Casino event sign-ups are out one month prior to the scheduled event. The Casino requires a head count one week prior to the show date. Elders are required to physically sign yourself up in person by then. Tickets are then purchased, there are no refunds for unused tickets. Therefore, we will be strongly adhering to the set guidelines for “no shows” which reads as follows: “Elders must notify AOA of any cancellations at least 24 hours prior to an event. The exception will be for emergency situations or severe weather conditions. Elders who are not in compliance with the policy will be put on a wait-list for future events for a period of 3 months. A second offense will result in a loss of privileges for a period of 6 months.”

As a reminder, assistant’s may be put on the wait-list pending all Enrolled Seneca Elders are accommodated. Please remember to include your phone numbers when signing up for events. We call to confirm or to advise of possible changes. There is a minimum of 10 people to attend a show. If the minimum amount is not met, the event will be cancelled. Nya:wëh.

Other Venue Events

Other events such as Shea’s Theater, Sporting Events etc…are sometimes last minute and cannot be advertised due to time constraints. I would recommend popping in to either AOA location to see what’s happening as we have plenty of other services you could take advantage of. As for all shows, Elders will need to physically sign themselves up in person at either AOA location.

Upcoming Events

• Country Singer, Jake Owen at Seneca Niagara Casino Saturday, February 12 at 8 p.m.
• Legacy Fighting Alliance (MMA-Mixed Martial Arts) at Seneca Niagara Casino Friday, February 25 at 6 p.m.
• The Terry Bradshaw Show at Seneca Allegany Casino Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m. Sign-up sheet will be out on Friday, February 4th.
• Seneca Fight Night-Bare Knuckle Championship (MMA) at Seneca Allegany Casino Saturday, March 12 at 7 p.m. Sign-up sheet will be out on Friday, February 11th.
• Smokey Robinson at Seneca Niagara Falls Casino Friday, March 18 at 8 p.m. Sign-up sheet will be out on Friday, February 18th.
• The Temptations & The Four Tops at Seneca Niagara Falls Casino Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Sign -up sheet will be out Friday, March 18th.

The post Elders Events at the Casino appeared first on SNI Official Newsletter.

Check out the calendar below for Allegany activities for the month of February 2022.

The post February 2022 Activities appeared first on SNI Official Newsletter.

Caleb Abrams, Wolf Clan, Allegany Territory, has had a busy year! He’ll be releasing his first feature film “The Burning of my Coldspring Home” in the spring of 2022 and consulted on Showtime’s Dexter: New Blood.

A former Media Content Producer for the Seneca Media and Communications Center, Abrams was picked up as the Seneca Consultant for the production of Showtime’s Dexter: New Blood, a miniseries set 10 years after the original series has ended. Dexter Morgan is living a new life under a different alias in the fictitious town of Iron Lake, NY, a tight-knit Seneca community with one of their own as the first female sheriff played by Indigenous actress Julia Jones (Choctaw, Chickasaw).

Serving as the Seneca Consultant, Abrams was able to provide accurate, honest and authentic portrayals of Onöndowa’ga’ people, language, customs and art on-set of the show. “The producers were very receptive to my feedback. It’s incredible to rewatch now and see the things I was able to incorporate in the show.” Not only was Abrams able to include materials on set but was also able to allude to a bigger issue Indigenous families face, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).

The Indigenous actors that portray Seneca characters wear bead work and carvings crafted by Seneca artists such as Nettie Hepner, Sam Jacobs, and Hayden Haynes. Indigenous art was provided by Pete Jemison and Peter Jones for the living spaces on-set. Music from Sheldon Sundown’s MMIW album can be heard in episode 7. Abrams also recruited Indigenous youth and college students from Syracuse University and Ithaca College as extras including his brother Nathan Abrams in episode 1. Abrams himself makes a cameo in episode 2. He was also able to secure a speaking role for Stephen Gordon, Seneca elder, speaker and former Seneca Nation Councillor. Gordon has appearances in episodes 3 and 7, immersing the audience with Onöndowa’ga’ Gawe:no’, a pivotal moment on screen. Gordon spoke Seneca Language on a national streaming platform as a Seneca character/actor. “Nya:wëh” (thank you), “Akso:d” (grandmother), “No’yeh” (mother), and “ganöhgwa’” (I love you) are some of the regular vocabulary heard throughout the series.

