The night was created as balance for the light of day, a time of rest for some and a time of activity for other. The Haudenosaunee People believes that the night is as important as the day. The division of the day into dark and light represents the balance of Creation and was established by the twin brother at the beginning of time. The time of darkness is not a time of evil as the day is not the time of goodness; they are but phases of the same day. Our elder brother the Sun was give responsibility for the day and our Grandmother the Moon was given the responsibility for the night. Each has carried out their responsibility to us and the rest of Creation.

We say that the Grandmother Moon turns her face to us every 28 day and we feel awe at seeing her magnificence. She has the power to regulate all female cycles upon the Mother Earth and has the ability to move all of the Waters of the Mother Earth, even unto the first environment to womb.

The velvet blackness of the night can conceal the bright and confusing colours of the day, heighten the other senses, hearing, smell and feel. The Stars, our cousins have been put in the night sky to bring the dew of the morning and to help guide us over the surface of the Mother Earth. Their position in the sky talks to us about great lessons and stories of our people. The moving constellations each have their own stories and they remind us of the yearly cycles that determine our activities on the Mother Earth.

The format of today’s talk about the Ecology of the Night will be much the same as the way I learned about the world around me. The Haudenosaunee learn not by lectures or hard teaching but by listening to people talking about the knowledge we need in this world. Stories, jokes and reminiscences are all part of the way in which our people convey information and learn about Creation. A gentle teaching finds its way into the minds in a most pleasant manner.

F. Henry Lickers

F. Henry Lickers is a member of Seneca Nation, Turtle Clan. He has been married for 33 years and has three children. He has been the Director of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Department of the Environment for the past 26 years.

During this time, he has been principle investigator on the EAGLE ( Effect on Aboriginal in the Great Lakes Environment ) Project and the Naturalized Knowledge Systems Project and the First Nation’s Community Health Indicators Project, all of these projects are investigating First Nations Environmental issues.

Some of his other commitments have been:

Co-Chair of the COSEWIC Aboriginal Subcommittee.
Member of the Science and Technology Advisory Council to Environment Canada.
Scientific Co-Chair, The Haudenosaunee Environmental Taskforce.
Vice President, Board of Director, St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences.
Board of Director, Eastern Ontario Model Forest.
Scientific Co-Chair, The Assembly of First Nations Environment Committee.

Past Board Member of the International Joint Commission, Science Advisory Board.
Past Member of the Panel on Ecological Integrity of Canada’s National Parks.
Past Member, The Scientific Advisory Committee, Northern River Basin Study.
Past Board Member, Canadian Environmental Assessment Research Council.

Tom Hill A.O.C.A., O.ONT, F.C.M.A., A.O.C.A.D.

Tom Hill is a Seneca Indian from the Six Nations Reserve. In 1967, he received his A.O.C.A. from the Ontario College of Art and continued his studies on a scholarship with the National Gallery of Canada. After fifteen years with the federal government, Mr. Hill accepted the position as Museum Director at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford. His work as a curator has done much to raise awareness of the contemporary practices of First Nations artists including the publication of a number of articles, papers, and catalogue essays such as the recently published book, Creations Journey, for the Smithsonian Institute in New York, NY and Ron Noganosh It Takes Time, for the Woodland Cultural Centre. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Canada, a member of the National First Nations Advisory Committee to the Canada Council, Board Member for the Ontario Film Development Corporation, Co-chair for the National Task Force on Museums and First Peoples and served on the Council for the Ontario Museums Association. He is currently on the Board for the Centre for Indigenous Theatre and a Board Member for the Ontario Arts Council.