Christine Fadden
Christine Mary “Chris” Chubb Fadden, Skawennati, Turtle Clan, was born on July 3, 1912, the daughter of Mitchell and Louise Back Chubb.
She was born in the farmhouse of her maternal grandparents, Louis and Katherine Back, which was located on Drum Street at the end of Kahionhes Road (known today as Hart Road) within the eastern portion of the Mohawk community of Akwesasne.
Christine is the eldest of five children. When Christine was 12 years old, she moved to Niagara Falls as her father got a job there at the Carborundum plant. After finishing school, Christine worked at various jobs in Niagara Falls and also helped her mother with the craft of basket making. She met Ray Fadden, and on Oct. 30, 1935, they were married. They set up housekeeping on the Tuscarora Reservation, where Ray taught school. During the late summer/early fall of 1938 they moved to Akwesasne, where Ray began teaching at the elementary school in that community.
They had one son, John, married to Eva Thompson. Christine had three grandsons: Donald, David and Daniel. She also had five great-grandchildren: Wishe, Ian, Evan, Hailey and Amber.
Since 1957, Christine and Ray lived in Onchiota and operated the Six Nations Indian Museum, dedicated to preserving the culture of the Iroquois Confederacy: the Mohawks, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora. View American Indian art, crafts, and artifacts at this small museum started in 1957 by Mohawk Ray and Christine Fadden and their family, who still run the place. Baskets, canoes, paintings, beadwork, and other items are hung on the walls and from the ceilings. The museum is 14 miles northeast of Saranac Lake on Franklin County state Route 30, Onchiota, NY 12989.
Ray spent his last years at the Iakhihsohtha Nursing Home at Akwesasne, passing away in 2008. Due to ill health and age, Christine also moved to Iakhihsohtha, doing so in 2006.
Christine passed on to the Skyworld on April 16, 2014.
Visitation will be at The Homemakers in Snye, Akwesasne at 2 p.m. today. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, April 18 at the Mohawk Nation Longhouse.
Donaldson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements, 315-769-3579.