Both Abrams and Gordon were reluctant at first, they were both wary of how Seneca people, culture, and customs would be portrayed. Initially, producers had a romanticized version of the Seneca community to be portrayed. Gordon gives Abrams credit for providing the correct feedback at every turn and his perfectionism. If it wasn’t for Abrams, Gordon would not have accepted the role.

“Bringing people in from the across the Confederacy was really important and probably what I’m most proud of, to see our people have inclusion in film, to be represented,” shares Abrams

Abrams intends to continue to pursue a career in visual storytelling. Growing up in Ohi:yo, he is the grandson of Rovena Abrams, a survivor of the Kinzua Dam removal, a Seneca women’s suffrage advocate, fluent Seneca Language speaker, and an influential figure within the Seneca Nation government. At 98, Mrs. Abrams is the eldest female on the Allegany Territory and was a resource for Seneca Language learners until recent years.

After graduating from Salamanca High School, Abrams attended the Jamestown Community College in Olean, NY. It was there that he came to the realization that many locals in western New York did not know much about us Senecas that live a few miles down the road. None had heard of the injustice of the Kinzua Dam or any other struggles our Nation has faced through colonization efforts. He decided to tell our story, his way, by making a short film. He was not expecting the abundance of positive feedback and accolades that followed but knew he wanted to continue telling Seneca stories through film, accurately.

Abrams worked for the Kinzua Dam Relicensing Commission (KDRC) and served as a producer on “Lake of Betrayal,” a documentary about the construction of the Kinzua Dam that aired on PBS and is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video applications. Working with KDRC and on the documentary led to interviews and relationships with Steve Gordon and many Seneca elders that experienced the forced removal in 1965.

He was especially taken with Gordon’s story “The Burning of my Coldspring Home” due to the emotional and personal account of his experience. He has been working closely and diligently over the course of 10 years with Gordon to translate his words to film. “I want this film to be a bridge between elders like Steve and (someday) my grandkids who will never know someone who lived in Coldspring. He’s a mentor, teacher, uncle, he’s so many things to me, and I have valued the time I was able to spend with him. I appreciate how open the process was because it helps me understand him on a personal level.” Abrams wants to tell the firsthand experience of a Seneca survivor. His goal is to give an intimate look at what life was like and what happened to us.

“My main goal is to bring our people and our stories to a wider audience. I hope our people, above all else, are proud of how they are portrayed on screen, that they want to claim it and feel seen through my work,” explains Abrams.

Gordon shares, “As a Seneca elder, I’m encouraged that a young person like Caleb is interested in our culture and portraying it properly. I wrote my story as a way to heal myself. I was angry for a long time. Angry because I was only 12 when we moved in 1964 and I never got a chance to express how I felt. No one told us kids that we had to move. My parents decided one night that we were going to burn our own house instead of the letting the Corps of Engineers do it. The trauma stayed with me for a long time. Then one day I decided to write it down and close it forever, until Caleb got a hold it.”

Abrams plans to release “The Burning of my Coldspring Home” this spring with hopes for a premiere and film festival showings in the fall of 2022. The trailer can be viewed on YouTube:

The post Abrams, Gordon appear on Dexter: New Blood, will release “The Burning of my Coldspring Home” in 2022 appeared first on SNI Official Newsletter.

Councillor Josh Jimerson has been working with Rob Canton from the A+C (Athletes and Causes) Foundation on behalf of Eli Ankou, Defensive Lineman for the Buffalo Bills and member of the Ojibwe tribe. His mother, Nicole Ankou, was born into Dokis First Nation, while his fiancee, Shayna Powless is a member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin. Shayna is a professional cyclist (as is her brother Neilson, the first US Native American to race in the Tour de France).

Together, Eli and Shayna launched Dream Catcher Foundation, which is committed to impacting the children of Native American communities by providing opportunities and inspiration through sports, while also focusing on fighting for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG).

The initial focus of this campaign is to get new bicycles to the children of the Cattaraugus and Allegany Territories of the Seneca Nation of Indians near Buffalo, New York. We hope, with your support, to also expand to other tribes and territories. The success of this initiative will not be possible without the aid of our generous donors, and we would be honored if you would consider supporting this campaign so that we may fulfill our goal!

Go Bills! $100,000 is the goal. $2,845 has been raised as of January 11, 2022.

Go to https://bikes.givesmart.com/ to donate today!

The post Help Dream Catcher Foundation Provide Bikes for the Children of Seneca Nation appeared first on SNI Official Newsletter.

