The Tonawanda Seneca Nation has won a major victory in the ongoing fight against the WNY STAMP mega industrial site. On April 24, 2024, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) rescinded the permit that would have allowed construction of an industrial wastewater and sewage pipeline through the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. This is a huge win in the struggle to stop the construction of WNY STAMP and protect the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and their homelands.
In their letter to the Genesee Economic Development Corporation, the USFWS states that “construction of [the pipeline] cannot be completed as originally permitted and… the environmental impacts extend beyond the permitted Right-Of-Way (ROW).” Termination of the permit is effective as of June 24, 2024, and any further proposed pipeline construction would require the developer to file a new permit application. Click here for the Nation’s press release.
As you may recall, the Tonawanda Seneca first called on USFWS to pull the permit in September 2022, citing fatal flaws in its issuance that included failure to consult with the Nation. USFWS refused the Nation’s request and allowed pipeline construction to begin in July 2023. Construction was halted in September 2023 following multiple spills of hundreds of gallons of drilling fluids onto federally protected land and wetlands, and the Nation filed suit against USFWS in federal court in November 2023.
Cleanup of the spills has taken more than seven months and included removal of more than 73 tons of contaminated drilling mud from wetlands in the Refuge. Engineers and state regulators acknowledge that some drilling mud cannot be removed and will likely remain in the environment permanently.
The USFWS’s decision to pull the permit represents yet another setback for WNY STAMP, but the fight to fully stop the STAMP is not over. In the words of Chief Roger Hill, “Protecting the land and water for future generations is one of our greatest responsibilities, and preventing this pipeline through the Refuge is an important step. But our Nation still faces a looming threat from the proposed STAMP industrial site and we hope to move forward collaboratively with the Fish and Wildlife Service and New York State to ensure potential impacts from heavy industry are fully analyzed and avoided before permits are issued. It shouldn’t take an environmental disaster for agencies to follow the law.”
Unbelievably, while USFWS is terminating the permit it issued for pipeline construction within the Refuge, the NYS DEC has taken no action to withdraw the permit it issued for pipeline construction through wetlands outside the Refuge – even though Notices of Violation issued by NYS DEC following the spills show the disastrous consequences of pipeline drilling near state wetlands. To take action, click here.
Here is more recent journalism about the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the fight to STOP the STAMP:
As New York Officials Push Clean Hydrogen Project, Indigenous Nation Sees a Threat to Its Land
Green Colonialism in the Empire State
Between the Tonawanda reservation and a refuge, Genesee County tech park sparks controversy
STAMPed Out in New York: The Fight to Defend The Big Woods
Upcoming Events:
Birding at Ganondagan
Saturday, June 1, 8 am
Ganondagan, 7000 County Road 41 (Boughton Hill Road) Victor, NY 14564.
Join birding leaders Amy Kahn & Neil Reilly for a birding hike at Ganondagan! This trip has generated large species lists due to the many habitat types traveled through. Starting from the parking lot to the Longhouse, the group will walk wide mowed or packed dirt trails through the Meadowlark field and then head down through woods, shrub land, and wetland to an overlook in grassland. The round trip is 1.5 miles and includes some hills. After reaching the overlook, those who wish can continue for another 2 miles on the narrower Seneca Trail through field and woods, across County Route 41, and along a wooded stream valley to the Bobolink field. Trails taken may be adjusted but length of trip and terrain will stay similar. Restroom facilities are available at the Seneca Art & Culture Center at the end of the trip.
Witness to Injustice Experiential Workshop
Saturday, June 1, 1:30 to 4:30 pm
Erie Canal Museum, 318 Erie Blvd E, Syracuse, NY 13202
Witness to Injustice is a unique three-hour interactive group educational experience. It uses an experiential, participatory model to share the disturbing history of what Indigenous Peoples have experienced through colonization with a focus on the experience of the Onondaga Nation and other Haudenosaunee Peoples. The program seeks to foster truth, understanding and respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the part of the world now known as the United States; especially in the territory stewarded by people of the Onondaga Nation and other Haudenosaunee peoples. The program is facilitated by Onondaga Nation citizens and non-Indigenous allies. Witness to Injustice is a project of Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation / Syracuse Peace Council. The program is free and open to the public. Registration required.
