Give us your feedback by filling out this short survey! The Housing Department is interested in learning about the housing needs and conditions from the perspective of Seneca families living on the Allegany and Cattaraugus territories. The collection and evaluation of this information will be helpful to the Housing Department when assessing the need for home repairs/rehabilitation, homeownership programs, infrastructure needs, housing affordability, future grant funding and all other housing demands and needs in our communities.

The survey closes on December 30th!

For assistance in filling the survey, please contact Tanya Stevens at tanya.stevens@sni.org.

Link to the survey: https://arcg.is/L5fy80

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Here is a list of the upcoming events:

• Winter Coat and Boot Drive at Child & Family Services Office | thru December 23rd | 8am-4:30pm
• Christmas Toy Drive at Cutthroat Hairstyling & Barbershop | thru December 19th
• Gakwi:yo:h Farms Winter Market | Monday-Friday | 8am-4:30pm
• X-mas Paint Night at Buffalo Creek Office | December 12th | 5:30pm
• Elders Holiday Party at Seneca Allegany Casino | December 14th | 11am-3pm
• H.E.R.O. Holiday Party at ACC | December 15th | 5-7pm
• Cookie Decorating at the H.E.R.O. event – ACC | December 15th | 5-7pm
• SAAB Holiday Vendor Day | December 16th | 10am-2pm
• Cookie Sale at Catt. Library | December 16th | 10am – sold out
• Potluck Social at Buffalo Creek Office | December 18th | 5:30pm
• T.E.R.C. Open House & Chili Dinner at Allegany TERC Office | December 19th | 5:30-7pm
• Bingo Night w/Roast Beef Dinner at the Sully | December 19th | 6-9pm
• Christmas Cocoa Paint Night at the Seneca Clubhouse – Catt. | December 19th | 6-7pm
• Children’s Christmas Party at Catt. Library | December 21st | Starting at 4:30pm
• Christmas Party at Buffalo Creek Office | December 22nd | 5:30pm
• Santa Express – Allegany Territory | December 22nd | Starting at 6pm
• CCC Community Christmas Dinner & Live Music | December 22nd | 6-9pm
• CCC Elf Meetings Gift Wrapping | December 19th-22nd | See flyer below
• T.E.R.C. Informational Tables Event at CHWC | December 27th | 10am-12pm
• CCC Winter Family Fun Day | December 28th | 11am-3pm
• Gaënö:se’ Grams – send a G-gram to someone you appreciate | December 29th | 11am-?
• T.E.R.C. Informational Tables Event at William Seneca Building | December 30th | 10am-12pm

The post Upcoming Holiday Events appeared first on SNI Official Newsletter.

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The “Pow-Wow Dance Show,” hosted in the St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Thursday, was just the most recent event in a long series of indigenous-focused programs at Bonaventure.

The event was planned by the university’s Native American and Indigenous Studies program. Oleg Bychkov, a professor of theology and director of the NAIS program, described the impetus behind the program’s founding.

“I’d been teaching a course called Native American Indigenous Mythology for years and I started getting Seneca students in it. They suggested that I include a section on Seneca Mythology,” said Bychkov. “We got together and I found out that quite a few faculty actually taught something related to Native American studies.”

Bychkov and several other professors put together a workshop and applied for grants in 2019. They incorporated representatives from the Seneca Nation to inform on Seneca culture and discuss steps moving forward with the university. One suggestion was to organize a minor in NAIS, which was accepted and announced in Oct. 2021.

Other plans included instructors incorporating topics related in Native American studies in general education courses. Members of the university and Seneca Nation discussed a land acknowledgement statement, as well as reinvigorating a relationship of “spiritual exchange” between the Nation and campus friars. After Jeff Gingerich became president of the university, Bychkov described the new leader as supportive of initiatives such as informational round tables and indigenous student gathering places.

“Through him [Gingerich], we actually had meetings at the highest level with Rick Armstrong, the president of the Seneca Nation, in addition to some friars and indigenous Bonaventure alumni,” said Bychkov.

Sara Droney, who teaches elementary-level Seneca at the university, described the importance of learning about a community that lies just a few miles away from Bonaventure.

“I think it’s important to have at least a basic knowledge of Seneca culture and history, which is fascinating,” said Droney. “I hope students are interested in that, because the culture is interesting and it’s right on our doorstep.”

