On Indigenous People’s Day, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City, MO which prompted the Sterling, a Hertel Avenue restaurant, to post foul racist remarks to their Facebook page celebrating the Bills’ victory.
“Happy Indigenous People’s Day! Let’s celebrate a Bills victory over the Indigenous People’s Chiefs! Isn’t great we beat down those Chiefs, and stomped on their Arrowhead. Nothing like silencing those silly little war drums the Chiefs fans were beating at Arrowhead Stadium. Christopher Columbus would be proud! #Bills Mafia”
The statement suffered instant backlash, not only has the post disappeared, the entire page for the Sterling restaurant is gone.
President Pagels had a swift response:
“Bigoted, idiotic posts like that, and the people who share them, make it plain to see that racism is still very much alive. Degrading Native Americans and our culture only deepens divisions that have existed throughout history. This isn’t about sports. This is about human decency and respect continually losing out to ignorance. How can anyone try to use genocide as a punch line? Doing so on Indigenous Peoples’ Day furthers the insult, which was clearly intentional. That level of ignorance does nothing but reduce our community to the lowest level, and no ‘apology’ can excuse it. There is no place, especially in a community like Western New York, for that behavior. It’s shameful and disgusting.”
— Seneca Nation President Matthew Pagels
