The 63rd Annual Variety Kids Telethon aired March 8th & 9th, 2025, both days were held LIVE from the Variety Headquarters in Lancaster, New York. Throughout the 15 hours of the Telethon, various corporate matches and donations were made by so many incredible members of our Buffalo and WNY community, coming together for our kids. As of 8pm on Sunday, March 9, 2025; $1,070,255 was raised. The funds raised directly support Oishei Children’s Hospital, and other Children’s charities.

Gëjóhgwa Dancers performed at the annual telethon Sunday afternoon where President J. Conrad Seneca, First Lady, Nicole Seneca, and daughter Vera Seneca presented a check of $10,000 to Variety – The Children’s Charity of Buffalo and WNY on behalf of the People of the Seneca Nation.

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The Lillian Fairchild Award Centennial Celebration with honoree artist G. Peter Jemison at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester on Monday, April 7, 2025!

Jemison is this year’s winner of the award, which recognizes a resident of the Rochester area who has produced “the most meritorious and praiseworthy creation of art, poetry, or literature of the imagination” within the previous calendar year. It was created in 1924 by U of R Professor Herman L. Fairchild as a tribute to the artistic endeavors of his daughter, Lillian.

Jemison, of the Heron Clan from the Cattaraugus Territory, Seneca Nation, is a mixed-media artist and writer whose work has been shown around the world, including at the MoMA The Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Jemison’s work in MAG’s collection, Crow in the Shadow, will be on view in the museum’s introductory gallery.

Congratulations to Dr. Peter Jemison for this latest award recognizing your outstanding service!

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Join St. Bonaventure University at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts for a special event featuring renowned Seneca artist Carson Waterman, in conversation with filmaker and storyteller Caleb G. Abrams (www.calebabrams.com) on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 beginning at 5pm. Doors open at 4:30pm. Through this engaging discussion, Carson will share insights into his artwork, the stories that inspire him, and how his work reflects and strengthens the Haudenosaunee community. This is a unique opportunity to experience the deep cultural significance of his creations and gain a richer understanding of the connection between art, history, and identity.

This event is free and open to the public, but does require tickets! Get yours HERE!

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When Michelle Schenandoah was in seventh grade, she was excited when she saw a section in her United States history textbook that featured Native Americans. It was a moment she had been waiting for all her life: the chance to learn about her people’s cultures and history in the American education system.

But after reading the chapter, Schenandoah said she found herself disappointed.

“There were only two pages … It had maybe two black-and-white photos of the Lakota people on the plains with teepees,” Schenandoah, a member of the Oneida Nation’s Wolf Clan, said. “It was pretty much the story of the ‘Disappearing Indian.’”

Schenandoah had similar experiences throughout the rest of her education at Cornell University, Syracuse University and New York Law School. This lack of representation led Schenandoah to found Rematriation, a non-profit organization and former magazine that works to uplift Indigenous women’s voices and share generations of accumulated knowledge.

Last month, Rematriation partnered with SU’s Center for Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice and the SU Libraries Special Collections Research Center to host an academic symposium on Haudenosaunee and Indigenous matrilineality.

Matrilineality is a societal structure in which family heritage follows the mother’s line, not the father’s. In the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, made up of the Six Nations — Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora — husbands join their wife’s clan when they’re married, and their children also become part of that clan.

Dr. Scott Manning Stevens, director of CGICEJ, said matrilineality goes well beyond its written definition, especially in Indigenous cultures.

“It’s recognizing the centrality of women in our society…It’s about the equality between men and women…warriors and hunters often go to men. But in our societies, anything to do with village life was often the purview of women,” Stevens, who is a citizen of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, said. “Yes, we have chiefs that are male. But clan mothers select those chiefs.”
In the centuries since European colonizers first arrived in North America, Stevens and the Rematriation team believes that gender balance has been lost in patriarchal western society, causing women to be relegated to inferior societal roles with little influence in decision making processes.

To combat this shift and help solve other global issues like climate change and growing political divisions, Schenandoah said events like the symposium are vital to shine a light on Indigenous knowledge that has been out of the public eye.

“When we look at the U.S. government today, we can see all these imbalances happening. People’s voices not being represented or heard, one force being stronger than another and a lot of unfairness and inequity happening,” Schenandoah said. “We know how to create balance within our structure of governance and how we care for the people.”

