High Falls is Rochester’s principal geographic landmark. It’s where the village of Rochesterville was formed to harness the great power of the Genesee, turning the mills that made Rochester the Flour City. And for centuries upon centuries before that, it was home to the Onöndowaʼgaʼ (Seneca) people who lived along the gorge until their forced removal in the 19th century. Early settlers called it the Great Seneca Falls, but they also documented the falls’ Onöndowaʼgaʼ name, Casconchiagon, more accurately spelled Ga'sgöhsagöh in the modern Onöndowaʼgaʼ orthography. The name appropriately means “At the waterfall.” It is the Onöndowaʼgaʼ name not just for High Falls, but also for the city of Rochester itself.

 A new era is set to begin in the falls’ long history as New York State begins construction on High Falls State Park, a new 40-acre state park that will provide public access to the gorge for the first time in generations. Among the park’s stated goals is a commitment to honor and make visible the city’s cultural history. The development of Rochester’s first state park presents a rare and timely opportunity to restore visibility to Onöndowaʼgaʼ history and culture by naming this new park Ga'sgöhsagöh State Park.

Rochester has a rich Indigenous heritage that remains largely unknown and unacknowledged in public spaces. There are parks and streets bearing the Seneca name, but it’s a token form of recognition. Onöndowaʼgaʼ place names once covered the landscape, from Pinnacle Hill to the Turning Point Basin, but much of that knowledge has been erased through forced removal and systematic language suppression. The Thomas Indian School, where generations of kidnapped Onöndowaʼgaʼ children suffered the trauma of forced assimilation, only closed in 1957, within living memory. The names that remain in common usage - Irondequoit, Genesee - are highly corrupted or simply wrong. This misinformation has become further entrenched as historians repeatedly spread false etymologies without ever consulting people who actually know the language.

This has contributed to a landscape where almost everything Rochesterians know about the Onöndowaʼgaʼ people is inaccurate. The most common and harmful misconception is that the Onöndowaʼgaʼ are a people consigned to history. In reality, the Onöndowaʼgaʼ Nation is still here. There is an Onöndowaʼgaʼ reservation less than an hour from Rochester. Onöndowaʼgaʼ people live in this city. Onöndowaʼgaʼ is a living, albeit severely endangered, language. The more we recognize the Onöndowaʼgaʼ language and engage in meaningful consultation, the more we can support its revitalization.

Ga'sgöhsagöh is one of the few precolonial names in this area that has survived. This is remarkable, and it is worth celebrating. Ga'sgöhsagöh State Park differs from places like Seneca Park in that it doesn’t just appropriate the tribe’s incorrect name. It is an act of genuine recognition, honoring the Onöndowaʼgaʼ people’s enduring relationship with the land and water by using a name in the Onöndowaʼgaʼ language itself.

Aside from its contribution to Indigenous erasure, there's nothing particularly offensive about the name High Falls. The problem is that it’s generic. There are eleven places named High Falls just in New York. Georgia already has a High Falls State Park, which could foreseeably lead to some confusion. Rochester similarly shares its name with several other cities. But there is only one Ga'sgöhsagöh on the map. It’s a name that is unmistakably rooted in this place. By embracing this name, Rochester would distinguish itself, adding a layer of authentic cultural identity that no other city can claim, adding depth to the city’s vibrant history.

High Falls State Park is still in development. There are no signs to replace, no established identity to disrupt. This is the ideal moment to get this right from the beginning. It costs nothing and requires only the will to do it.

Will there be a learning curve? Probably. But it didn’t take long for the Rochester community to embrace the Freddie-Sue moniker after the 490 bridge was renamed in 2007, and it’s since become an iconic landmark and a source of civic pride. Ga'sgöhsagöh additionally benefits from being easy to pronounce, spoken much as it is spelled: ga-SGO-sa-go.

Learning, after all, is the point. How many Rochesterians know that their city has an Indigenous name? How many Rochesterians have heard a single word of Onöndowaʼgaʼ spoken? Almost none. For too long, Rochester's Indigenous heritage has been largely ignored, suppressed, and misrepresented. By adopting an accurate name provided by Onöndowaʼgaʼ language keepers, we would be doing something unprecedented in Rochester. Ga'sgöhsagöh State Park can be a space where the record is finally set straight.

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Endorsed by:

Indigenous Peoples' Day Committee of Rochester
Genesee Land Trust 
Rochester Mutual Aid Network
Rochester City Councilmember Mary Lupien

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NEXT STEPS

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1 - Email & Call Your Reps:

Assemblymember Demond Meeks — meeksd@nyassembly.gov | 585-454-3670
Assemblymember Sarah Clark - clarks@nyassembly.gov | 585-467-0410
Assemblymember Harry Bronson - bronsonh@nyassembly.gov | 585-244-5255
State Senator Jeremy Cooney - cooney@nysenate.gov | 585-225-3650
State Senator Samra Brouk - brouk@nysenate.gov | 585-223-1800

2 - Share & Sign the Petition 🙏