Link: https://senecacasinos.com/bisons-sports-day-with-seneca/

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Submitted by Stephanie John & Beth Lay

Stop down to the Allegany Elder Center or the Wini Kettle Senior Center and enjoy daily activities throughout the month of July. For more information call Stephanie or Dorsie at (716) 945-8990 (for Allegany) OR Raven at (716) 532-5777 (for Cattaraugus).

Schedule of events listed below:

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August 14th, 2024

More details to follow! Stay tuned.

The post Seneca Elders Summer Event appeared first on SNI Official Newsletter.

You may request your Farmers Market Coupons by filling out our online form as well, HERE

See flyer below for details:

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Beat the Heat! Stay Cool with us!

For more information or if you have questions, call:

Allegany AOA at 716-945-8414
OR
Cattaraugus AOA at 716-532-5777.

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Saturday, July 20th, 2024: Bus departs Cattaraugus AOA at 10am.

Sign-up sheet is on the table. Admission is FREE for Veterans, and $5 for Elders.

For more information contact Cattaraugus AOA Office: (716) 532-5777.

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Photo above: (Rick Miller/Olean Star) Degaweno:da’s, a Seneca activist, paddles near the discharge of treated sewage at the Olean wastewater treatment plant on Thursday.

OLEAN — For the Summer Solstice Thursday, Degaweno:da’s, a Seneca environmental activist, paddled his kayak on the Allegheny River from Olean to Allegany to recognize Olean City officials’ efforts to stop raw sewage overflows into the river.

He launched from the city boat launch off West Riverside Drive around 11:30 a.m., not knowing that heavy rains Wednesday overloaded three city lift stations, causing the release of 280,000 gallons of untreated sewage into the river.

At the South Fourth Street pump station, 200,000 gallons was discharged into the river, 30,000 was discharged from the Martha Avenue lift station into Pratt’s Brook and 50,000 gallons from the Adams Street lift station into Olean Creek.

Degaweno:da’s, who lives in Steamburg, learned about the release of the sewage into the river from his wife after he had completed the 4.7-mile paddle on the Allegheny River. The Olean Star paddled along.

During the paddle, which lasted just under two hours, Degaweno:da’s acknowledged the remarks of Alderman Vernon Robinson Jr., chairman of the Public Safety Committee on June 11, when he acknowledged the city’s responsibility to end the overflows of raw sewage.

He also thanked Mayor Bill Aiello and the other aldermen for agreeing to start taking steps to remove illegal roof drain hookups from sanitary sewers.

Degaweno:da’s was prepared to use his kayak ride on the river as an educational opportunity to encourage the city to act to end the overflows in times of heavy rain. Instead, he dedicated his Summer Solstice paddle to city officials who listened to him and Glenn Wahl of Salamanca about ways to end the overflows.

The release of 186,000 gallons of untreated sewage was the catalyst for the Common Council’s decision to hire a firm to look into the illegal residential and commercial roof hookups that carry rainwater into the sanitary sewers instead of storm sewers.

The city is also under a consent order to end the overflows in the Allegheny River.

Wednesday night’s release of untreated sewage into the river exceeds the total over the past five years. It is almost 100,000 gallons more than the 186,000 gallons of untreated sewage that entered the river in April.

When he learned of Wednesday’s discharge into the river, Degaweno:da’s was quiet but understanding. The options for ending sewage overflows have been embraced by the Olean Common Council, he said. That is what is important: they have started on the path to ending the sewage overflows.

Still, it is another assault on the river, Ohi:yo’. Last year he gathered a jar of water from the headwaters of the Ohi;yo’ and emptied it in Pittsburgh where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers join to create the Ohio River.

Degaweno:da’s was among those from Defend Ohi:yo’ who successfully protested a proposal in 2019 to treat Pennsylvania fracking waste and dispose of the treated waste into the Allegheny River in Coudersport.

He defends the river and acknowledges what it has provided to him and his ancestors. “It’s all one big ecosystem.”

His paddle was ceremonial, his way of honoring the river.

“I am trying to raise awareness,” he said. “I bring up the spiritual and emotional side.”

Sometimes, out of the corner of his eye, Degaweno:da’s can see his ancestors paddling canoes on the river at his side. He often thinks about the history of the river.

There are sections of the river away from roads where it is very quiet. “I really like the tranquility” of floating down the river,” he said. “I want to hear the birds and the sound of my paddle in the weather.”

