This work by Randee Spruce shows us a Haudenosaunee Sing, in which representatives from different nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy gather to share song and medicine.
The setting is the new Coldspring Longhouse in Steamburg, New York. The previous Longhouse sat on ancestral homelands protected by a 1794 treaty, but was flooded by the US government in 1966 to build the Kinzua Dam.
Yet, the community persists. Spruce’s great-uncle Derlan, at far right, wears a ribbon shirt expressive of Native pride.
A turtle shell rattle used by the Seneca in ceremonies hangs on the back wall, alongside a corn pounder and cooking paddle. And a mandala innovates upon historical Haudenosaunee quiltwork and ceramic patterns to express both continuity and growth.
You can visit to see this painting in person on our first floor.
Randee Spruce, The Sing at Coldspring, 2025. Purchased through the generosity of Ernest Tollerson and Tink Leefmans.