Trafficeast.com

Traffic east magazine is a glossy, highly-stylized publication, described as “a literary city magazine,” and is the brainchild of veteran Williamsville photographer Mark Dellas that has been in print since 2001. The magazine is a unique subscription based on regional high quality visual/with diverse editorial content

View a copy of the publication here: https://www.trafficeast.com/copy-of-traffic-issue-21-1?lightbox=dataItem-kx91e7z8

Below is a copy of Rodney’s feature: “The Good Mind of Rodney Haring” by Theodora Dellas, photo by M Dellas.

The Good Mind of Rodney Haring
By Theodora Dellas

“Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground…” – From the Great Binding Law of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy as translated by Arthur C. Parker, 1915

Rodney Haring’s roots in the cultures of the Seneca Nation of Indians, of which he is an enrolled member, and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy inform everything he does, in his personal life and in his work as Director of the Roswell Park Center for Indigenous Cancer Research.

He is so deeply attuned to the cultural traditions and values of the Seneca and the Haudenosaunee that his own story is inextricable from the story of his ancestors. Though Haring was raised on the Cattaraugus Reservation south of Buffalo, that isn’t where he starts when I ask about his personal history.

“See this land here and this city here, this whole area and this whole region?” He gestures in the direction of downtown Buffalo. “Before European contact, before colonization, it was all Seneca land…so I look at the city as part of the history of who I am. Before Buffalo was here, any of these buildings, it was all landscape. And that landscape was part of the Seneca Nation.”

Dr. Haring grew up on the Cattaraugus Reservation, where he still lives today and where he feels his deepest connection to Seneca culture. It’s everywhere, he says: “When you live in the middle of the reservation, there’s no way not to see it and there’s no way not to live it. I’ve traveled all over the world, but once I cross the reservation boundary. I’m home.”

Of course, the Seneca people didn’t always live within the limited boundaries of their five New York reservations, and Dr. Haring’s connections with his ancestors transcend any such physical boundary. His ancestors once occupied a massive stretch of land from northwestern Pennsylvania to southern Ontario along the Allegheny River and beyond.

As the westernmost nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy – known by many of us as the Iroquois Nations – the Seneca were known as the “Keepers of the Western Door” and they and the rest of the Haudenosaunee nations developed a rich and complex culture and set of values that continue to be passed down from generation to generation today.

Perhaps the most widely recognized of these values outside of the Haudenosaunee community is the Seventh Generation Principle, which represents the foundation for the Confederacy’s stewardship of environment, cultural legacy and community.

The Seventh Generation Principle lays out the enduring Haudenosaunee philosophy that everything one does now, today, should be done in service of the seven generations to come. This philosophy instills a deep connectedness to generations past and future and a powerful sense of responsibility for community.
Rodney Haring, who like all children of the Haudenosaunee inherited the values represented by the Seventh Generation Principle, can remember even as a child being drawn to give back to his community, to the Seneca, and to native and indigenous people worldwide.

Over the course of his education – from which he emerged with an impressive Associates degree in science, two Bachelor’s degrees in social interdisciplinary studies and psychology, a Master’s degree in social work, and a PhD in social welfare – he developed a strong understanding of the health and wellness-related disparities faced by native communities and a passionate interest in combating those by combining modern academic medicine with traditional native wisdom.

Dr. Haring’s intensive research and years of work-including 15 years practicing social work on the Cattaraugus Reservation – in these areas led him to Roswell Park in 2016 and eventually to the launch of the Center for Indigenous Cancer Research in early 2020.

To understand the purpose of the Center for Indigenous Cancer Research, one first needs to understand that American Indian and Native Alaskan (AINA) communities have faced disparities in medicine and health care dating back to the earliest days of European colonization five centuries ago. They persist today because of the enduring legacy of colonization and the corresponding poverty and food insecurity, underfunding of education and medical services, limited access to preventative care, and lack of trust in health care systems.

Today, compared with the general population, AINA communities see higher rates of certain cancers, of obesity and diabetes, and of mental illness like post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, indigenous populations faced some of the highest coronavirus mortality rates in the United States.

For Dr. Haring, it’s important to maintain an awareness not only of these challenges but also of the powerful resiliency native communities have built in response. It’s the combination of the two that has driven his life’s work: “My journey, how I became who I am as an academic and a researcher, really spawned from my understanding of (these) disparities, but also of our resiliencies. Our parents and our grandparents had to be strong, had to move and carry forward…so I think a lot about that. That’s where I find strength in the things I do.”

