About Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge
Phiolosophy
INDIGENOUS COLLEGE
INDIGENOUS COLLEGE
Since our establishment, Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge has been dedicated to providing quality education to students from all over the world. This incudes the preservation, the dissemination of Indigenous Knowledge, including language and cultural education.
We have diligently acquired a large number of Indigenous artifacts
Since our establishment, Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge has been dedicated to providing quality education to students from all over the world. This incudes the preservation, the dissemination of Indigenous Knowledge, including language and cultural education.
We have diligently acquired a large number of Indigenous artifacts (Thousands), art, documents, and languge tapes.
In addition, the Institute has acquired and preserved a large track of land along the Mohawk River, adjacent to the Two Cohoes Falls (approx. 1 mile of river front over 100 acres). This land has a rich historic, cultural, and spiritual significance. In addition, HIK's head quarters is a 18 acre site and is also owned outright with a large P.V. Solar array making the site off grid.
With this substantial bedrock now established, we have turned our attention to the task of dissemination of Indigenous knowledge. Our board members have dedicated their time and talents to speak, write, construct art, and perform in public service to our mission. Now we have focused our energy on the next important task, the creation of the Indigenous College. After careful consideration, we have identified the now closed Wells Campus as the most suitable location.
INDIGENOUS COLLEGE
INDIGENOUS COLLEGE
INDIGENOUS COLLEGE
The Wells College Campus is located on Cayuga Lake in the Village of Aurora. This was the location of the Cayuga village with its famous Peach Trees. It was also the location of the Aurora Boarding school where a Seneca youth named Eli Part attended school. Parker's family adopted an Aurora resident, Morgan who with Wells worked diligentl
The Wells College Campus is located on Cayuga Lake in the Village of Aurora. This was the location of the Cayuga village with its famous Peach Trees. It was also the location of the Aurora Boarding school where a Seneca youth named Eli Part attended school. Parker's family adopted an Aurora resident, Morgan who with Wells worked diligently to establish Wells College. Impressed by the high status of women in Iroquois society, they developed Wells College as a college for women.
Later, In Galena, Parker met U. S. Grant, an obscure ex-army captain working as a clerk in his brother’s store. The two men became friends and during the war Grant made a position on his staff for the able Parker. At the time of the surrender Parker was a lieutenant colonel, but received the rank of brevet brigadier general after the Civil War.
Lieutenant Colonel Ely Parker made the formal ink copy of General Grant’s letter that spelled out the terms of surrender. “Having finished it, I brought it to General Grant, who signed it, sealed it and then handed it to General Lee” - Lt. Colonel Ely Parker.
At the surrender meeting, seeing that Parker was an American Indian, General Lee remarked to Parker, “I am glad to see one real American here.” Parker later stated, “I shook his hand and said, 'We are all Americans'.”
With this rich history, this ancestral land of the Cayuga at Aurora and the Wells Campus were identified as the location for the future Indigenous College.
Education
INDIGENOUS COLLEGE
Education
HIIK has developed curriculum consistent with its mission and reflective of circular of leading educational institutions and organizations around the world.
The Indigenous College intends to also partner with other educational institutions to allow us to offer our students unique opportunities in the sciences such as agricultural, nursin
HIIK has developed curriculum consistent with its mission and reflective of circular of leading educational institutions and organizations around the world.
The Indigenous College intends to also partner with other educational institutions to allow us to offer our students unique opportunities in the sciences such as agricultural, nursing, art, material science, television and radio broadcasting, live sound reinforcement and research collaborations.
We will be part of a global network of educators and learners who share our commitment to a higher quality of education.
Our other work to preserve and disseminate Indigenous knowledge will continue and be enhanced by the Indigenous College.
One of our founding board members was Grammy Award Winning Joanne Shenandoah. During her life time she diligently served HIIK and spread indigenous knowledge through her music. We will dedicate the future music center at the Indigenous College in her name to her.
Board of Directors
Les Lo Baugh, Chair & President Founding Board Member
Doug Kanentiio VP Founding Board Member
Doug Kanentiio VP Founding Board Member
Les began his is career as a legislative aide at the U.S Senate. During that time he prepared the first drafts of many of the most significant environmental legislation, including the Endangered Species Act.
