A pair of moccasins are included in the exhibit house aboard the replica Erie Canal boat Seneca Chief. The success of the Erie Canal contributed to the displacement of the Haudenosaunee and led to lasting changes in New York state’s ecosystems, underscoring the complex and far-reaching impact of this historic waterway, according to information about the canal and the boat voyage at https://buffalomaritimecenter.org/bicentennial-voyage/. To honor the Haudenosaunee and promote sustainability, Eastern White Pine trees — the Great Tree of Peace — will be planted along the route. In a modern echo of the 1825 “Wedding of the Waters” tradition, each community will add local canal water to a traveling cask aboard the Seneca Chief; that water will be used to nurture the final tree in New York City, symbolically uniting the state.