He has poured that strength into developing a program at Roswell Park that seeks to reduce the impact of cancer – and co-occurring health and wellness issues – on indigenous communities at home on Seneca and Haudenosaunee land, throughout the United States, and globally.

The key, Dr. Haring believes, is collaboration. The work Dr. Haring is doing is not only for and about native communities; it’s with and by them.

Members of these communities are involved in every component of the Center’s efforts. Dr. Haring and his staff – all of whom have roots in native communities – have partnered with several sovereign nations, including the Seneca and Tuscarora locally, the St. Regis Mohawk in central New York State, and the Kahnawá:ke Mohawk territory in southern Quebec, to understand their unique needs before developing plans to address those needs.

By offering education and research opportunities, hosting cancer screenings and clinical trials, and layering modern academic medicine with traditional knowledge and ancestral wisdom all with a community-centered approach, the Center is forging a strong foundation for improved cancer, health, and wellness outcomes for indigenous people.

And it’s all, of course, designed not only for the here and now but for the future. “The things we create now, what we’re doing now, what we’re talking about here today, are pieces of a conversation that hopes to inspire and keep our seven generations forward healthy. I’m not thinking, “We’re gonna do this now, accomplish this thing in one or two years, ‘What I’m thinking is, what kind of change is gonna happen seven generations down the line?’ That carries into [the Center for Indigenous Cancer Research]. It’s embracing the next generations of indigenous cancer scientists, educators, clinicians, across the board. Roswell is the oldest (cancer research) center in the US and sits in the ancestral homelands of the Seneca. We’re really honoring that now.”

Two years after its launch, Roswell Park’s Center for Indigenous Cancer Research isn’t showing any sign of slowing down in either its growth internally or its impact on the wider community. The team is now a dozen strong and growing and has conducted research that will make critical differences in how the cancer care continues from prevention to diagnosis to treatment and survivorship is applied in and for indigenous communities.

Rodney Haring is leading this work with a unique perspective, one informed, naturally, by another Haudenosaunee idea.

“The Good Mind is the way we carry ourselves every day,” he explains. “It’s about embracing strength and peace to create wellness. I try to walk this path every day by honoring people’s journeys—which may differ from mine—and listening with an open mind. I try to present myself that way even in the face of the most significant challenges, to embrace stepping back and considering what my word is going to say and what my action is going to do.”

The Good Mind of Dr. Rodney Haring elevates community and compassion, guides him to act always with intention, always knowing that he is a small part of a much larger whole.

“I’m not into writing a hundred articles or books,” he says of his career as a researcher and advocate. “I would be happy with one that makes a change for the next generation.”

The post Dr. Rodney Haring featured in Traffic East, 2022 appeared first on SNI Official Newsletter.

Born Jan. 29, 1929, on the Allegany Reservation in Kill Buck, she was the daughter of the late Alice Crouse and William DeGolia. She was married in 1948 to John Karpin, who predeceased her in 2005.

She was an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians and the Heron Clan.

She was a graduate of Salamanca High School, Class of 1947.

Hazel had been employed as an administrative assistant in healthcare in Olean for over 20 years, and had formerly worked in the bakery in Tops Supermarket in Olean.

She loved her dogs, traveling with her late husband, wintering in Florida and living at their cottage on Chautauqua Lake in the summer.

Surviving are a sister, Florence McMullen Fuller of Kill Buck; three nieces, Lisa Fuller, Theresa McMullen and Colleen McMullen; and three nephews, Gregory McMullen, Charles McMullen and Sean McMullen. She was predeceased by two brothers, Lawrence McMullen and Merle Warner.

There will be no visitation. Private funeral services were held at the convenience of the family. Burial was in Mount View Cemetery, Olean. E-condolences can be sent to orourke.orourkefh@gmail.com.

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OLEAN, N.Y. – “Stirring the Pot: Bringing the Wanamaker Photos Home” opened January 21st at the Center Gallery on Jamestown Community College’s Cattaraugus County Campus.

The exhibition will remain on view 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through March 11, with a panel discussion planned for noon-1 p.m. on Feb. 9. The exhibition and discussion are free and open to the public. The Center Gallery is located inside JCC’s College Center at 260 N. Union St. in Olean.

Per JCC COVID-19 protocols, face masks must be worn by attendees, regardless of vaccination status.

Curated by Drs. Fileve Palmer and Joe Stahlman, Stirring the Pot is a digital-repatriation project that uses images from the collection of more than 8,000 photos taken by Joseph Dixon on a then-commercial endeavor to photograph Native American life between 1908 and 1921.

