Nya:wëh Sge:nö’,
Spring is a time of healing and rejuvenation, when nature recovers from the harshness of winter. At the time of this Special Edition newsletter, our community is in need of healing.
Over the last several weeks, the dark sadness brought on by unexplained deaths related to the drug epidemic has again enveloped our community. There is anger, sadness, confusion, desperation, exhaustion, and, above all, mourning for lives whose potential will never be reached and families that will never again be complete. As your elected Councillors and Executives, we share those same emotions, and we know, as you do, that more must be done protect our people from these destructive behaviors and the people who perpetrate them.
Illegal drug activity is robbing us of bright futures, jeopardizing Senecas of every age, and endangering our safety, our health and our overall way of life. While we know that Native people are almost twice as likely to die of an opioid overdose than non-Natives, we also know that people in our community and in all communities continue to seek profit from poisoning others and enticing them down a deadly path.
As a Nation and as a community, our greatest defenses against these soulless actions and actors are education and resources. That is the focus of this newsletter.
The Seneca Nation has resources and individuals committed to helping those who need support. The members of the Seneca Nation Drug Task Force, the dedicated professionals of our Seneca Nation Health System and Seneca Strong, and our dedicated first responders from the Marshals, Seneca Fire and Seneca EMS are working hard to do everything they can to serve our people. There is information in this newsletter to help you understand what programs, services and resources are at our community’s disposal.
We also have community groups like SMAD and vigilant neighbors and individuals who continue to raise awareness – and their voices – to suspected illegal activities in our community. Community is a major component in fighting this deadly situation. We have to hold one another up, but we also have to hold one another accountable. The Seneca Nation government will continue to take whatever actions we can to protect our community and our people now and into the future.
All of us share the same hope and same goal of ridding our community of people and actions that destroy Seneca families, rather than preserve them. By sharing information and resources, and by staying united, we can restore our community and ensure that the Seneca Nation remains strong, healthy, and vibrant for generations.
Nya:wëh,
The Members of the Seneca Nation Council and Seneca Nation Executives
