Her image is more than just a portrait;
Imagine stumbling upon a photograph from 1908, capturing the serene beauty of a Seneca woman named Ah-Weh-Eyu, also known as Pretty Flower. Her image is more than just a portrait; it’s a portal into the rich tapestry of Seneca history and culture. Who was Ah-Weh-Eyu, and what stories could she tell us about her people? The Seneca are one of the six nations of the Iroquois League (Haudenosaunee), historically residing south of Lake Ontario, one of North America’s five Great Lakes. They held the westernmost position in the league, which played a crucial role in the political and cultural landscape of pre-Revolutionary New York. According to Seneca oral tradition, their roots trace back to a village called Nundawao, nestled near the south end of Canandaigua Lake at South Hill. Nearby, the 865-foot-high Bare Hill, known to the Seneca as Genundowa, stands as a testament to their ancestral past. This hill, part of the Bare Hill Unique Area acquired by the state in 1989, once hosted a signif...