[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING CHIEF OREN LYONS AS THE 2014 WISDOM KEEPER AWARD RECIPIENT

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                         HON. DANIEL B. MAFFEI

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 1, 2014

  Mr. MAFFEI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate 
Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Onondaga Nation 
Council of Chiefs of the Six Nations of the Iroquois, the 
Haudenosaunee, as the 2014 Wisdom Keeper Award Recipient.
   The 2014 Wisdom Keeper award will be presented to Chief Lyons at The 
F.O.C.U.S. Wisdom Keeper Event on April 2, 2014 at the Nicholas J. 
Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter in Syracuse, New York. The Wisdom 
Keeper Award recognizes community leaders that have enriched our 
community with their wisdom, perseverance and passion. Award winners 
are commemorated with bronze plaques placed in the F.O.C.U.S. Wisdom 
Keeper Garden in the City of Syracuse.
   Chief Lyons was an All-American lacrosse player at Syracuse 
University, playing next to the great two-sport All-American Jim Brown. 
Today, Chief Lyons is enshrined in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
   Chief Lyons has relished in a spiritually rich and fulfilling life, 
and has contributed immensely to the cause of passing on a clean and 
fruitful earth to future generations. Chief Lyons is the recipient of 
The Earth Day International United Nations Award. Chief Lyons has also 
been awarded the National Audubon Award, the Elder and Wiser Award of 
the Rosa Parks Institute of Human Rights, as well as the Ellis Island 
Congressional Medal of Honor.
   Chief Lyons has been a tireless advocate for the rights of 
Indigenous peoples. He worked to establish the Working Group of 
Indigenous Populations at the United Nations in 1982. He serves on the 
Executive Committee of the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary 
Leaders on Human Survival. Chief Lyons recently was awarded Sweden's 
Friends of the Children Award, along with Nelson Mandela. In 1992, 
Chief Lyons addressed the U.N. General Assembly as he commenced the 
International Year of the World's Indigenous People.
   Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I recognize Chief Oren 
Lyons as the 2014 Wisdom Keeper Award recipient. May he continue to be 
a leading force for all that is good and fair for our future 
generations in an ever-changing world.

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