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Article: On sovereign ground: Native American woman's laundry also serves as gathering spot.
- Article from:
- American Coin-Op
- Article date:
- January 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When you enter PJ's Laundry in Salamanca, N.Y., you can't miss the Hiawatha Belt, which symbolizes the unity of the Iroquois Confederacy. This symbol, which is more than 400 years old, was originally made of wampum (shell beads) strung together into a belt.
"The Belt lets everyone know that this is a business owned by a native," says Pauline John, the laundry owner who is also a Native American and part of the Seneca Nation.
The Seneca Nation of Indians (SNI) is one of the six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy who occupy aboriginal lands in New York State set aside by the Treaty of Canadaigua of 1794. The
SNI has a total population of more than ...