One student in Bychkov’s classes was Justin Schapp, who now serves as the chief Equity and Diversity officer for the Salamanca city school district. He also teaches NAIS 101, an introductory class to indigenous studies, at Bonaventure.

Schapp acknowledged the importance of Bonaventure students learning about their neighboring community, while also emphasizing the universality of indigenous issues not exclusive to Seneca.

“I think it’s super important to have more Seneca specific courses but I also want to make sure that we pay attention to more generally applicable topics,” said Schapp. “That’s going to be most helpful for students, because the majority of students coming out of Bonaventure are not going to go and work in a Seneca field.”

Schapp elaborated on this approach, especially in relation to the university’s indigenous-focused courses.

“While studying Seneca in a specialized way is great within our community, understanding indigenous people’s perspectives throughout the Americas from a diversity standpoint is also highly important,” said Schapp. “I think Bonaventure is paying attention to that as well.”

While Thursday night’s event was not the first of its kind – featured performers “The Old Bridge Singers and Dancers” came to the university in 2019 – its return symbolized the growth of indigenous programs at Bonaventure. Bychkov described Thursday night’s event as a “Mini Pow-Wow,” with displays of song and dance from diverse geographic and thematic sources.

Schapp, whose brother is a member of the Old Bridge Singers and Dancers, is an unabashed fan of their performances.

“These guys have been around for a while and they’re one of the only big drum groups in the world,” said Schapp. “They have gone all over the world showcasing their talents and they are absolutely amazing at what they can do.”

For Droney, the event was an opportunity to mix classroom teaching with real-world application. Her entire Seneca language class attended the show.

“I think because some things are so new and different to the students that are taking my class, it’s really important that they get to actually see, hear and experience things,” said Droney. “I’ve encouraged them to visit the museum in Salamanca and we attended the Pow-Wow show so that they can hear music. We’ve spent this first semester getting familiar with Seneca culture and I’ve tried to incorporate language into every lesson that we’ve had.”

According to Schapp, expressions of indigenous culture are key to understanding the American landscape. For some students, these lessons can be left out of traditional education.

“If you live, play or enjoy your life in North or South America, that’s indigenous land: those are Native American lands,” said Schapp. “Knowing more about that concept is very important to the students that I teach. They often ask questions like, ‘Why didn’t I learn this earlier? Why am I learning this now?’”

Source: https://www.thebvnewspaper.com/2022/11/18/bonaventure-and-seneca-nation-reinvigorate-a-relationship-of-spiritual-exchange/

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A moose-antler comb believed to have been created by a Susquehannock or Seneca artist in the late 17th or early 18th century may be emblematic of a Haudenosaunee commitment to achieving diplomatic accord with settler colonists.

A moose-antler comb believed to have been created by a Susquehannock or Seneca artist in the late 17th or early 18th century may be emblematic of a Haudenosaunee commitment to achieving diplomatic accord with settler colonists

Dr. Eustace is a professor of history at New York University. Her book “Covered With Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America” received a Pulitzer Prize in history this year and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2021.

Three hundred years ago, leaders of three British colonies and representatives of the Indigenous nations known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy gathered in Albany, N.Y., to sign what is the oldest continuously recognized treaty in colonial American and United States law. They sought to resolve a crisis that colonists believed could convulse the continent like no other: the brutal murder of a Seneca hunter named Sawantaeny by a pair of white fur traders, the brothers John and Edmund Cartlidge.

Colonists feared that violence would spark a war with the confederacy and threaten the British Empire in North America. But the gathered Haudenosaunees had set their minds on peace, not war. The treaty the two sides negotiated and signed that September contained a Haudenosaunee vision of reparative justice that set aside every anxious expectation of the colonists. Yet its contents came to be buried by the passage of time as surely as Sawantaeny’s body was covered with earth.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/opinion/native-american-treaty-justice.html

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Classes will be held Wednesdays at 1:30pm at the Wini Kettle Senior Center and Mondays at 11am at the Allegany Elders Center.

Classes instructed by Andrea Spako, SNHS Exercise Specialist.

