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Oren Lyons (b.1930) Oren R. Lyons is a traditional Faithkeeper and chief of the Wolf Clan and a proud and accomplished Native American who works tirelessly towards the issues concerning Indigenous peoples in the United States and the world. He is a member of the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, (Haudenosaunee) consisting of Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and the Tuscarora Indian reservations in northern New York state. Among his accolades he has received the Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor, the National Audubon Award, the First Annual Earth Day International Award of the United Nations, and the Elder and Wiser Award of the Rosa Parks Institute for Human Rights.

He is deeply involved with national and international issues that affect native peoples and has represented them in many forums throughout the world, including several at the UN focusing on the rights and status of indigenous peoples, the environment and sustainable development.

Oren Lyons was born in 1930 and raised in the traditional culture and practices of the Iroquois on the Seneca and Onondaga reservations in northern New York State.

After serving in the Army, he graduated in 1958 from the Syracuse University College of Fine Arts. He then pursued a career in commercial art after he moved to New York City, becoming the art and planning director of Norcross Greeting Cards with 200 artists under his supervision. He has exhibited his own paintings widely and is well noted in certain circles as a talented American Indian artist. He has since been awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Syracuse University.

Drawn by a yearning for his culture Lyons returned to Onondaga in 1970. He is recognized not only in the United States and Canada but internationally as an eloquent and respected spokesperson on behalf of Native peoples. He is a sought-after lecturer or participant in forums in a variety of areas, including not only American Indian traditions, but Indian law and history, human rights, environment and interfaith dialogue.