He went on to help draft the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act. Off Shore Drilling Act and many other pertinent pieces of legislation at the state and federal level. He has served as a partner in one of the largest international law firms, as well as general counsel to U.S. Fortune 100 and diversified international corporations, and Chairman of the California Bar Ethics Committee for over a decade.
He has spoken and written widely on environmental and Indigenous matters, served as an expert witness before Congress and state legislative bodies, counseled governmental entities and was appointed an Independent Observer at the trial of the 9-11 terrorists at Camp Justice at Guantanamo Bay Cuba. He incorporated HIIK and served initially as its founding general counsel.
Les has revived various awards including Corporate Legal Counsel of the year, but the one he is most proud of is the Red Nation Lifetime Achievement Award.
He served as Chairman for the Finance Committee for the successful $18 billion CityCenter Development project which is the largest single mixed use construction project in the United States of 16.7 Million square feet of finished building space on 76 acres of land on the Las Vegas Strip which achieved one of the highest Green Building LEED ratings globally, earning six LEED Gold certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Les is an attorney accepted to the NY, CA, DC bars, has passed the multi state bar exam (less then 1% of attorneys have attained) and admitted to practice before the US supreme court and has litigation several times before supreme courts
Doug Kanentiio VP Founding Board Member
Doug Kanentiio VP Founding Board Member
Doug Kanentiio VP Founding Board Member
Doug George-Kanentiio, Akwesasne Mohawk, is a residential school survivor. He was given the number 4-8-2-738. He serves as the vice-president of the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge. He previously served as a Trustee for the National Museum of the American Indian, is a former land claims negotiator for the Mohawk Nation and is the author of numerous books and articles about the Mohawk people. Doug continues in many ways to advocate for Native Peoples.
Kanentiio, is an Akwesasne Mohawk writer, lecturer, and award winning journalist recognized nationally for his knowledge of Haudenosaunee history, politics, and culture. His work has appeared in major publications including the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, the Toronto Star, and the Syracuse Newspapers, where he served as a columnist for nine years. He received the Wassaja Award from the Native American Journalists Association, its highest honor, and has been widely consulted by historians, filmmakers, and television producers for his expertise.
Kanentiio is the author of Skywoman, Iroquois on Fire, and Iroquois Culture and Commentary, and a contributor to multiple texts on sovereignty, Indigenous nations, and Haudenosaunee history. He served as editor of Akwesasne Notes and Indian Time and was a founding member of the Native American Journalists Association. He has been a consultant for Discovery Channel, Think Film, IMAX, and Marvel Studios for its Kahhori episode in the What If series.
Kanentiio has spoken internationally across Europe, Africa, and North America on contemporary Indigenous issues. He is also the founder of the Akwesasronon Sonatatenron, supporting survivors of the Mohawk Residential School, where he himself was a survivor.
Dr. Leah Shenandoah
Doug Kanentiio VP Founding Board Member
Sheldon Gibson Founding Board Member
Dr. Kahawhitha Leah Shenandoah Ph.D., M.F.A., B.S. is a Wolf Clan Member of the Onyo’ta:aká: Oneida Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. She is a tenure track Assistant Professor at OCAD University in Indigenous Visual Culture and Material Art and Design. Her work unites Indigenous methodologies, material culture, and community grounded research to generate spaces of protection, comfort, and healing.
Dr. Shenandoah holds a Ph. D. in Apparel Design from Cornell University, an M.F.A. in Metals and Jewelry from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in Textiles from Syracuse University. Her creative practice spans jewelry, wearable sculpture, music, and multimedia performance. Her debut album Spectra received two Native American Music Awards and a Syracuse Area Music Award. Her artwork has been exhibited at major institutions including the National Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of Arts and Design, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.
Dr. Shenandoah is a driven woman who continues to build transformative Indigenous futurisms through research, design, and community collaboration.
Her website is www.drleahshenandoah.comexperience designed for helping students prepare for standardized tests. They provide individualized support and feedback to help each student maximize their potential.
Sheldon Gibson Founding Board Member
Sheldon Gibson Founding Board Member
Sheldon Gibson Founding Board Member
Sheldon A. Gibson is an enrolled member of the Onondaga Nation, Wolf Clan. Raised on the Onondaga Nation in a traditional manner, he went on to a career as a Construction Inspector for Local, State and Federal projects across the country. With 30 plus years in the area Of Quality Control/Assurance in the disciplines of Soils, Concrete, Structural, HVAC, Small and Large bore piping including Instrumentation and Roofing as well as water sampling for major Construction Projects.