“Jöhehgöh” They Sustain Us – Indigenous Food Event
Saturday | June 22, 2024, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Ganondagan State Historic Site, 7000 County Road 41 (Boughton Hill Road) Victor, NY 14564
Join us at Ganondagan for “Jöhehgöh” They Sustain Us – Indigenous Food Event with Braiding Sweetgrass author, Robin Kimmerer (Potawatomi), chef Loretta Barrett Oden (Potawatomi), and Haudenosaunee culture bearers for demonstrations, hands-on activities, speaking, and a delicious, Indigenous lunch prepared by Chef Loretta.
Books will be available for purchase at the Ganondagan Gift Shop and Robin Kimmerer and Loretta Barret Oden will be available for book signings that day.
Registration now available on event page. Pre-registration is required. Registration fee is $100 for current members, $125 for public.
Geva Theatre Indigenous Theatre Symposium
Thursday & Friday | June 27-28, 2024
Geva Theatre, in association with Friends of Ganondagan and NTID and in affiliation with Native Voices presents Embracing the Indian, Centering Indigenous Voices, a free two-day event June 27 and June 28, 2024.
June 27 – The Mush Hole, a dance theatre performance about truths of Canada’s first Indian Residential School, with free performances at 2pm and 7pm, Robert F. Panara Theatre,, 52 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623
June 28 – Indigenous Theatre Symposium, featuring keynote remarks from artistic director Santee Smith of the Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, a film screening of UNSEEN TEARS, and more! This event runs from 8:30am-4pm at Geva Theatre, Fielding Stage/Lobby/Café, 75 Woodbury Boulevard, Rochester, NY. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
These events are free to the public, Registration is required.
Kanatsiohareke Strawberry Festival
Saturday & Sunday, June 29-30 @ 10 AM – 6 PM. Onsite camping available.
Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community, 4934 State Highway 5, Fonda, NY 12068
Join the Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community as the community opens its doors to the public with their annual Strawberry Festival celebration. A day to enjoy traditional & modern music, dance, storytelling, silent auction, craft fair, good food. See old friends and make new ones while supporting the Kanatsiohareke Community!
Health Safety Warning: Covid is still a threat to many, and we appreciate public support in keeping the community safe. Please stay home if you have a fever, are feeling sick, or if you have been recently exposed to the COVID virus. Masks are encouraged, but optional.
Volunteers needed. To volunteer, contact the Community at kanatsiohareke@gmail.com.
(Exits 28 & 29 off I-90).Adults: $10 • Seniors & Children under 12: $8 • Children under 5: Free!
Haudenosaunee Social Dancers – ONOTA’A:KA (ONEIDA NATION)
Saturday, July 6, approximately: 11 am and 2 pm
Iroquois Museum, 324 Caverns Road, Howes Cave, NY 12092
ONOTA’A:KA, from the Haudenosaunee community of Oneida in central New York is led by Wes Halsey. Onota’a:ka uses dance as a way to raise awareness of the diversity and uniqueness of Native traditions. Performances include a repertoire that encourages participation. By offering the audience an opportunity to take part Onota’a:ka seeks to create a foundation for understanding that endures beyond the afternoon’s presentation.
Indigenous Music & Arts Festival
Saturday & Sunday, July 27-28 @ 10 AM – 5 PM
Ganondagan State Historic Site, 7000 County Road 41 (Boughton Hill Road) Victor, NY 14564
Ganondagan’s annual Indigenous Music & Arts festival showcases Haudenosaunee and Indigenous cultures through dance, music, storytelling, traditional craft demonstrations, an Indigenous Arts Market, children’s activities, Indigenous food, and more.
This year welcomes Māori artists and performers. The event will feature artist demonstrations, dance performances and collaborative opportunities with Haudenosaunee artists, performers, and culture bearers.
