Let’s see those Mocs! 

Post a picture of yourself ROCKING YOUR MOCS during the week of November 14-20, 2021 to the Seneca Nation Crime Victim Services Facebook Page, to be entered into a drawing for a prize on behalf of the Seneca Nation Crime Victim Services Department.

Drawing will be held on Monday, November 22, 2021.

Contact information:

Crime Victim Services | Phone: 716.532.4900, ext. 5087

Corbett Seneca, Advocate | Email: C.Seneca@sni.org

Alyson Brown, Advocate | Email: Alyson.Brown@sni.org

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The H.E.R.O. Committee presents “Giving Thanks Drive-thru Event”. Swing by and pick up a turkey dinner.

When: Thursday, November 18th

Time: Starting at 4:30pm until gone.

See flyer below for more info:

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See video message below:

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Reprinted from Ganondagan November eNews & Updates

“We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as a people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so. Now our minds are one.”

~ excerpt from the Thanksgiving Address

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Nya:wëh Sgë:nö’

Happy fall! As it continues to get colder, we hope that our elders are preparing for winter. In October, AOA distributed emergency kits to elders on both territories to help them prepare for possible power outages and emergencies this winter. There is a limited supply left for any elders in need. If you did not receive a kit and would like one, please contact our AOA offices.

I would like to congratulate our AOA staff for receiving a Recognition of Excellence from New York State Office for the Aging for exceptional work, dedication, compassion and commitment serving older adults and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Elders and community are so thankful for you. Ja:goh!

Upcoming Elder Entertainment

Upcoming Trips and shows for enrolled Seneca Elders include:
• Nov. 27 Cole Swindell – Country Music Concert at Seneca Niagara Casino at 8pm.
• Dec. 20th Hamilton – Shea’s Performing Arts Center at 7:30pm. Transportation provided.

Please remember, you must sign-up in person at the Wini Kettle Senior Center or the Seneca Allegany Senior Center. Sign-ups sheets are typically available 2 weeks prior to the show. Shows may be added or removed based on the number of Elders that sign-up. For more information, please contact Irma Cortes, Senior Advocate, at (716) 532-5777, ext. 5513.

Feeling Stretched as a Caregiver?

Powerful Tools for Caregivers is an educational series designed to provide you with the tools you need to take care of yourself. This program helps family caregivers reduce stress, improve self-confidence, communicate feelings better, balance their lives, increase their ability to make tough decisions and locate helpful resources.

Classes consist of six sessions held once a week. Two experienced Class Leaders conduct the series (many are experienced caregivers themselves, who have successfully applied the techniques they teach). Interactive lessons, discussions and brainstorming will help you take the “tools” you choose and put them into action for your life. You will receive a book, The Caregiver Helpbook, developed specifically for the class. Classes will be FREE, thanks to support from Lifespan.

Sessions are held once a week for six weeks. Time to be determined with participants. For more information or to register, contact Briana Snyder at (716)945-8991, or email Briana.Snyder@sni.org. Class size is limited and pre-registration is required.

Reminder: 10-Digit Dialing in Effect

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Community Patient Navigation Service

Indigenous & Rural Patient Navigation is a free, non-clinical, service for Indigenous and Rural community members looking for recommended cancer screening and education, additional support and resources for cancer care.

See flyer below for more information:

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On Thursday, November 4th, the Seneca Nation Area Office for the Aging (AOA) held a drive-thru distribution on both the Allegany and Cattaraugus territories to hand out free Harvest Food Bags.

Each bag contained locally grown products from our very own Gakwi:yo:h Farms such as maple syrup, white corn flour, hulled white corn, potatoes, apples and sweetgrass.

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November 2021 | By Flip White

An update from the non-profit Agwadeyësta’ Do:gë:h (We learn together).

We would like to provide a brief description of the Montessori teaching method and try to answer, “What is Montessori and how is it relevant to language learning?”

Dr. Maria Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. She must do it herself or it will never be done. An educated individual continues learning long after the time spent in the classroom because she in motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori concluded, “The goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts but rather to cultivate her own natural desire to learn.”

A portion of the Ganösesge:kha He:nödeyë:stha’s Mission statement reads, “We are committed to fostering a child’s love of learning and respect for self, others, and the environment through the methodologies of Montessori.” Continuing along the goals of Montessori include fostering and encouraging natural curiosity within our children and developing and promoting a positive attitude towards school and learning in order to create life-long learners.

