Our Name
Why such a name for an arts journal? It is a long story, as the saying goes—a sacred Native American story, in fact, that dates back some 2000 years and is embedded in the DNA of our region. It is the story of the Peacemaker, who was chosen by the Great Spirit to travel from the shores of Lake Ontario to New York’s Finger Lakes region, to spread the message of peace and harmony among the warring tribes who lived there. The Peacemaker made his trip in a canoe carved out of white granite, causing his relatives great concern: how could it float? But it did, and by the miracle of his conveyance, people understood the power of his message, shared in the form of magic songs. The Peacemaker braved many hardships, but ultimately succeeded in converting the tribal chiefs to his vision, and founded the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which had its first council fire on the shores of Onondaga Lake—perhaps where Syracuse’s Carousel Mall now sits. The Confederacy is regarded by many scholars as the first participatory democracy in the Western hemisphere, and its constitution, known as the Great Law of Peace, served as a blueprint for the founding fathers of the fledgling U.S. government, notably Washington and Franklin. The full story of the Peacemaker and his stone canoe can be found on various web sites, such as firstpeople.us. The lead essay in the inaugural issue, Robin Wall Kimmerer’s The Sacred and the Superfund, is both a scientific treatise and a meditation on the Peacemaker’s legacy, in the context of Onondaga Lake’s more recent ignominious history.
The Peacemaker’s story conjures up larger themes as well. It is an ode to the possibilities of peaceful coexistence. As Robert Muller, former Assistant Secretary General of the U.N., put it, the Peacemaker’s journey is “perhaps the oldest effort for disarmament in world history.” It is also a voyage of self-discovery and a testament to the transformative power of art. In all these respects, Stone Canoe seems a fitting name for Upstate New York’s new community arts journal.
