow, creating homes for fish and mayflies” (Kimmerer, 310). They always gave thanks for the gift. Stories are told of how failure to leave in gratitude lead to war and suffering in the community. The war ended when the Peacemaker brought together the five nations of Haudenosaunee on the shores of Onondaga Lake under the Tree of Peace (Kimmerer, 312).
The industrial revolution led to the extensive pollution of Onondaga Lake. The abundant resources its surrounding led to the setting up of factories, notably the Solvay Process Company. The company polluted water but also air and land. Early journals record that smokes stacks made the air “a choking miasma” (Kimmerer, 313). Today original shoreline, where the Tree of Peace stood, is covered with...