In her writings, Dr. Montessori compared the young mind to a sponge noting the mind literally absorbs information from the environment. She continues, “The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when intelligence itself is being formed.

Dr. Benjamin Bloom writes, “From conception to age 4, the individual develops 50% of their mature intelligence, from ages 4 to 8 she/he develops another 30%.

This process is particularly evident in the way in which a two year-old learns his/her native language; without formal instruction and without the conscious, tedious effort that an adult must make to master their heritage language. Acquiring information in this way is a natural and delightful activity for the young child who employs all his/her senses to investigate his interesting surroundings.

“Must haves’ for language learning is the involvement of parents and it Agwadeyësta’ Do:gë:h’s position is that the best start point (strategy) becomes the young from birth to six years of age.

The home environment in combination with parent’s reinforcement is crucial to language learning success.

We strongly suggest parents and others interested in learning take a good look at senecalanguage.com. Here you will find layer up layer of language resources. There are printed resources, Memrise, language posters, dictionaries, audio, and language guides available for use in your home. Kudos to the Seneca Nation Language department and the at-large language community for their hard work, contributions, and dedication.

Language revitalization is a process and will take time and commitment but is within our reach. Do you know that there is a growing number young parents who are using ‘everyday, conversational’ language with their children in their homes? They are proof that language revitalization is ‘way more’ than possible, it is being done!

We will forever continue to encourage others to get involved.

Agwadeyësta’ Do:gë:h is sponsoring a Pendleton Blanket raffle. This beautiful blanket is on display at Nearly New along with tickets for you to purchase. Tickets are $10.00 each. The drawing will be held December 15th. The blanket has a retail value of $329 and with the holidays just around the corner and will make a wonderful gift for someone.
Agwadeyësta’ Do:gë:h is grateful and appreciative of the community’s on-going support. We:so nya:wëh.

Almost forgot! On December 11th from 12 noon to 4 pm, over at Nearly New, we will be hosting our 2nd Annual Soupz and Biscuitz event. This event is our way of giving back to the entire community, our customers, supporters, and donors. How does it work? Just come on by that day and grab some delicious soups (we will have 6 to choose from) along with ‘mountain high, homemade, ‘oh so good’ biscuits. If interested in baking some of those award winning biscuitz or making an ’out of this world’ soup, please text and leave a message at 716-244-0431, we’ll get back to you. Everything is no charge and we will also be having cash prizes. Last year’s event was a tremendous success and we are planning to make this year’s Soupz and Biscuitz event bigger and better. Put the date on your calendar, swing on by, warm up with some delicious soup and do a little shopping at Nearly New. We have something for everyone! What’s that guy say in the commercial? “We’ll leave the lights on for you!” Hope you can make it.

One final word. We are in need of additional volunteers. If interested, please stop by Nearly New and let us know. Nearly New’s service delivery is casual and fun. Come and join our team!

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Violet Johnson, daughter of Jason Johnson – wolf clan, is a sophomore at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. She is double majoring in International Relations with a concentration in Security as well as Russian and East European studies. In high school, Violet was repeatedly on the Honor Roll, inducted to the National Honor Society, elected president/vice president of several clubs, created and ran a walk-a-thon to benefit organizations against child abuse. While maintaining her studies, she was also accepted to the highly competitive Future Law Enforcement Youth Academy or FLEYA, where she spent a week at Yale University learning from Yale Police officers, FBI agents, and other local/state/government law agencies. In her senior year, Violet was accepted to the Nationally recognized Questbridge scholars’ program which gives highly academic, 1st generation, low-income students a chance to apply to highly competitive universities. Even though Violet is now a college student, she continues to be active in this program as a mentor to High School students who are now themselves going through the process.

During her freshman year, Violet was accepted as a student consultant for the largest student consultancy in the world, 180 Degrees Consulting, made the Spring of 2021 Dean’s List, and was chosen to take the position of Secretary-General of the Tufts University Model United Nations (or TUMUN) 2022 conference. Recently, Violet has been chosen to be a participant in Princeton University’s Prospective PhD Preview or P3 program.

Violet is the daughter of Jason & Amy Johnson, Granddaughter of Teri and Delmar Pelletier, and Great Granddaughter of Marlene and Gordon Johnson.

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Submitted by Mary Jacobs

• To benefit Catt. Rez Beaders • Drawing will be held December 4, 2021 • Ticket Cost: $10

Catt. Rez Beaders have tickets and will be selling them at local events. OR you can drop by the Sully on Mondays or Tuesdays between 6-8:30pm to view the tree and purchase tickets.

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