10/11/2026
As we continue to celebrate New York State History Month, come visit us today and learn more of the Italian American contributions to Cicero, NY, It's Native American foundations and Matilda Joslyn Gage's contributions to both the Haudenosaunee story and her work for mental health rights as we celebrate Columbus Day, Indigenous People's Day, and World Mental Health Day.
The October Convergence of Observances
Every October, the calendar hands us a complex knot of observances: Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and World Mental Health Day all sharing the same crisp autumn spotlight. For many communities, this collision of observances sparks debate over what, exactly, a town should celebrate. But if you look closely at the history of Cicero, New York, you realize we do not have to choose just one thread. Our town's story weaves them all together.
The First People of Techiroquen
While Columbus Day honors the European arrival, Indigenous Peoples’ Day asks us to respect the civilizations that were already here [cite: 1.3.1]. Long before the Central New York Military Tract labeled this land "Cicero" in 1790, it was stewarded by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Nations. Their footprint is eternally stamped on our geography.
We know the great body of water to our north as Oneida Lake, a modern recreational hub, but to the first people of this region, it was known as Techiroquen. Just offshore sits the landmass we call Frenchman's Island—a name steeped in 18th-century colonial lore about European elopers—but to the Onondaga people who originally navigated these waters, the island was known as Kah-wha-nah-kee [cite: 1.3.1]. Acknowledging these original names is the first step in recognizing that Cicero's history stretches far deeper than its colonial settlement.
A Roman Name with a Route 11 Soul
Cicero bears the name of a classical Roman statesman, but the town’s living Italian-American heritage was not brought over by early explorers; it was built by the hardworking families who eventually migrated north from Syracuse’s Little Italy.
As second and third-generation families moved up the Route 11 corridor following World War II, they helped transform a quiet agricultural community into a thriving, modern suburb. While they were certainly not the sole catalyst for the town's massive post-war growth, their arrival fundamentally shaped the region's cultural fabric. When we celebrate Italian heritage here, we are not looking back to 1492. We are honoring the families who brought their traditions and heritage from the North Side of Syracuse and built local institutions, restaurants, and gathering places that still define Cicero’s hospitality today.
The Native Daughter and Native Sovereignty
Our town's connection to Indigenous history is further deepened by our most famous native daughter: Matilda Joslyn Gage. Born in Cicero in 1826, Gage grew up to become a radical architect of the women’s rights movement. But unlike many of her contemporaries, Gage recognized that true American democracy did not sail over on a European ship.
By observing the Haudenosaunee Nations of upstate New York, Gage witnessed a functioning society where Clan Mothers held immense political power, controlled the economy, and lived free from gender-based violence. Gage used her platform to fiercely defend Native American treaty rights against U.S. government encroachment. She explicitly credited the "Matriarchate" of the Haudenosaunee with providing the modern world its first true conception of inherent rights and natural equality. Long before Indigenous Peoples' Day existed, a Cicero native was actively weaponizing the printing press to demand respect for Native sovereignty.
Sanity, Silence, and Speaking Out.
This same weekend, we observe World Mental Health Day—a global effort to destigmatize mental illness and advocate for psychological autonomy. Here, too, Gage’s legacy is incredibly relevant.
In the 19th century, the medical establishment and the patriarchal legal system routinely weaponized the concept of "insanity." Outspoken, rebellious, or politically active women were frequently diagnosed with "hysteria" or legally committed to asylums by their husbands to silence them. Gage fought back relentlessly against this medicalized misogyny. She argued that the label of mental instability was being used by those in power to imprison the marginalized without a trial. Her lifelong fight was not just for the right to vote, but for the fundamental right to mental and bodily autonomy—the right to be angry, to be outspoken, and to demand change without being dismissed as "crazy."
Nearly a century later, another prominent Cicero resident, Michael J. Bragman, would play a role in shaping New York State's approach to health care. Serving in the New York State Assembly from 1981 to 2001, including eight years as Assembly Majority Leader, Bragman was a cosponsor of the New York Health Care Reform Act of 2000. The legislation included provisions supporting community-based mental health services, supported housing, family treatment programs, and mobile mental health teams. While separated by generations and vastly different circumstances, Gage and Bragman represent two chapters in Cicero's connection to the continuing struggle for humane treatment, access to care, and the dignity of individuals facing society's most difficult challenges.
A Town of Multitudes
Cicero is more than just a dot on a map north of Syracuse. It is the ancestral land of the Haudenosaunee, a community helped along by the upward mobility of Italian-American immigrants, the birthplace of a radical human rights pioneer, and a town whose history intersects directly with the ongoing fight for Indigenous sovereignty and mental health awareness.
This October, as these observances converge, we do not need to look outward to understand their significance. We only need to look at our own history.
S.L.W
