Oren Lyons

Oren R. Lyons Jr. (born 1930) is a Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of both the Onondaga Nation and the Seneca Nation of the Six Nations of the Grand River. For more than 14 years he has been a member of the Indigenous Peoples of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations and has had other leadership roles.

A highly recognized college lacrosse player at Syracuse University during his undergraduate years, Lyons later became increasingly active as an advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples. He is the founder of the Haudenosaunee lacrosse team.

Background, education, and athletic career Lyons was born in 1930 and raised in the culture and practices of the Seneca and Onondaga nations in what is now Upstate New York. He graduated from the College of Fine Arts in 1958. A lifelong lacrosse player, Oren was an All-American at Syracuse, where the Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse went undefeated during his graduating year. While working for Norcross, Lyons appeared as a challenger on the February 14, 1960 episode of the popular panel game show What's My Line?.

Outside of work, Lyons exhibited his own paintings during this time. In 1970, Lyons returned to Onondaga to be closer to his cultural heritage..

He became a professor of American Studies at University at Buffalo. In recognition of his contributions over many years as a teacher of undergraduate and graduate students at the University at Buffalo, Lyons is listed as SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and professor emeritus of American Studies in the UB College of Arts and Sciences.

In 1977, Lyons helped create the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and Youth at a meeting in Montana. Since then, the Circle has gathered annually at different sites in Indian country. In 1977, he also was part of the Haudenosaunee delegation of Iroquois representatives to the first World Conference on Racism.

"At first, I wanted to defend the Iroquois. Then my sights broadened to embrace other Indians. Then I saw this had to include defending indigenous peoples all over the world," Lyons said.

For more than fourteen years he has taken part in meetings in Geneva of Indigenous Peoples of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations. He helped to establish the Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982. He serves on the executive committee of the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on Human Survival, and is a principal figure in the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders. He was a negotiator among the governments of Canada, the province of Quebec, New York State, and the Mohawk in the Oka crisis during the summer of 1990.

In 1992, Lyons addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations where he opened the International Year of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

Representation in other media Lyons was among those featured in the one-hour documentary Faithkeeper (1991), produced and hosted by Bill Moyers. It was broadcast on PBS, July 3, 1991. He also appeared in the documentary The 11th Hour (2007), directed by Leila Connors and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Recognition Lyons has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Syracuse University. In 2007, a three-story dormitory on Euclid Avenue owned by the university was rededicated as Oren Lyons Hall. Lyons serves on the board of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and is board chairman of Honoring Contributions in the Governance of American Indian Nations.

An honorary chairman of the Haudenosaunee Nationals, 1998: Inducted into the Ontario, Canada Lacrosse Hall of fame. 2000: Inducted into the Upstate New York Chapter of USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. 2008: Inducted into the Native American Hall of fame. Ceremony held at the Seneca Nation Casino in Niagara Falls, NY. 2023: Awarded the Order of Sport, marking induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, as a builder of his sport.

Published works In addition to his writings, Lyons has collaborated on illustrating several children's books by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve. He has written about indigenous issues, economic development and spiritual culture. He is the publisher of Daybreak Magazine. Lyons, Oren, author and illustrator. Dog Story. Holiday House, 1973. ASIN B003BGS43K. Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, author, and Oren Lyons, illustrator. When Thunders Spoke. Bison Books, 1993. . Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, author, and Oren Lyons, illustrator. High Elk's Treasure. Holiday House, 1995. .

Other contributions Gluckstein, Dana, author; Amnesty International, epilogue; Oren Lyons, introduction; Archbishop Desmond Tutu, foreword. Dignity: In Honor of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. powerHouse Books, 2010. Jorgensen, William, ed.; Oren Lyons, foreword. Rebuilding Native Nations: Strategies for Governance and Development. University of Arizona Press, 2007. .

Legacy In 2025, Lyons agreed to donate his personal papers, including correspondence and photographic collections to Syracuse University's Special Collections Research Center.