Sid Jamieson is a prominent figure in Native American culture who speaks passionately about the absolute sovereignty of his people. Jamieson is from the state of New York and is a Cayuga nation Haudenosaunee person. After high school, Sid, a first-generation college student, attended SUNY Cortland where he received a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education.
Sid speaks on Native American culture in the region to educate the youth. After talking to a Bucknell class on February 13th, he explains his enjoyment of sharing his knowledge and stories explaining, “I can tell you things that you’ll never read in a book…and for you not to know what the history of this country is just not right, just not right, because you know what we’re still here”
Jamieson’s legacy at Bucknell University commenced serendipitously, as he had no knowledge of Bucknell until he stepped onto campus. Jamieson came to Bucknell to visit a friend saying, “And an hour and a half later, I got hired here with no intentions whatsoever of doing anything at Bucknell,” he explains. Yet with his background in physical education and having played both football and lacrosse in college, the dean of men urged him to come work at Bucknell, and when the lacrosse program was created, he was promised the role of head coach.
Starting his role as the first head lacrosse coach for Bucknell in 1968, his 50 years spent at the school were a success. Along with the many victories won by his team, in 1996 Sid was voted the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association National Coach of the Year, and he was chosen as Patriot League Coach of the Year in 1996, 2001, and 2005. Importantly, Jamieson is the only Native American head coach in NCAA Division I lacrosse history. He also co-founded and coached the Iroquois National Team, a team comprised of Native American players.
Sid speaks highly of Bucknell and his time at the University. After 50 years, he retired from coaching in 2005. He explains that he stayed for so long without going elsewhere “because of the environment here, the kind of kids that we’re dealing with every year, bright kids, people who want to go places [and] get things done”.
Although his coaching career had ended, Sid Jamieson still actively takes part in the community by lecturing to students on campus. Throughout his lectures, Jamieson delves into the cultural heritage of the Haudenosaunee and laments the historical injustices inflicted upon Native Americans, such as the cultural genocide committed by the “Indian schools”, where children were forcibly sent to be assimilated. Jamieson also expands upon the structure of the Iroquois governance by comparing the different levels to the United States government because the framework of the Iroquois government inspired United States founders as they wrote the Constitution. Through his work, Sid Jamieson educates others and encourages them to embrace diversity and promote the interconnectedness of all living beings.
Comments