George Allison Thomas

Background

Thomas was born on the Onondaga Reservation, south of Syracuse, N. Y. , the son of George Thomas, chief and tadod ho, and Margaret Greene.

Education

A lifelong resident of the Onondaga Reservation, George A. Thomas attended the Onondaga Valley Academy. His religious education came from his father and from attending and observing ceremonials at Iroquois longhouses, structures that served as houses of worship.

Career

For much of his life, Thomas promoted Iroquoian culture and the spiritual welfare of the Iroquois's Six Nations – the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora.

An imposing figure with a barrel chest and deep, pleasant voice, Thomas was a master speaker of the Onondaga language and of several other Iroquoian languages. He participated in meetings of the Cayuga County Historical Society, belonged to the Six Nations Agricultural Society, which encouraged farming and promoted Iroquois participation at the annual New York State Fair in Syracuse, and served as an adviser to the Boy Scouts Committee at Onondaga.

Iroquois chiefs do not pass on titles to their sons, but when Thomas' father died in October 1957 Thomas was selected, after the traditional ten-day condolence council, as tadod ho. Although as tadod ho Thomas had great prestige, he had limited authority and exercised no formal power over the Six Nations. As tadod ho Thomas served as a teacher, role model, and ceremonial leader of the Gaiwiio (Good Word or Code of Handsome Lake), a Native American religion.

Thomas was tadod ho at a time of great crisis in Iroquoia. Significant Iroquois lands – from 11, 000 to 12, 000 acres in all – were expropriated for the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway (1954 – 1959), the Niagara Power Project (1957 – 1961), and the Kinzua Dam (1957 – 1966). As tadoh ho of the Iroquois Confederacy, Thomas led several protests against these intrusions. In a message sent to President Eisenhower, the Iroquois insisted that the expropriations were illegal because the Six Nations were a sovereign entity not subject to the laws of New York, the United States, or Canada. Thomas also led a protest against New York State's imposition of a sales tax on Native American lands, and, just prior to his death, called on the state to return to his people the sacred ceremonial Iroquois wampum belts housed at the New York State Museum. Thomas died in Syracuse, N. Y.

Achievements

• He is remembered as a tadod ho (spiritual leader) of the Longhouse religion of the Iroquois Confederacy.

Membership

He participated in the Onondaga Singing Society, which inculcated Native American traditions and values and provided aid to the poor.

Connections

Thomas married Theresa Homer; the date of the marriage is unknown. They had one child.

Father:

George Thomas

Mother:

Margaret Greene

Spouse:

Theresa Homer

References

• The Iroquois Struggle for Survival: World War II to Red Power (The Iroquois and Their Neighbors)