PAUL SMITHS — Paul Smith’s College announces that David Kanietakeron Fadden, a respected Akwesasne Mohawk artist, storyteller and director of the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center, will deliver the college’s 2026 commencement address.
Fadden’s selection reflects the college’s ongoing commitment to fostering education grounded in environmental stewardship, cultural understanding and community responsibility.
A nationally recognized voice in Indigenous arts and education, Fadden brings decades of experience preserving and sharing Indigenous history, values and traditions.
In addition to his art and outreach, Fadden plays a leading role in the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center, a family-founded institution dedicated to preserving and sharing Haudenosaunee culture and history with visitors from around the world. His work seeks to challenge stereotypes and foster deeper, more accurate understandings of Indigenous communities.
Fadden has a longstanding relationship with the college, including a recent collaboration with scientist and professor Curt Stager on “The First Adirondackers: 12,000 Years of Indigenous Peoples in the Adirondacks Uplands,” published by North Country Books.
Fadden also played a leading role in the college’s recently announced land-back initiative, a historic partnership with the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center and The Nature Conservancy that returned 600 acres of property in Onchiota to Indigenous stewardship. Fadden shaped and informed this partnership, helping guide conversations around cultural preservation, land stewardship and the importance of Indigenous leadership in environmental decision-making.
“David’s work reflects the same values we strive to instill in our graduates: respect for the natural world, commitment to community and the power of lived experience,” Dan Kelting, president of Paul Smith’s College, said in a press release. “His voice will resonate deeply with our students as they prepare to lead in a rapidly changing world.”
Fadden’s commencement address is expected to draw on his experiences as an artist and Indigenous cultural educator, offering graduates a perspective rooted in connection to place and responsibility to the world around them.
The commencement ceremony will take place May 9 at 11 a.m. on the Great Lawn of Paul Smith’s College.
It will recognize 150 graduating students earning associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees across the college’s programs in environmental science, forestry, hospitality, culinary arts, recreation, business and related fields.
For more information, visit paulsmiths.edu.