Enjoy a round of golf on Sunday, April 23, 2023 at the Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course.

Visit senecahickorystick.com or call 716-754-2424 to book your tee time.

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April 03, 2023 | legion.org

Check out the April issue of The American Legion Magazine, now online, with feature article by Ronald Cook, Jr. Alarmed by the loss of three youth to drug overdoses in their Seneca Nation community in southwestern New York, Army Veteran Ron Cook Jr. approached the tribe’s leaders with a plan. “The primary focus is to strengthen the family unit,” says Cook, commander of Iroquois American Legion Post 1587. “I developed this program that was traditionally oriented to go back to our old ways on teaching our young people how to be strong, resilient and able to handle adversities.”

Members can click HERE to access the digital magazine. To join The American Legion and enjoy monthly digital issues of The American Legion Magazine, visit legion.org/join.

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Below is a list of the Wini Kettle Senior Center activities and Allegany Elders Center activities.

Wini Kettle Senior Center Activities:

Pot Luck & Bingo: Every Monday at 5pm
Mens Pool: Every Monday at 9am
Card Club: Every Tuesday & Friday at 10am
Exercise Class: Every Wednesday at 1:30pm
Shuffleboard: Tuesday, April 25th at 1pm
Allegany @ Catt Pool Tournament: Tuesday, April 18th at 1pm
Prize Bingo: Thursday, April 20th at 1pm
Women’s Pool Tournament: Thursday, April 27th at 1pm

For more information, call Raven or Bruce at (716)532-5777.

Allegany Elders Center Activities

Chair Yoga w/Andrea Spako: Every Monday from 11am-noon
Movie Night: Every Monday at 4pm
Card Making Class: Every Wednesday from 11am-1pm
Crochet Class w/Enola Pierce: Every Wednesday from 2-4pm
Bingo: Every Thursday at 1pm
Seneca Language: Every Friday from 11am-12pm
Ham Pot Luck: Friday, April 21st from 2-4pm
Key Chain Making: Saturday, April 22nd from 2-4pm
Climate Change Conversation: Thursday, April 27th at 12:30pm

For more information, call Stephanie & Dorsie at (716) 945-8990.

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Sign-up sheets for shows will be available 1 MONTH prior to the event. Numbers are turned into the Casino 1 week prior, if you have a change in plans please cancel before then. Please arrive 2 hours prior to show for buffet and no later than 30 minutes prior. Be sure you will be attending when you sign-up as there has been an increase of last-minute cancellations, resulting in a waste of Elder entertainment funds. Nya:wëh!

• Comedian Jeff Foxworthy-The Good Ole Days Tour: Saturday, April 22nd Seneca Allegany Event Center
• Travis Tritt: Saturday, May 20th at 8 p.m. – Seneca Allegany Event Center
• 38 Special: Saturday, June 17th at 8 p.m. – Seneca Niagara Event Center NEW
• REO Speedwagon: Saturday, June 24th at 7 p.m. – Seneca Allegany Event Center NEW
• Gary Levox (of Rascal Flatts): Saturday, May 27th at 8 p.m. – Seneca Niagara Event Center
• Comedian Ken Jeong: Saturday, September 16th at 8 p.m. – Seneca Niagara Event Center

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Visit: https://sni.org/aoa-newsletter-april-2023/

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April 28th – Note: Appointments required. To make an appointment call Tina Law in Cattaraugus at (716) 532-5777 or call Bridgette John in Allegany at (716)945-8414.

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To all the helpers, volunteers, those who donated, and helped make the Pinewoods Community 2023 Easter Egg Hunt a huge success, we would like to say thank you (Nya:wëh) – You are the Best!

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Michigan State College of Law student, Rory Wheeler, ’25, has secured the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Native American Congressional Internship.

The Udall Internship honors the legacies of Morris Udall and Stewart Udall, whose careers had a significant impact on American Indian self-governance and health care, as well as the stewardship of public lands and natural resources.

This program provides American Indian and Alaska Native students with the opportunity to gain practical experience with the federal legislative process to understand first-hand the government-to-government relationship between Tribes and the federal government. The internship is funded by the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy.

“It means a lot to me as the first Seneca Nation citizen awarded this,” Wheeler said. “I am super proud to be able to represent my Nation and our Spartan community in this role.”

With this position, Wheeler aims to advance his future as an attorney to provide adequate legal aid for his fellow peers through this opportunity.

“I hope to use this opportunity to learn more about Federal and Congressional affairs, build meaningful connections with my fellow interns, and further develop my advocacy and leadership skills to help tribal nations,” he said.

Wenona Singel, director of the Indigenous Law & Policy Center, expressed her excitement for Wheeler and endorses the Udall committee’s decision for choosing the right candidate.

“We’re proud to see that the Udall Foundation and the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy have recognized Rory,” Singel said. “Udall interns represents the best and brightest of tribal members who show promise for academic achievement, leadership, and commitment to careers in tribal public policy and he possesses each of these qualities in spades, and we’re excited for his future”

Source

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Submitted by Leeora White, Salamanca’s A.C.E. Mentoring Program Consultant

The Salamanca School District is developing a mentoring program focused on young native boys to engage, promote, and strengthen our community’s Indigenous culture. Building relationships with students through mentoring is the primary focus of Salamanca’s A.C.E. Mentoring program. Salamanca School District launched this initiative last year with funds provided by New York State’s Department of Education’s My Brother’s Keeper Native American Program grant.