These projects included Hospitals, Schools, Warehouses, Bridges, Sewage Treatment Plants, Electrical Power Plants of all types, Roads both State and Federal Highways, Airports, Military and more.
He also attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe New Mexico and graduated with a degree in the metals and 3D Arts. Upon returning to Onondaga he attended Syracuse University and completed The Entrepreneurs Boot Camp in 2013. As an Adjunct Professor, Taught at Onondaga Community College, Syracuse University and Oswego State.
Has served as a board member for several Not for Profit organizations and has been actively working to promote the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge since its inception in 2013.
Certifications:
AWS CAWI
SNT- TC- 1A
ANSI B31.1 P,M &I
ANSI N45.2.6 currently listed as N45.2.6, N45.2.11 , N45.2.2
ASME P,M &I
ASTM Civil, Structural, Soils, Batch Plant
MIL CERT E5 Nuclear
API 1104
Lee LoBaugh Board Member
Sheldon Gibson Founding Board Member
Dr. Marnie LoBaugh Board Member
Lee LoBaugh has over 30 years experience in transactional real estate, debt and equity financing with over 20 billion in closed transactions.
He is the former broker of record of the only for profit firm in San Diego County Ca through the National Community Stabilization Trust created by congress to stabilize blighted neighborhoods and provide moderate and low income housing.
He is a ICU CCRN, and a Doctoral candidate at Purdue University completing clinical residency with a focus in family practice. He works as the Critical Care Internal Medicine Response Team Lead (CCRT) at academic teaching hospital responding to the sickest patients in rapid response code situations.
He has worked in Neuro Trauma ICUs, Cardiovascular ICUs, Medical Trauma ICUs, Emergency Trauma Receiving, Cath Lab and the OR.
He has instructed nursing clinical courses at several colleges in academic hospitals. He has also worked as a preceptor at several hospitals training and evaluating experienced nurses who wish to transition to working in Intensive Care Units, evaluating their capacity and needs for further training.
He has a long history of science and academic grant awards including:
● National Institute of Health (NIH Research Grant recipient team member)
● National Science Foundation (NSF Research Grant recipient team member)
● National Cancer Foundation (NCF Research Grant recipient team member)
● Grant recipient University California San Diego (UCSD) Global Entrepreneurs via (Jacobs School of Biotechnical Engineering and Randy School of Business Management),
His volunteer work includes:
● Volunteer member Community Emergency Response Team Lead (CERT) Murrieta CA
● Volunteer member Marine Corp. Outreach Ministry (MOM) food bank and emergency financial assistance.
Dr. Marnie LoBaugh Board Member
Sheldon Gibson Founding Board Member
Dr. Marnie LoBaugh Board Member
Dr. Marlene Lo Baugh earned her Ph. D. in psychology with a post-doctoral neuro-psychology certification. She also has two Master Degrees from UCLA, one in clinical psychology and one in experimental psychology. BS In Child Development and BS Abnormal Psych. She has taught at many different levels including advanced statistics to graduate students, bio, and neuro anatomy. She has worked as a intercity high school counselor and as an advocate and professional witness for many legal court proceedings.
Dr. Lo Baugh has conducted research and analysis on a wide range of topics and devoted extensive time to public service. Her decades of experience. include: a variety of Catholic services related work, as well as, significant statistical analysis, extensive reach, learning, organizational & managerial skills and behavior, perceptual behavior, processing, motivation and learning, social equity focused work, counseling, teaching and testing of all ages, genders, economic, racial and ethnic groups.
Dr. Lo Baugh worked with homeless women at Rachael’s House, a Catholic Charities outreach care facility for many years in San Diego, California. At Catholic Charites in Los Angeles, Dr. Lo Baugh worked with teenage suicide clients, and victims of spousal and child abuse.
In addition, she is the former Chair of E Cubed Optimizers LLC, a firm that provides consulting services concerning resiliency, business, climate change, environmental, organizational and energy matters. (E Cubed recently completed a resiliency analysis for the city of Boston, evaluating 16 distinct areas including education, health care, medical services, racism, environmental matters and public services.) She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge, which is a Native American Educational and Cultural Institute.
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Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge
265 North Woods Rd., Hermon, New York, 13652-3198
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