The Oneida Stone now rests on the Oneida Indian Nation land, that 32-acre tract of land south of Oneida, NY. It has been quiet the New York Traveler, as well! It has been located in various Oneida Indian camps since the Oneidas first settled in this area (400+ years ago), was given to White Men for safekeeping in 1849 and rested on a granite pediment in Utica, NY, for many decades; and then was deemed back to the Oneida Nation in the 1970s, when the tribe began to express interest in returning to their ancestral lands. (My statements are a VERY condensed version of a tangled, detailed history of the Oneidas and of New York State!).

I first became interested in the Oneida Stone after seeing the Skenandoah Boulder outside the city limits of Oneida Castle, NY. My kids and I have a great interest in Skenandoah, because we have a great interest in early American history, of Alexander Hamilton and Reverend Samuel Kirkland, of Chief Skenandoah of the Oneida Indians, and how their histories (and ours) is entwined. As I researched the Skenandoah Boulder, I learned about the great Chief Skenandoah himself, how he became a Christian under the ministry of missionary Samuel Kirkland (who founded Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, and is buried there beside Skenandoah); and how Skenandoah rallied his people to support the Americans against the British in the Revolutionary War. The Oneidas were the only Iroquois tribe to join us, so it was with great sacrifice that the Oneidas fought beside us.

After the Revolution, the Oneidas were promised that a large tract of land in Central New York State– the land of their ancestors– was solely theirs, and the State could not claim it. Unfortunately, the Oneidas dwindled in numbers, and New York State (starting in the late 1700s but especially in the 1800s) began to bamboozle and litigate the Oneidas out of their lands. This problem remains with us today: WHO owns that land? It’s still in the courts, I believe. So all the things from 250 years ago are still as relevant today as they were then.

Well, back to the Oneida Stone. I did extensive research on the history of this very odd stone– it’s not native to Central New York and the Oneidas say the stone “moved” as the Oneidas moved from camp to camp. This is why the Oneidas are called “People of the Turning Stone,” and it’s where the Turning Stone Casino in Vernon, NY, (owned and run by the Oneida Indian Nation) gets its name.

So the Oneida Stone, that ancient stone that the Oneidas revered as sacred, has seen a lot of action, both on Indian land and White Man’s land. The history is riveting. I’ve tried my best to condense it and provide photos of all the places I’ve been. You can click the links for more about the Oneida Nation, the Oneida Stone, the Skenandoah Boulder, Samuel Kirkland, and Hamilton College.

Hamilton College Cemetery, Clinton, NY
Hamilton, Smith, and the Turning Stone Casino
People of the Standing Stone: The Skenandoah Boulder in Oneida
The Shako:wi Oneida Indian Cultural Center
Return to Shako:wi, and Where’s the Stone?
Playing Detective for the Oneida Stone
Oneida Indian Settlement, Nichols Pond, in Smithfield
Forest Hill Cemetery, Utica, NY
The Oneida Stone and Things Worth Knowing About Oneida County

More than finally seeing the casino up close was the utter pleasure of meeting the members of the Alexander Hamilton Institute. For many years, we’ve studied the history of Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton College, it’s founder, Samuel Kirkland, and Baron von Steuben. We have visited the campus several times and enjoyed its extensive library (see here and here). My daughter has attended a few of their meetings at their headquarters in Clinton, NY; this was my first time meeting them and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute is, in their own words:

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization (AHI) promotes rigorous scholarship and vigorous debate in the study of freedom, democracy, and capitalism. Three Hamilton College professors, Douglas Ambrose, James Bradfield, and Robert Paquette, inspired by the contributions of Alexander Hamilton to the founding and survival of the Republic, established the AHI as an independent entity, unaffiliated with Hamilton College, during the summer of 2007.