According to New York State, the goal of the grant is to concentrate on “building safe and inclusive communities for boys and young men of color and ensuring that all young people can reach their full potential.”

The formation of the program and the acronym A.C.E. was heavily influenced by Donald “Flip” White, noting it stands for; “A means you are an asset to the community, C indicates your contribution to the community, and E is how we seek to exemplify excellence.”

“Taking time as an A.C.E. mentor to a young Indigenous person is one of the most rewarding activities you can do,” said Donald White while soliciting an open invitation for anyone who is interested in positively influencing students should get involved.

Karina Lingenfelter, Salamanca’s A.C.E. Mentoring program coordinator, outlines how students are connecting with members of the community on a weekly basis along with attending various Indigenous centered group mentoring events.

“Indigenous culture is at the core of the program,” Lingenfelter notes, “and this allows us to encourage, teach, and inspire young Indigenous boys to relate and connect to our Seneca heritage.”

“When we center cultural knowledge, we are telling an amazing story to our youth about the high value we place on Indigenous thought, traditions, and people,” Leeora White, Salamanca’s A.C.E. Mentoring program consultant, said in a statement.

Leeora White continued, “our stories define who we are, and we can change the narrative of these young boys’ lives by eliminating the opportunity gaps they may face and by offering them traditional perspective to assist them in achieving their full potential.”

The goal for this program is to provide students who are the mentees the opportunity to be mentored by members of the community to enhance communication skills and build admirable behaviors. Providing this opportunity to students and community members strengthens and heals the community.

This mentoring culture gives the students an opportunity to connect with community members they otherwise may have never met and learn traditional skills that revitalizes and strengthens Seneca teachings. “It allows our youth to learn from a variety of community members that are eager to share their life experiences to positively influence good decision making and encourage them to reach their full potential”, adds renowned artist, Carson Waterman.

The A.C.E Mentoring Program is continuing to look forward to having a lot of fun learning traditional and modern practices and attending activities within the community. “We started with individual mentoring but found group mentoring was beneficial and gave the students a chance to meet and engage in cultural activities together making it very enjoyable to build relationships,” Lingenfelter voiced.

One-on-one mentoring is still beneficial for mentee and mentor to strengthen those relationships and communication skills by meeting once a week. It provides a safe space and opportunity for our youth to learn from their A.C.E. mentor and create a lasting relationship built on trust.

Upcoming group activities include:

• Singing on the Big Drum with the Old Bridge Singers to learn from experienced Pow-Wow singers.
• Strong young singers will be teaching the students the stories behind Social Dance Songs and giving them the encouragement to sing and dance.
• Weekly board game night every Friday evening to use critical thinking skills to earn the champion belt.
• Creating native fashion as they learn how to assemble a ribbon shirt.
• Beading class and they’ll learn the art of beadwork.
• Leather tooling class where they will be tooling, braiding, and dying leather to create a valet tray or medallion.
• Classes to cook Indigenous foods.
• Getting outdoors to do hikes/running/fishing at the Allegany State Park

The A.C.E. Mentor Program is continuing to network to connect with local community Indigenous artists to encourage the mentees to learn traditional and contemporary Indigenous arts. There is healing through art that needs to be explored and expanded in our community.

The A.C.E. Mentoring Coordinators, Karina and Leeora have a vision to expand the program to create equal opportunities to encourage mentoring with both male and female students.

Leeora White stated, “It is truly an incredible experience to watch the young men be authentically themselves and build relationships that create passions that have the potential of changing the trajectory of their life experiences and allows them to mirror a mentor mentality on the younger students they influence”.

Karina added, “The goal is for mentees to be confident to come back as mentors as they manifest positive behaviors and relationships that cultivate a mentor culture that is overall rewarding for the community”.

“Leading this mentoring opportunity with the foundation of our ancestral teachings is what will strengthen and heal our ögweoweh community”, Donald “Flip” White stated.

If you are interested in getting involved or want to get your child involved in creating culture centered experiences within our community, please reach out to Karina Lingenfelter or Leeora White.

For more information and details about the A.C.E. Mentoring Program:

Contact Karina Lingenfelter or Leeora White at 716-801-2525, klingenfelter@salamancany.org, or lwhite@salamancany.org.

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Stop down to the Allegany Community Center (ACC) on Sunday, May 7th and play Designer Purse Bingo! Must be at least 18 years of age to play. Doors will open at 11am and Bingo starts at Noon. There will also be a silent chance auction, 50/50 raffle, mystery raffle, food concessions and more!

Purses are on display at NEARLY NEW where you can also purchase pre-sale tickets.

All proceeds benefit the Seneca Language and Culture Revitalization efforts sponsored by Agwadeyësta’ do:gë:h. Contact Nearly New Salamanca on Facebook for more details.

See flyer below for more information:

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