Greetings,
Spring has finally sprung – I saw two robins fighting over a worm last week! I also see that the SALC staff has started bringing the children outside for their walks in the afternoons. I’m hoping we’re done with the snow, as we get prepared for some rain.
Good things have been happening at the Iroquois Post #1587, on the Cattaraugus Territory. On March 29th, as part of a National Vietnam War Commemoration Program, they hosted an honoring event and paid tribute to some Seneca Vietnam Veterans for their service and sacrifice. Historically, Native Americans have had the highest per capita rate of all racial groups to participate in the United States armed forces. The U.S. Census Bureau determined, during the Vietnam War era, that almost 25% of eligible Senecas from the Allegany Territory and a little over 50% of eligible Senecas from the Cattaraugus Territory all fought in the Vietnam War. Due to the controversial nature of the U.S. involvement in this conflict, Vietnam War veteran warriors were not given their honorable recognition upon returning home. The Iroquois Post #1587 commemoration and honoring events which take place each March, provide the Seneca Nation with an opportunity to pay tribute to our Vietnam War Veterans. This year, SGT Neil W. Abrams-U.S. Marine Corps, SSG Wilbur Curry Jr.-U.S. Army [KIA], SPC Carson R. Waterman-U. S. Army, and SGT Richard A. Kennedy-U.S. Army. Thank you gentlemen, for your service; and thank you to your families.
A few years back, there had been three teen deaths from drug overdoses in our communities. This compelled Ron Cook of Iroquois Post #1587, with the assistance from our Council, to develop a junior leadership program to help combat the drug epidemic which plagues our communities – to this day. The result is a program named the Iroquois Sachem Challenge, designed to help male youths 13-16 years of age transition into becoming connected, productive, and responsible citizens. Although the program was interrupted by COVID-19, it has run four complete cycles: and has seen growth and graduated some success stories. One former participant has joined the U.S. Marine Corps; and another is pursuing his Environmental Architecture degree at Syracuse University . Another is currently enrolled at Universal NASCAR Technical Institute in North Carolina, which is a specialized campus for high performance mechanics and is also an intern with 23XI racing team. As a hobby, this particular participant, learned to fly airplanes while he was waiting for everything to fall into place. The program will be gearing up for their summer session soon and the applications will be available at the Iroquois Post #1587 and at both Seneca Nation community centers, for those that may be interested in participating. Jagöh to Ron Cook and Iroquois Post #1587 for your dedication and hard work!
Just for the fun of it – a couple weeks ago, my staff put together a corn soup lunch. We had hull corn soup and roast corn soup, with fry bread and bologna sandwiches. The food was good and it’s good for us to get together occasionally and catch up. Hope you are all enjoying the warmer temperatures and getting outside a little.
Respectfully,
Rickey L. Armstrong, Sr.
Community Announcement
Re: Low Banks Properties
As I’ve addressed in my past few Newsletter messages, please review the community announcement below regarding low banks properties.
