Illustration by Ard Su

Warm summer days are ideal when launching his 18-foot canoe made of Kevlar into the cool waters of Onondaga Lake. Once on water, Hickory Edwards begins paddling, setting off onto his next journey on forgotten water paths. 

Edwards, the founder of the Onondaga Canoe and Kayak Club and member of the Onondaga Nation, Turtle Clan, is leading the effort to relearn the water paths that the Haudenosaunee used for travel until centuries after European colonization of the land. Using paddling as a form of environmental activism, he also works to encourage other Haudenosaunee to get back on the water. 

“It’s really important that we know these waterways,” said Edwards. “It’s the same water that my ancestors drank. It’s going to make us up and our grandkids and our future generations. All that water is just being recycled and connected, and that’s why we bring our people.”

Onondaga Lake plays an important cultural role for the Onondaga Nation. Originally, the lake was a part of the tribe’s territory, before being claimed by the state of New York in the 18th and 19th centuries. According to the Onondaga Nation, The Peacemaker is said to have brought the previously fighting Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga and Mohawk Nations together to form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, bringing peace among the tribes by planting a tree with four white roots spreading out in all four directions from the lake.

A combination of industrial pollution, wastewater pollution and polluted runoff impacts Onondaga Lake’s quality of water, which until the last decade was known as America’s “most polluted lake”. From the 1880s, manufacturing companies including Solvay Process Company and Allied-Signal (now Honeywell) were responsible for dumping chemicals ranging from soda ash to mercury into the lake, according to the Onondaga Nation. Toxicity levels and algal growth still affect the water, as reported by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 

Nowadays, one of the struggles that Edwards’ faces as a canoer is the declining state of water. From lakes, rivers, streams and into the ocean, pollution affects the quality of water everywhere.

“It’s different to see the different lands and different pollution because there’s pollution everywhere you go,” said Edwards. “You can’t get away from it now. Every single body of water has some sort of form of pollution.”

Onondaga Lake contains high levels of mercury, making it unsafe to eat the fish within it. (Photo by Adrianna Adame)

Canoeing is not only a passion, but a way for Hickory Edwards to reconnect with his roots. (Photo credit: Neil Benedict, courtesy of Hickory Edwards)

Edwards also paddles out of passion. 

After being introduced to paddling at a cousin’s birthday, he’s continued to be drawn to water ever since. When on the water, Edwards said that while it’s hard work, he loses track of time to the point where he is automatically paddling.

“To be on water, it feels like home. It’s really special to me because it’s just that feeling of where I’m supposed to be,” Edwards said.

Canoeing isn’t Edwards’ only act of environmental activism. Previously, he protested at Standing Rock and contributed to getting fracking banned in New York state. However, canoeing is the form of environmental activism that he’s most passionate about. 

Edwards wants to encourage others to be able to participate in canoeing, which is why he continues to host trips during the spring and summer. His next trip will be from Cooperstown to Binghamton from May 14-16.  

By bringing people together, Edwards hopes to create a bigger impact. 

“Alone we can change ourselves, but do that together and we can change the world,” Edwards said.

Onondaga Lake was once known as America’s “most polluted lake.” Hickory Edwards avoids touching the water when launching his canoe. (Photo by Adrianna Adame)