Expanding on the work done on Tuscarora Indian Nation to the other Iroquois nations, Stirring the Pot collected stories from living descendants of the people in the Wanamaker photos, and photographed them with their ancestors. Allowing people to choose their favorite places, adornments, and poses, participants took part in constructing their own visual narratives.

Palmer works as a regional development associate at Southern Tier West and is an adjunct professor of anthropology at JCC. She has more than 20 years experience teaching courses across high school and university. Her research focuses on education related to identity formation and representation. As a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and Fulbright Scholar in 2010 and 2011, respectively, Palmer initiated a youth-led photo-ethnography-project in South Africa that enabled her to use her visual arts training to further explore identity among creole people.

Stahlman is the director of Seneca Nation’s Seneca-Iroquois National Museum-Onöhsagwë:de‘ Culture Center. He is a scholar and researcher of Tuscarora descent. He has more than 20 years of research experience working with First Peoples. His research focuses on culture and history, and ongoing socio-economic and health and wellness related endeavors with Native communities.

Panelists scheduled to participate on Feb. 9 include Dr. Laticia McNaughton (Kanien’kehá:ka – Wolf Clan), an artist, activist, and clinical professor at the University at Buffalo; Patti Fischer (Skarù∙rę – Beaver Clan), a Tuscarora resident and community activist; Brett Maybee (Onöndowa’ga), producer of Gaënö’, a weekly nationally syndicated show with Native Voice: Native American Radio Network; and Carson Waterman (Onöndowa’ga – Snipe Clan), a master painter, activist, and educator.

To learn more about the exhibition, visit www.stirringthepotexhibit.wordpress.com.

The post SUNY JCC’s Center Gallery Hosting Native American Photo Exhibition appeared first on SNI Official Newsletter.

Credit: SCCSD Facebook

On Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at an evening event held at the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino, the Salamanca City Central School District recognized 14 new members to the Salamanca Chapter of the National Honor Society!

Congratulations on being inducted into such a prestigious organization. You have risen above and excelled not just in scholarship, leadership, and character but you’ve also showed immense persistence, dedication, persistence, dedication and grit!

Special shout out to:

(21-22) Harley Hoag and Jillian Rae
(22-23) Hayden Hoag, Gahsëni’de’ Hubbell, Quinton Jones

The post National Honor Society appeared first on SNI Official Newsletter.

“The idea of putting the flags up in each classroom was student generated,” relates Assistant Principal Katy Berner-Wallen. “Earlier this year, Layla Jimerson, Kate Kennedy and Payton Stevens wrote to me and Mr. Reidell about representation of the Seneca Nation students within the school community.” Working with Lindsay John, Home-School Liaison, and Melissa Hummel, Native American Support, the students priced out the cost of flags and brackets for every classroom – 65 in all. “I was very impressed with the fact that our students saw a problem, crafted a plan, and worked with us on a viable solution,” said Mrs. Berner-Wallen. “They understood how to have appropriate discourse to help create meaningful and lasting change. That helped bring the Haudenosaunee flags to our classrooms.” The flag represents the six nations of the Haudenosaunee. It is purple with four connected white squares and an eastern white pine in the center. The white pine is the symbol of the Iroquois Constitution, “the great law of peace.” The Iroquois Confederacy leaders are said to have planted a white pine after its founding in the 15th century.

(From left: Layla Jimerson, Peyton Stevens and Kate Kennedy.)

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Photo credit: Nick Lone

Ja:goh Nick Lone (Cattaraugus Territory, Wolf clan) on his 2022 Native American Music Awards nomination for Best Rap/Hip Hop recording of “Rez Life”. He is the only enrolled Seneca to be nominated at this year’s awards. Nick said he “dropped” his first mixtape about 10 years ago and since beginning his journey on the sober trail it has gone from a “hobby” to his career. Nick explained how he wants to inspire others and show them that it is possible to be successful, when he won Best Rap/Hip-Hop/R&B Recording “Native Pride by Nick Lone” in 2019.

Nick states his music is available to download on the top streaming sites: Google Play, Apple Music, Amazon Music and almost any top mp3 music site for his global releases, with more music coming globally within the next week. Also on YouTube at:

Nominees were announced, Tuesday, January 18th at 7:00pm EST for Album categories and on Wednesday, January 19th at 7:00pm EST for Singles, Songs and Music Video categories. Public voting will be open to the general public following all nominee announcements.

Stay posted for upcoming information! https://nativeamericanmusicawards.com/

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