During the festival weekend, Māori artists and performers will provide artist demonstrations, traditional dance, and contemporary performances. Artists will also be selling their work.
This year’s festival features 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, Alleghany River Indian Dancers, and storytellers Ronnie Reitter (Seneca, Wolf Clan) & Perry Ground (Onondaga, Turtle Clan).
Monthly Events:
NOON Steering Committee Open Meeting. Please contact Lee Cridland, Peace Council Staff, for more info.
Indigenous News:
Native students join pro-Palestine campus protests
Oak Flat fight goes international
Gagizhibaajiwan, or Living With Paradox
Online Resources:
SmithsonianX: Foundations for Transforming Teaching and Learning about Native Americans is a free, self-paced, four-week-weeklong virtual course that introduces learners to the harms done by inaccurate historical narratives around the founding of the United States and the role of Native Americans in that history. Educators who teach history, English, or library sciences in grades 4-12, are encouraged to participate in the course to better understand how problematic narratives of Native Americans impact United States social and educational spaces. The course outlines tools for educators to use with students to begin forming less harmful narratives of Native Americans within the United States – including Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°), an educational resource provided by the National Museum of the American Indian. The course is facilitated by Renée Gokey (citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma), Edwin Schupman (citizen of the Muscogee [Creek] Nation of Oklahoma), and Colleen Call Smith.
Stories of Tribal Language Resilience | Native America is a self-paced, virtual lesson that highlights the ways the Diné (Navajo), Cherokee, and Passamaquoddy have utilized modern technology to continue revitalizing their native languages. There is a specific focus on how the United States Federal government, through treaty language and policy writing, intentionally sought to eradicate native languages and how legal language continues to impact Native American efforts to restore and revitalize their languages. The lesson is geared towards grades 9-12 and includes video clips that incorporate opportunities for critical reflection and analysis from students before, during, and after the videos.
Telling the American Story: Interpreting Native History in Your Classroom
The main objective of this educational session is to provide tools and strategies for educators to more inclusively and accurately teach about the United States. The educational session features speakers from the National Museum of the American Indian: Adrienne L. Smith (Cherokee/Muscogee-Creek), Gabbi Lee (Kanaka Maoli [Native Hawaiian]), Jennifer Samios, Shannon Wagner, and Shannen Mitchell. The session focuses on understanding the importance of the Native American perspective in the United States history, delineates skills for supporting the inclusion of these perspectives, and creates more inclusive narratives around difficult subjects within the classroom.
Places to Visit:
Skä•noñh – Great Law of Peace Center, 6680 Onondaga Lake Pkwy. Liverpool, NY 13088. Skä•noñh is a Haudenosaunee Cultural Center focused on telling the story of the native peoples of central New York. Now open from 10am-4pm Wednesday-Friday, and 11am-4pm on Saturday.
Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community, 4934 State Highway 5. Fonda, NY.
Ganondagan State Historic Site, 7000 County Road 41 (Boughton Hill Road) Victor, NY 14564. Bark Longhouse open May-October.
Seneca Iroquois National Museum, 82 W Hetzel St. Salamanca, NY 14779.
Iroquois Museum, 324 Caverns Road. Howes Cave, NY 12092.
About Us:
Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) is a grassroots organization of Central New Yorkers which recognizes and supports the sovereignty of the traditional government of the Onondaga Nation. A program of the Syracuse Peace Council, NOON supports the right of Indigenous Peoples to reclaim land, and advocates for fair settlement of any claims which are filed. We are always looking for more folks to join our work in Central New York. Learn more here.
NOON works on the territory of the Onondaga Nation,
Firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
We express our deep gratitude to the Onondaga Nation for caring for these lands, waters, and all our fellow beings since time immemorial.
We offer heartfelt apologies for the terrible violence that colonizers have carried out against the Onondaga People and Nation, including theft of land and attempted genocide. We are thankful for their perseverance and survival. We commit ourselves to working in solidarity with the Onondaga Nation to protect their sovereignty and create a shared, sustainable future for all life.