The symposium began on Feb. 28 with an opening discussion, where speakers examined how matrilineality helped Indigenous cultures achieve balance in the past and why it was largely lost when Europeans arrived.

Jamie Jacobs, head curator of the Rock Foundation Collection at the Rochester Museum & Science Center, used an 800-year-old clay pot from an ancient Haudenosaunee village to show how shifts toward materialism slowly weakened matrilineal influence because of colonialism.

As a member of the Seneca Nation’s Turtle Clan, Jamie Jacobs said his ancestors had to relocate about every 20 years when firewood, clay and other essential materials ran out. He explained that Haudenosaunee women were instrumental in deciding where their villages would relocate to, because they knew the best areas for clay, how to extract it and how to create pottery for storing food and water.

It became a tradition for mothers to pass this skill and knowledge down to their daughters for the survival of future generations, Jamie Jacobs said.

To juxtapose the clay pot, Jamie Jacobs also showed a photo of a 17th-century brass pot made by Europeans, noting how the stronger material ultimately made matrilineal knowledge about clay less necessary. Because it was easier for young Haudenosaunee women to trade for European-made brass pots than harvest clay, women’s role in crafting began to disappear.

Jamie Jacobs said the switch from clay to brass indicated a subtle shift to a patriarchal system that still lingers in Indigenous communities today. He said in many ways, the goal of the symposium was to help attendees transition back to the matrilineal lifestyle their ancestors had.

“Metaphorically, many of us are coming in today as brass pots,” Jamie Jacobs said in the session. “The motivation should be to rematriate the old knowledge that we used to have.”

Over the course of the three-day symposium, SU and Rematriation hosted 22 events that taught attendees about how to access Indigenous archives for research, the importance of Indigenous knowledge and perspective in modern times and how to elevate matrilineality and Indigenous customs through film and media, among other topics.

Devery Jacobs, an actress from the Mohawk Bear Clan, spoke with a panel to an almost-sold-out crowd of 700 people at SU’s National Veterans Resource Center to close the symposium. She described the power of television shows like Reservation Dogs and Marvel’s Echo — both of which she starred in — that tell Indigenous stories, after rare representation in American media.

“By pointing the camera at whose stories are ‘important,’ and having a lack of our stories on screen, it’s been subconsciously telling us we are unimportant,” Devery Jacobs said.

Devery Jacobs said she believes Hollywood may be falling back into old habits, as President Donald Trump’s crackdowns on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility may limit opportunities for minority groups in the entertainment industry.

“With our administration rolling back DEI initiatives, that is now reflected in studios and networks saying, ‘We now want to go back to white stories, to straight stories,’” Devery Jacobs said.

In wake of this shift, Jalyn Jimerson, Rematriation’s production assistant and a member of the Cayuga Nation’s Bear Clan, said events like the symposium are more critical than ever as they share Indigenous knowledge that can help the entire country, including people who aren’t Indigenous.

“The more people start to realize our teachings and what we know isn’t just for us, it’s for everybody else to live in a life of balance…I think the world will start to become a better place,” Jimerson said.

Schenandoah said she wants to see the legacy and impact of the symposium carry on long after the weekend, especially for Indigenous students and community members who are in need of support and deserve recognition.

“(I hope) they were able to see themselves reflected in others and that they recognize that they too have the right to be in relationship with the earth,” Schenandoah said. “That they too have the right to have their voice heard and have their work continue to blossom and feel like it’s welcomed in the world.”

Source

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Vendors & artisans – the 6th annual Strawberry Moon Festival is coming up on Saturday, June 21 from 12-4pm at Artpark in Lewiston, NY and we’re looking for more vendors to participate in our artisan market!

For more vendor information or to register email Michele-Elise Burnett at mburnett@artpark.net. Visit Artpark.net for more information about the festival.

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Take advantage of the oldest Native scholarship program in the country! The Association on American Indian Affairs in partnership with the American Indian College Fund has been providing scholarships to Native students since 1947. Scholarship applications for Native students are now being accepted until May 31, 2025! The Association’s scholarships are provided to students twice per year until they graduate, as long as they maintain a 2.5 GPA and attend full-time. Their mission is to support students who are connected to their Native Nation and Native Country and wish to utilize their degree to serve their Nations.

Apply now: https://webportalapp.com/sp/login/aicf_scholarships

For more info, visit: https://www.indian-affairs.org/nativescholarship.html

Need help? Reach us at scholarships@collegefund.org or call 800-987-3863.

