One morning last month, a delegation of Oneida Indians traveled to Hamilton College in central New York to rededicate the grave and spruced-up tombstone of one of their forebears, the great chief Skenandoa. While the Oneidas are in the midst of a great revival, the cemetery contains a permanent reminder of a history of loss and Skenandoa's painful legacy. Just 15 feet away is buried Samuel Kirkland, the Colonial missionary -- and founder of Hamilton College -- who captured the loyalty of the Oneidas and many other Iroquois but later undercut their interests by helping those who took away Indian lands.
Posted October 17, 1999
