Chenango County Historical Society NY 250 Commemoration to honor Indigenous history by hosting Turtle Island Festival on July 5. (Photo from Unicycle Productions)

NORWICH – The Chenango County Historical Society in conjunction with the the Chenango County Historian and Chenango County Agricultural Society are bringing Turtle Island Festival to the Chenango County Fairgrounds on July 5 as part of America's 250th commemoration.

The outdoor performance spectacle directed and guided by indigenous artist and historian G. Peter Jemison, surrounds the Haudenosaunee creation story. It features the Sky Woman Iroquois Dance Theater, traditional indigenous music, along with a giant inflatable puppet made and manned by the French company Plasticiens Volants.

America 250 refers to efforts started by the Semiquincentennial Commission established by Congress in 2016 to celebrate and commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Overall, the commission helps realize funding, promotion, and support for commemorative activities at the local, state, and national level. Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the “New York State 250th Commemoration Act” on Feb 24, 2022, establishing the state's commission for NY 250.

The State Commission working with the New York State Museum, the Association of Public Historians of NYS, and the New York State Historian, published a field guide highlighting historically significant moments that took place in New York, and provides suggestive interpretive themes, ideas, and information for our local historians to guide their commemorative activities. The very first theme in the guide being “Indigenous History is New York's History” which directly relates to the Turtle Island Festival.