August 2025 Seneca Nation Employee of the Month
By Norah Stevens, Cattaraugus Newsletter Reporter
Irene Wheeler is Employee of the Month for August 2025 in Cattaraugus. She works as the Supervisor for Family Support Services (previously named Child & Family Services) in the Cattaraugus location. She has been with Family Support Services for six years but has worked for the Seneca Nation in various departments for a total of 25 years. She is honored to be in a role where she is connected and doing challenging but impactful work for her nation and people. She loves showing support for the community.
Within the department she has set some goals for them that include helping develop and implement a broader range of supportive services. She also wants the community to know that the department is here to support families and the community with the objective being to keep families together. They are also actively working towards educating as well as strengthening on going partnerships with outside agencies by education the historical and generational traumas from the Indian Boarding School era where there is a huge mistrust so the agencies can best respond sensitively to family members and caregivers.
Irene is very proud of the life and family she has created for herself. She was raised in a single parent household with no father present coming from generational cycles of alcoholism and traumatic experiences. Irene shared that she dropped out of high school and life was not easy, but she worked hard and learned a lot of hard lessons along the way. When she made the choice to start her healing journey and reclaim her power it changed everything. She is proud of herself for breaking the cycle sharing that “We are not what happened to us. We are the choices we make moving forward. Choosing to heal is the best gift you can give yourself and your children – they are watching. So, choose wisely because we do not get that time back and make sure you love yourself and your family”
Ja:göh Irene Wheeler! Keep up with the phenomenal work!
The August 2025 Seneca Nation Employee of the Month for the Allegany Territory is Nathan Jackson, Conservation Officer, Fish & Wildlife. He will be featured in the next issue to be dated September 26th. Ja:göh Nathan!
