President Pagels, Councillor Abrams speak at National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
This month, the Seneca Nation President, Treasurer and several Councillors attended the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) held in Anchorage, Alaska. Tribal Leaders from across the country came together to work collaboratively to protect and enhance tribal sovereignty. In addition to talking with Tribal leadership, Congressional leadership, and federal administration officials, the Seneca Nation provided comments at several sessions, including the Department of Interior Land into Trust and Class III Gaming Compact Regulations listening session.
Councillor Tina Abrams was honored to speak with other Tribal leadership on the main stage of the NCAI General Assembly, describing what Tribal Nations have experienced throughout the Termination and Assimilation eras when Congress adopted policies aimed at terminating federal obligations to tribes. Councillor Abrams stated that “through this all we became resilient, we were able to withstand and recover from this difficult situation, we became authentic flexible thinkers, we became optimistic and we used our strength to reach out to others, we continue to be resilient.” President Pagels was also asked to directly address the General Assembly, delivering a speech describing the aggressive and unjust actions the New York State Governor took against the Seneca Nation. Both Councillor Abrams and President Pagels received tremendous support from other Native Nation leaders from around the country who were alarmed by the hostile tactics used by the Governor against the Seneca Nation government.
Finally, the NCAI passed a formal Resolution in support of the Seneca Nation, calling out the State of New York for its unfair tactics related to the Compact, and calling on the United States Department of the Interior to implement regulations that prevent states from acting in bad faith during the negotiation of gaming compacts.
