UTICA, N.Y. — The Oneida Indian Nation, Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS), and local officials have unveiled two new public works of art at Wynn Hospital, as part of the Nation’s $1 million donation in support of the hospital.
The works include an outdoor mural and a display inside the hospital lobby that highlight the role of the Oneida people in history.
“We are very proud that our campus is going to be hosting this beautiful artwork,” MVHS President/CEO Darlene Stromstad said. “The amazing story of the Oneidas will be seen and experienced by thousands of people for many years to come, and this artwork will be a source of pride for all of the Mohawk Valley.”
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The mural, located along Columbia Street on the exterior wall of the hospital’s central utility building, is 200 feet long and 10 feet high. It offers a visual representation of the Oneida Indian Nation’s history in New York — from the Oneida creation story to the Nation’s modern-day presence and development of its enterprises.
“It is fitting that this mural is located outside the Wynn Hospital,” Oneida Indian Nation Representative and Turning Stone Enterprises CEO Ray Halbritter said in a release. “This facility, the first of its kind constructed in New York state in a half century, offers Mohawk Valley residents highly advanced medicine and world-class, technologically progressive care where they need it most, including the Oneida people and the more than 5,000 team members who support our Nation. Above all, the hospital is dedicated to the well-being of this community — those who call it home today and all who will call it home in the future.”
An interior mural welcomes visitors to the hospital with a display that shows prominent figures in Revolutionary War history including George Washington holding a two-row wampum symbolizing the agreement between the Oneida Nation and the United States.
“This artwork, which adorns Wynn Hospital. testifies to the spirit of friendship, partnership, and community that characterizes the Oneida Indian Nation’s relationships with their neighbors as is evidenced by this gathering here today,” New York State Deputy Secretary for First Nations Elizabeth Rule said at the unveiling. “For each of these reasons, we should all be proud to have this mural and the story that it tells shared here in Utica for all New Yorkers to see, draw strength from, and to be inspired by.”
The works of art help support the ongoing revitalization of downtown Utica and are part of the Nation’s latest effort to highlight its history locally and across the country.
“Years from now, people will look at this mural and understand that this was the beginning of a new birth of this region, new development, new growth, better health care, better education, better community, and better entertainment,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. said. “It just keeps getting better every single day.”
