WASHINGTON — It was announced on Tuesday, April 26, that Onondaga, Turtle Clan Faithkeeper Oren Lyons was greeted with a standing ovation at the Indian Gaming Association (IGA) 2022 convention.
Lyons, 92, was honoured with the organization’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement award at the same convention last Wednesday.
Lyons, the co-founder of the Iroquois Nationals, spoke in support for the team, which needs to raise money to get back to the World Games this summer so they’ll be able to compete in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Lyons was a former lacrosse goalie and All-American player at Syracuse University. He was inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Native American Hall of Fame in 2008.
In his lifetime, Lyons has won numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honour, the United Nations NGO World Peace Prize, Smithsonian’s award for Art and Cultural Achievement and Sweden’s Prestigious Friend of the Children Award. He co-founded the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and Youth and is an emeritus board member of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development. He is the emeritus chairman of the board of governors for the Honouring Nation, the Harvard program for Native American economic development.