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Beyond his leadership as a Seneca Nation Allegany Councillor, Christian serves as a USET Board of Directors Delegate, a member of the Seneca Nation CIA, Athletic Commission, and Caneadea Day Planning Committee. Christian is also an elected member of the Salamanca City School Board of Education.

His passion for youth development is just as strong, as he dedicates his time to coaching hockey, lacrosse, and football, shaping the next generation both on and off the field. Christian’s leadership, advocacy, and dedication to our people are truly commendable.

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Earlier this month, Jason Corwin, Onöndowa’ga:’, Deer Clan, Clinical Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies & Director of Undergraduate Studies for UB Department of Indigenous Studies program along with his Indigenous studies students from the University at Buffalo visited Gakwi:yo:h Farms. GF staff members Allen & Graham showed them how to make maple sugar, students were given a tour of the farm and treated to corn soup for lunch. They were also given a presentation on tree grafting by Allen. Nya:wëh Jason, Allen & Graham for all you do!

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Waterman has been a cultural icon in the Seneca Nation since 1975 when he joined the staff at the newly opened Seneca Iroquois National Museum on the Allegany Reservation in Salamanca. He served as exhibit designer, illustrator and artist.

A member of the Snipe Clan and a graduate of Gowanda High School, Waterman studied at Cooper School of Art in Cleveland. Upon graduation, he was drafted by the U.S. Army to serve with the 4th Infantry in Vietnam. He spent seven months on the battlefields before being reassigned to the division’s Public Information Office to create illustrations for the division’s newspapers.

Upon returning from the war in 1970, Waterman spent four years teaching art at the Cleveland Museum of Art before returning to Salamanca. Since 1988, he has been self-employed as an artist at his gallery on the Allegany Reservation.

“Carson is one of the most significant artists Western New York has ever produced, and I’ve come to appreciate over the last two years how revered he is in the Seneca Nation,” Gingerich said. “His life has been committed to keeping alive, forever, the beauty and legacy of the Seneca and Haudenosaunee people though his art.”

Waterman’s work can be found throughout the region, with notable installations at the Delavan-Canisius College subway station and Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo, Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino, the Allegheny River and Chautauqua Lake rest areas on Interstate 86, as well as in community centers, nursing homes and fire halls.

Waterman’s exhibition at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, titled “Art Saved My Life,” is on display through June 1. SBU’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts will host an exhibition featuring Waterman’s work this fall.

On Thursday, May 15, the ROTC Commissioning Ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. in the Quick Center. The annual Candlelight Induction Ceremony will be held in the Plassmann/Swan quad at 8:45 p.m. Friday, May 16, to formally welcome students into the alumni family.

Activities on Saturday, May 17, include the Multicultural Stole Ceremony at 11 a.m. in Reilly Center Arena and Baccalaureate Mass at 4 p.m. in the arena. Commencement exercises begin at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 18.

For more information about Commencement, including the dates for each academic school’s awards ceremony, go to www.sbu.edu/Commencement. Many of the events will be livestreamed.

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SUNY Oswego’s Native American studies program hosted up-and-coming Seneca filmmaker Caleb Abrams for screenings and a Q&A on Thursday, March 27th.

“I have used his film ‘Remembering the Removal (Kinzua Dam and Forced Seneca Relocation)’ on a number of occasions in my ANT356: ‘History of the Haudenosaunee’ class,” said Michael Chaness, an assistant professor of anthropology and director of the Native American studies program. “It is terrific!”

The March 27 event also featured Abrams’ new work “Haudenosaunee: People of the Longhouse,” commissioned by the American Museum of Natural History, and excerpts from his new short film “Burning of my Coldspring Home,” which will premiere this May on his home territory of Allegany.

Raised on the Onöndowa’ga:’ territory of Ohi:yo’, much of Abrams’ work pushes back against settler-colonial narratives of place and power, while creating space for Indigenous stories of truth, community and connectedness.

In addition to writing, directing and producing his own short films, Abrams has also created work in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History, Vision Maker Media, Toward Castle Films, Skipping Stone Pictures, Buffalo and Toronto Public Media, City Lore, the Aunties Dandelion Collective, Odawi Law PLLC, the Seneca Nation of Indians and the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum.

In 2021, he served as a consultant on the Showtime special event series, “Dexter: New Blood.”

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