Oren Lyons Faithkeeper, Seneca Nations, Iroquois Confederacy (Turtle Island)

Oren Lyons is a traditional faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation who sits on the Onondaga Council of Chiefs. Born in 1930, he was raised in the traditional life ways of the Haudenosaunee on the Seneca and Onondaga reservations. As a youth he left for New York City but in 1970, Lyons returned to his ancestral homeland in upstate New York to act as Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan. In this capacity, he is entrusted with keeping alive his people’s traditions, values and history. Since then he has dedicated his life to preserving and protecting Indigenous lifeways by being one of the key players in establishing the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations. He is deeply involved with national and international issues that affect native peoples and has represented them in many forums throughout the world, focusing on the rights and status of Indigenous peoples, the environment and sustainable development.