Ja:göh to December Employees of the Month for Cattaraugus and Allegany Territories
On Friday, December 29th, Employees of the Month for both Allegany and Cattaraugus were recognized in the council chambers on each territory simultaneously via live video streaming. Each honoree was acknowledged by President Armstrong, Deputy Chief of Staff John Waterman, and their respective directors. Stephen Watt from the Housing Department and Amber Bennett from the Deadiwënöhsnye’s Gëjohgwa’ Cattaraugus year 1 Cohort.
Allegany
Tina Becker has been chosen as the Employee of the Month for January in Allegany. She is currently the Mortgage Loan Officer for the Seneca Nation Housing Department/Mortgage Program. This July will mark her 20th year of dedication to the Seneca Nation work force.
“What I enjoy most about working for the Seneca Nation is being part of the big picture and able to help our community/members achieve a lifetime goal of ownership. My next goal is to collaborate with the Housing Department as a hub for an overall Housing Department to expand the services to our community,” shares Tina.
“I want our community to know that I will work with you to help you obtain the goal of owning your own home and most importantly just try; things might not happen right away, in month, or even 6 months, but I will help you get to your goal if you are willing to work with me. I am here to help,” Tina explains.
When not at work, Tina loves to travel and intends to add places to her bucket list that she has not been to yet. She is dedicated to her community and enjoys helping others! Ja:goh Tina! Enjoy your day off, gift card, and parking spot for the month. It is well earned and deserved.
Cattaraugus
Aryien Stevens (Joä’nö’) was selected Employee of the Month for January in Cattaraugus, she is the Adult Language Facilitator for Deadiwënöhsnye’s Gëjohgwa’ Cattaraugus year 1 Cohort and has worked for the Nation for 7 years.
Aryien enjoys most about working for the nation is knowing she directly benefits and helps her people with teaching and learning the Seneca language. To her, it means so much and it is an honor and a privilege to be able to do what she does daily. She expressed how thankful she is we have this opportunity and does her best daily to create and foster a strong language community.
Her goals for the next few months are to ensure her student’s success, meaning that they all graduate and feel confident in their speakership. Aryien says another goal of hers for the next few years is to foster a bigger language community meaning that we can include more people who have low level language or those who might not want to speak but also want to be involved. “I hope one day our language flourishes again and our children reach for Seneca first, I’m confident this will happen in our lifetime”, Aryien included.
Aryien wishes people knew that they could help the language revitalization efforts in more ways than they might realize. Not everyone can or wants to speak and that’s really okay! She says, “Buying language learners coffee, giving them space and time to study or speak the language, even just acknowledging their efforts goes a long way. The journey is so daunting and lonesome at times, even replacing the English words with the Seneca you may know goes a long way. Instead of saying “hello” you say “sgë:nö’”, instead of “water” you say “onegano:s.” Every little bit truly does help and everyone has a role.”
One thing on her bucket list is to go skydiving! She’s hoping to do that soon!
One thing Aryien expressed she is most proud of is being able to converse with elders and children in our language. It’s something she really cherishes and treasures. Aryien says, “We don’t get this time back and that time spent with them is most important to me. I love listening to our elder’s stories and their jokes, it really is something special to be here with them. To be able to know I am trusted by them to continue this on, it’s everything to me.”
