The Cohonguroton Address is a hundred-year-old Georgetown commencement tradition with a rich but complicated history. The address featured stereotypical Native American imagery and garb until 1965.
Origins and Native American imagery
The first Cohonguroton Address was delivered at the close of the class-day exercises for the Georgetown University Class of 1919. “Cohonguroton,” which means “river of swans,” is the Algonquian name given to the Potomac River, and the address was viewed as a “swan song of the graduating class. . . a farewell to the old river that has serenely followed them through the years leading up to graduation.”1
For decades, the Cohonguroton speaker delivered their speech from the balcony of Healy Hall while clothed in the costume of a Native American chief beside a canvas tent with a campfire ablaze in the quadrangle.2 This aspect of the tradition continued until 1965, when George Thibault became the first to deliver the address without the Native American elements.
Speaker selection
The Cohonguroton speaker was traditionally nominated and elected by members of the senior class. Although there were no formal qualifications for selection, an article from The Hoya in 1927 described how the honor of delivering the Cohonguroton Address is bestowed on one who “must be an excellent orator, a true Georgetown man, and an example of the spirit of his class.”3 In 1973, four years after the University admitted women into the College, Christine M. Niedermeier became the first woman to deliver the Cohonguroton Address.
Today, the Cohonguroton Address serves as the equivalent of a valedictory address and is delivered at the Tropaia Ceremony by “one of the most academically accomplished students in the College at the invitation of the Dean.” 4While much has changed, the Cohonguroton Address continues to offer seniors an opportunity to reflect on the education they have received during their time at Georgetown.