Degaweno:da’s said Thursday’s paddle down the Allegheny River was “a continuation for me trying to encourage people to acknowledge the natural world.”

It was also “to acknowledge the Common Council for their action,” he said. It was unfortunate that heavy rain highlighted the overflow issue, Degaweno:da’s added.

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This year we are deeply honored to be welcoming Māori artists and performers from New Zealand along with some long time Ganondagan favorites including Native folk and blues rocker, Keith Secola (Anishinabe) & his Wild Band of Indians, hoop dance champions and performers, the Sinquah Family Dance Troupe (Hopi/Tewa/Choctaw), Bill Crouse (Seneca) and Haudenosaunee social dancers, Allegany River Indian Dancers, and storytellers Ronnie Reitter (Seneca, Wolf Clan) & Perry Ground (Onondaga, Turtle Clan).

Participating Māori Guests include Elders – Tā Derek Lardelli & Kahurangi Rose Lardelli; Tawera Tahuri (Creative New Zealand (CNZ) visual and performing artist); Kereama Te Ua (CNZ-performing artist); Tama Waipara (contemporary musician/singer); Taisha Tāiri (contemporary musician/singer); Te Kahureremoa Taumata (traditional musician/singer); Fiona Collis (weaver); Carla Ruka (ceramics); Margaret Aull (carving/contemporary visual artist)

This year we will have an “All Our Relations Tent” with all day talks, music, and demonstrations between Haudenosaunee and Māori artists. We are delighted to host Māori artists, performers, and culture bearers from New Zealand to join us for a weekend of art, enjoyment, and relationship building. The public is invited to join this relaxed atmosphere to observe as the artists create art and perform, between 10am-5pm.

Participating Haudenosaunee Artists in the “All Our Relations Tent” are: Linley Logan (Seneca), multidisciplinary artist; Marie Watt (Seneca), multimedia artist; Katsitsionni Fox (Mohawk,) multidisciplinary artist, including pottery, printmaking, and filmmaking, and Hayden Haynes (Seneca), mixed media artist specializing in antler carving.

Participation in the Artists Demonstration sessions are: Dan Hill (Cayuga) silverwork, Tonia Loran Galban (Mohawk) basket making, Angela Ferguson (Onondaga) indigenous foods, Jamie Jacobs (Seneca) quillwork, Lauren Jimerson (Seneca) painting

ASL Interpretation provided at the main stage, throughout performances is sponsored by The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), a college of Rochester Institute of Technology.

Ganondagan’s Indigenous Music & Arts Festival is made possible in part by New York State Council on the Arts, Wegmans, and NTID Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

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Nearly a dozen Buddhist monks began a 2,000-mile walk for world peace from Key West, Florida, to Niagara Falls on March 31st. On Monday, June 24th, they were presented with a Seneca Nation flag and were greeted with photos and refreshments as they traveled through Irving on Route 20 and made their way up Southwestern Blvd.

Before noon that Monday, the Monks for World Peace arrived by foot for a ceremony and were fed before heading back to their walk. According to Phra Wijitdhammapani, President of Walk for World Peace, “Today, you offer a meal for the monks,” Wijitdhammapani said upon arriving at Tallchief Diner. “That’s why we have the power to walk to our destination. It’s very important.”

The group was served chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes with sausage gravy. Also during the stop, Seneca Native Dancer, Rachel Schindler, performed a traditional ring dance. Wijitdhammapani accepted a Seneca Nation Flag from Native Pride Travel Plaza Marketing and Events Director, Erika Seneca Hastie, and Native Pride Travel Plaza co-owner, Nicole Seneca.

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Apply now! bit.ly/fpf-fellowships

Exciting Opportunity for Culture Bearers and Artists! We are now accepting applications for our Cultural Capital Fellowship, a yearlong program dedicated to supporting those deeply rooted in their communities and committed to preserving and passing on ancestral knowledge. The CC Fellowship offers grant funding to artists and culture bearers to support their cultural work in their community through the arts.

What You’ll Receive:

• $10,000 grant funding to support your cultural projects
• Professional guidance and support
• Opportunities to connect with a network of like-minded artists and culture bearers

Open to artists at any career stage. Applicants must be enrolled tribe members or provide proof of lineal descendancy from a U.S. federally recognized tribe, a state-recognized tribe, or be an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian.

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