A History of the Name of Ganędagǫ: Hall

Cornell University’s Ithaca campus sits in the traditional territory of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ, or Cayuga, people. The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ are one of six Indigenous Nations who make up the Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:nih Confederacy (also known as the Haudenosaunee, the Six Nations, or the Iroquois). Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ people and their ancestors have lived in the Cayuga Lake region for approximately 13,000 years and they continue to care for their lands and waters. They are here in the region with us today after enduring many setbacks and a period of exile of almost 200 years.

American settlers undertook significant efforts to push the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ out of their homeland and take its land and resources for themselves. In 1779, on orders from George Washington, American forces under the command of General John Sullivan invaded Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ territory and burned down about fourteen villages, their stored food, and standing crops and fruit trees that surrounded the settlements. The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ were forced to take refuge at British Fort Niagara; many died along the way and during the harsh winter that followed. Some Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ stayed in what is now western New York after the Sullivan invasion, but others returned to the Cayuga Lake region. 

Starting in 1784, both the U.S. federal and New York state governments negotiated treaties with the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ that transferred land to American settlers and confined the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ to increasingly smaller reservations. These treaties, especially the ones conducted by New York State, remain controversial and several violated U.S. federal law. In 1807, New York negotiated a final treaty with a small group of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ that transferred the last few parcels of reservation land to the state. The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ were left with no officially-recognized territory within their traditional homelands, and none in all of New York state. Most Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ people ended up in either western New York, Ontario, or Oklahoma. The United States and Canadian governments continued their assault on the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ in these new locations by forcing many Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ children to attend English-only boarding schools and meddling with Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ structures of governance. 

In 2003, Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ people began to reestablish themselves at the north end of Cayuga Lake. This effort has been marred by internal conflicts and resistance by American settlers. Part of the reestablishment has included an effort to teach the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ language to both the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ and other interested people. Cornell’s Cayuga Language and Culture classes are part of that effort.

The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ community also wishes to reintroduce their place names into the contemporary landscape. As part of the North Campus Residential Expansion, Cornell decided to name one of the new dormitories using a significant Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ word to honor the ongoing Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ relationship to this region. Faculty from Cornell’s American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) consulted with Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ speakers and traditional leaders, who all agreed that Ganędagǫ: (prounounced Ga-NEH-da-gohn) would be an appropriate name for the dormitory.

Ganędagǫ: is the ancestral word for the Ithaca area, it can be translated as “on a hill” or “in the hill.” This word, and the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ language in general, had been almost completely removed from Ithaca’s landscape since the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ lost their territory in 1807. Some of the local names that appear to be Indigenous – such as Cayuga Lake or Taughannock Falls – are actually garbled settler translations of Indigenous words that carry no meaning. In contrast, Ganędagǫ: is an authentic, community-approved name.

The word Ganędagǫ: was carried by Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ people to the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada, where it has been preserved for over 200 years. This name was preserved by the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ Wolf Clan, and the Cusick and Henhawk families in particular, whose ancestors lived in the Ithaca area. 

The name of the Ganędagǫ: dormitory thus reflects the reintroduction and resurgence of Indigenous presence on this landscape after almost 200 years of erasure by settlers.