This from their charter:

Inspired by Alexander Hamilton’s life and work, the AHI promotes excellence in scholarship through the study of freedom, democracy, and capitalism as these ideas were developed and institutionalized in the United States and within the larger tradition of Western culture. The word freedom, it should be recalled, had no equivalent in the vocabularies of non-Western civilizations until imported from the West. Democracy first flourished in the poleis or city-states of ancient Greece. While the propensity to truck, barter, and exchange seems to have been inscribed in humanity’s genes, a full-blown capitalist system, one based on the private ownership of the non-personal means of production, originated in England. Since to a great extent modernity implies the momentous extension and elaboration of these ideas around the world, the AHI will necessarily range widely across geographic, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries in pursuit of its mission and to implement plans of rediscovery.

I have had a personal affinity for studying the history of our American republic. To see such a group of distinguished people gather together for the same purpose– that of promoting a return to our federalist roots of liberty– is the answer to my prayers. It was so thrilling to talk to people familiar with the Great Awakening, Samuel Kirkland, Charles G. Finney, and Gerrit Smith!

This meeting was the first annual colloquium for the newly established Institute. You can read about the schedule and topics of discussion here. The dinner was sumptuous, the conversation more so. We met other professors and students from Hamilton College, Harvard, and Colgate, who had assembled together to celebrate the Institute and discuss Gerrit Smith. I have been interested in the life and work of Gerrit Smith for many years. I did a short piece on him when I blogged about the Utica Lunatic Asylum here. The children and I hope to go on New York’s “Freedom Trail” from Utica to Auburn. There is just too much to say about Smith, Finney, the abolition movement of New York State that exploded across our country in the mid 1800s, and of the Freedom Trail. It will take me all summer long to write about it!

This is something very dear to my heart, as I am a student of New York state history, and, more importantly, a person consumed with a desire to see our nation return to its fundamental roots of liberty and religious revival. My daughter has so often stated that before any great movement of freedom, there was always a Great Awakening preceding.

“The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations … This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.” John Adams

Bob Paquette began the colloquium by noting the utter irony of discussing the life and work of the famed abolitionist and perfectionist Gerrit Smith in a casino. He wryly remarked that if Smith could possibly know what we were doing, he’d be rolling in his grave. This elicited chuckles, and it is true! But we didn’t attend the meeting to gamble. On the contrary, this meeting was only the beginning of a new thing happening all over again!

After the heartening speeches of a handful of AHI founders and fellows, John Stauffer of Harvard University (and acclaimed expert on the life of Gerrit Smith) delivered his dissertation. There is just too much to write about it all! It was wonderful. I assume the AHI will post the highlights of the colloquium on their website; I’ll link to it when they do.

After the event, my daughter and I got the chance to wander the Turning Stone briefly. I snapped a few photos.

The Turning Stone is a popular meeting place for large conferences. I don’t think there exists any other building for such large events in the area. All the conferences that I’ve ever heard of are held here. Here’s a photo of the building. I’m a poor photographer. The colored “TS” in lights at the top changes colors.

This is the luminous Tree of Peace crafted by Dale Chihuly.

I’m a “ceilings” person:

I loved the glass of the lobby as the sun shone in. I took this photo before the meeting.

And this I took after.

We wandered the halls. There are many “natural” looking displays in various places. Besides the glass “tree,” there are walls made from cut stone, waterfalls, and earth-tone patterned carpets.

This is a the cafe just outside the gambling rooms.

And this is where people enter to lose their money:

The Turning Stone Casino began as a Bingo Hall, if I remember correctly. Gambling in New York State is prohibited by our constitution, but through governor-sponsored enactment (Governor Cuomo, in the early 90s), the casino was allowed to open. The Oneida Indian land settlement/casino/resort issues are still in litigation, with some issues going as high as the Supreme Court. The Turning Stone is popular with area residents, however. It is a place where the poor people get to lose all their money. The Turning Stone is Oneida County’s biggest employer, after government jobs. So my guess is that, despite reams of litigation, the casino is here to stay.

We visited the Shako:wi Oneida Indian Cultural Center in Oneida, NY. See here for our trip.