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• Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Thursday, December 22nd at 3 p.m. – Keybank Center
• Comedian Tracy Morgan LIVE: Friday, January 21st at 8 p.m. – Seneca Niagara Event Center
• STOMP Musical: Friday, January 27th at 7 p.m. – Shea’s Theatre
• JODECI: Saturday, February 10th at 8 p.m. – Seneca Niagara Event Center
• Lonestar: Saturday, February 11th at 8 p.m. – Seneca Allegany Event Center
• Travis Tritt: Saturday, May 20th at 8 p.m. – Seneca Allegany Event Center
• Comedian Ken Jeong: Saturday, September 16th at 8 p.m. – Seneca Niagara Event Center DATE CHANGE

Sign-up sheets for shows will be available 1 MONTH prior to the event. Numbers are turned in to the Casino 1 week prior, if you have a change in plans please cancel before then. 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!

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December 14th, 2022. Join us from 11am-3pm at the Seneca Allegany Casino for a delicious meal, fun and games, and great company! Bring a guest. See flyer below for details — Note: RSVP deadline for this event was December 2, 2022.

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Above: White House Reception in honour of Native American Heritage Month. “I appreciate the conversations with First Lady Biden’s team and their continued interest in Indigenous led cancer science, research, health care and academics— including programs like the intern and after school programs the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe leads collaboratively with Roswell Park’s Center for Indigenous Cancer Research.” — Rodney Haring, Seneca Nation.

This celebration was definitely one for the books! The White House recently hosted a special reception in honor of Native American Heritage Month – spearheaded by First Lady Jill Biden.

Some of the most influential Native American leaders were invited and among them were Akwesasne community members Isaiah Cree and Logan Lebehn, joined by fellow Haudenosaunee Dr. Rodney Haring (Seneca Nation), Yanenowi Logan (Seneca/Akwesasne) and Tadodaho Syd Hill (Onondaga Nation).

The two young Mohawk men both received their invite through the Akwesasne Boys and Girls Club (ABGC) after the White House reached out to Executive Director Jessica Cree Jock.

“I got invited through the ABGC, — their Indigenous representative contacted my mother to get me to come out”, said Cree. “I was very excited because this was the first time they had Indigenous representation in the White House under the Biden administration”.

As an ABGC ‘Precious Youth of the Year’ representative, Lebehn says he saw it as a great opportunity to learn more about other Indigenous communities and himself. “I had a great time; I met many Indigenous Influencers. I thought that both the youth forum and White House reception are the first steps to bringing change to the long existing dilemmas for native communities across the country and possibly internationally”.

With a wide spectrum of Indigenous representation at the event, it was easy for the pair to cross paths with some of Turtle Island’s top influencers representing important areas of work from philanthropy, medicine, artists, storytellers, athletes, activists, community leaders, to name a few.

“I enjoyed meeting famous actors Amber Mindhunter and D’pharoah Woon-a-tai’, said Lebehn. And while Cree shared similar sentiments, he did mention that crossing paths with US Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, was equally exciting. He went on to say that he hoped this event will lead to more Indigenous inclusion on every level. “I would like to see them include Indigenous groups when it comes to policy-making and increasing sovereignty rights over all traditional lands throughout the country”.

Yanenowi Logan, Seneca Nation, said she was invited on behalf of the National Congress of American Indians. “Two weeks ago, I was elected as the National Congress of American Indians Youth Commission Co-President. I previously served as the co-VP and with this opportunity our commission is regularly invited to events around Indian Country to advocate for the youth voice and speak on behalf of the youth on issues like climate change, climate resistance, policies like ICWA and VAWA, mental health resources, and general youth advocacy. I am mobilizing my platform around advocating for land grant reparations, abortion access/women’s health care, and movement through medicine, and I had some interesting conversations surrounding those issues while I was at the Tribal Youth Forum”.

Logan, who spent a great deal of time in Akwesasne because of close connections to her dad Brad Bonaparte, says while it was an immense honor to be invited to this forum and celebration, she was able to see the power dynamics in government that showcase the commitment to Indigenous people without providing a product. “What stood out to me was that all the Indigenous leaders in the room; athletes, cooks, politicians, models, actors, etc., were all advocating for themselves and their communities. They were the impetus for change that we see in representation, support, and accessibility, not the government programs,” she said.

Aside from the small but mighty representation from in and around the Iroquois Confederacy, there were about 400 Native people from all over the country attending the inaugural event.

Source: http://www.akwesasnetv.com/akwesasne-in-the-house-the-white-house-that-is/?fbclid=IwAR06KKuSPq7z8_uWbge5z9EhB5ifL0fjJsWlWCsPKmP3ra0FEs1y-8K90cA

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