Nestled comfortably in the heart of a quiet neighourhood just beyond the boundary of West Hill stands one of the largest Indian mounds to be found in an urban setting. Within the Taber Hill osuary nearly 500 people of the Iroquois nation have rested for over 700 years. The site is peaceful, dignified and profoundly spiritual.

The name "Iroquois" was given to the peoples of the six nations by their enemies. The Algonquin called them the Iroqu (Irinakhoiw) "rattlesnakes." After the French added the Gallic suffix "-ois" to this insult, the name became Iroquois. The Iroquois call themselves Haudenosaunee meaning "people of the long house." Iroquois villages were generally fortified and large. The distinctive, communal longhouses of the different clans could be over 200' in length and were built about a framework covered with elm bark. Evidence of two of their villages have been found long the banks of the Highland Creek. These villages were set well back from the creek, away from the flood plain and from the sight of their enemies. The village on the west hill is located near the Alda Motel, while the one on the east hill of the creek is on the Helliwell property. Descendants of the original peoples continue to reside on this land in the Gabriel Dumont community of West Hill.

The Iroquois were the most important native group in North American history. Culturally, however, there was little to distinguish them from their Iroquian-speaking neighbors. All had matrilineal social structures - the women owned all property and determined kinship. The individual Iroquois tribes were divided into three clans, turtle, bear, and wolf - each headed by the clan mother. The Seneca were like the Huron tribes and had eight (the five additional being the crane, snipe, hawk, beaver, and deer). After marriage, a man moved into his wife's longhouse, and their children became members of her clan.

This photo was taken on June 21 at sunset on the longest day of the year. Venus and Saturn were near conjunction. As the shadows of night settled in, 30 or more seagulls conducted an arial ballet gracefully swooping and feasting on the june bugs that filled the air. A warm wind refreshed the night as we kept watch. A crescent moon kept watch with us and remained when we left around ten oclock.