Repost from Seneca Nation Crime Victim Services
On Friday, March 1st, the first TEEN SOCIAL in recognition of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month was held at the Saylor Building on the Cattaraugus Territory. The event was a collaboration between Seneca Nation Crime Victim Services, Child & Family Services, and Native Connections. The purpose was to provide teens a safe and fun environment to meet other teens, enjoy traditional social dancing, and learn about roles and responsibilities as young Indigenous people for healthy relationships.
Guest speaker Gaehnew Printup shared valuable information about our culture, traditional values, and the importance of honoring our women, and Irene Wheeler from C&FS had interactive conversations with the teens about safety & trust in relationships. Teens could visit information tables, ask questions, dance, and enjoy pizza, strawberry juice, and snacks. At the end of the event, each teen received a door prize and a goodie bag with a “Strong. Resilient. Onöndowa’ga:’.” t-shirt.
Thank you to the Seneca Nation departments, Cattaraugus Community Center, Allegany Community Center, Newtown Singers, Seneca Media, Lakeshore Native American Club and volunteers that helped make this event a success for our youth! The generous donations from the SNI Council Office, Crossroads, Catt Rez Beaders, Chrissy Jimerson, Kari Kennedy, and Evelyn & Dave Shongo were greatly appreciated!
Many of the teens expressed they had a great time! We look forward to continue working together as a community to empower and educate our Indigenous youth. Nya:wëh!
