Treasurer

From The Desk of The Treasurer

Greetings,

Old man winter just didn’t want to let go this year! May showers are right around the corner, so get your rain gear ready. Walleye fishing should be at its peak right now!

The national Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) week of action for 2022 will be April 29th to May 5th. This movement began in 2013, with the disappearance and murder of Hanna Harris from the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana. In 2017, the Montana Congressional Delegation passed the first Senate resolution declaring May 5th as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. From there, the movement developed into what it is today. Native women continue to be murdered and go missing at alarming rates, well above the national average of other populations. Statistical data has proven a wide spectrum of violence and neglect is perpetrated disproportionately against indigenous women, due to a long history of colonial government laws, policies and programs. The MMIW movement calls for justice and reforms to barriers which impact the safety of Native women and to fortify support for protections defined by Indigenous voices, languages and teachings. There many actions being taken at the local, state and federal levels. Locally, there are several different initiatives planned to honor this movement: our Crime Victim Services Department is hosting an MMIW Community Social featuring the Old Bridge Allegany Singers on Thursday, May 5th, at the CCC from 4:30pm to 7:30pm. They are also holding a red dress coloring/design contest and encouraging everyone to wear red on May 5th. For more information about the MMIW movement or their upcoming events, please contact Crime Victim Services at: (716) 532-8339.

I’ve noticed this has been a month where people are able to travel once again and have been attending several different conferences and trainings throughout the country. With travel restrictions being lifted and levels of positive COVID cases in decline, some of our employees have traveled to attend the Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA) conference in Seattle, WA, some have attended the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) conference in Anaheim, CA and others are attending various trainings. I hope they are bringing back useful and interesting information to enrich our operations. It’s always good to hear what other tribal nations are doing in their programs to improve the quality of life for their membership.

As a reminder, if you are over fifty years of age, you may be eligible to receive your second COVID-19 booster shot (fourth injection), as they are now available by calling Teri Cowles at (716) 945-5894 (Allegany); or Kim Bradley at (716) 532-5582 (Cattaraugus). Stay safe everyone!

Respectfully,
Rickey L. Armstrong, Sr