By Barbara Arnstein
November is Native American Heritage Month and it is being celebrated in many ways at the Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino Hotel, the Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino Hotel, and the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino. The slogan for the entire celebration of Native traditions and culture is “Honoring the Past, Celebrating Our Future”. The events planned honor the past and celebrate the future by featuring traditional singing, dancing and storytelling, a social, food, crafts and a “micro-short” film program.
The Opening Ceremony is on Friday, November 4th, at 5pm in the Seneca Niagara hotel lobby. Kevin Nephew, the President and CEO of the Seneca Gaming Corporation will deliver the Opening Remarks. On that day there will be Native singing, dancing, and storytelling there, and customers will be able to browse through a market full of handmade Native crafts and collectibles made by Native crafters and artisans, including beadwork, paintings and woodworking.
The market will be open 10am-6pm Fridays, November 4 and November 18, and on Saturdays, November 5, 12 and 19 at the Seneca Allegany Resort and Hotel. The Haudenosaunee Dancers (the Indigenous Spirit Dancers Group) will perform in the Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino Hotel Lobby from 4:30-7pm on Fridays, November 4 and November 18 and Saturday, November 5 at 4:30pm and 7pm. The Native Storytelling will feature Perry Ground, and it will take place following the Opening Remarks. (Perry Ground is a Turtle Clan member of the Onondaga Nation and has been telling stories for more than 25 years as a way of educating people about the culture, beliefs and history of the Haudenosaunee (sometimes known as Iroquois Confederacy.)
The Haudenosaunee Micro-Short Film Program celebrates talented Indigenous filmmakers. The program is free, open to the public and features fourteen micro-short films. It is scheduled for November 12th at 4pm also at the Seneca Allegany Resort.
On Wednesday, November 16, from 5pm to 8pm, in the Bear’s Den, at the Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino, a Community Dinner and Social will take place, including traditional dishes like Fry Bread and Corn Soup. It is free to attend. Typically, the people attending the dinner number from five to six hundred, and it’s open to everyone in the surrounding communities.
The annual “Rock Your Mocs Day” event honoring the Native American Heritage Month will offer an exciting prize sweepstakes. It’s an overnight stay for two people at the Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino, plus credit to enjoy the foods of your choice. The sweepstakes, started eleven years ago by Jessica “Jaylyn” Atsye, offers people a chance to win a stay plus one hundred dollars in food credit. To enter, you must post a picture of yourself on social media wearing moccasins using #SenecaMocs22 between November 14-November 18, 2022. One winner will be randomly selected from all the submissions on Monday, November 21st.
2022 marks the twentieth anniversary of the signing of a Class 3 Gaming Compact by then-Seneca Nation President Cyrus Schindler. For more information about how it impacts local and New York State economies, go to StandWithSeneca.com. “#StandWithSeneca is a wide-reaching public awareness campaign aimed at growing understanding and recognition of Seneca history and the profound contributions the Nation, our people and businesses make in Western New York”, said Seneca Nation President Matthew Pagels. “Perseverance, commitment and determination to always defend our sovereignty and our agreements, even when others try to force their will upon us, is what led us to launch this campaign, and ensure our story, which deserves to be told, is heard”.
To learn more about the Native American Heritage Month celebration activities, visit SenecaCasinos.com/NativeAmericanHeritageMonth for a full schedule of events.