Public Notice: Seneca Nation Enterprise Board of Directors (5)
Public Notice: Seneca Nation Hemp Commission
Registration Reminder - Complete your Annual Registration!
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Notice from Seneca Nation Health System
Meat Raffle @ ACC - October 26th
Fishing 101 w/ Seneca Nation Conservation Part 2: Filleting
In the follow up workshop for the "Get Hooked on Fishing" series (view part 1 here) at the Allegany Community Center participants learned about cleaning, preparing, and cooking walleyes. Shane Titus demonstrates how to clean a fish while Gerry Fisher showed how to prepare it into a delicious meal.
Pole to Plate Community Fishing Day
On Saturday, May 1, 2019 the Seneca Nation Sustainability Collaborative hosted it's "Pole to Plate" event, which was the culmination of the 3-part fishing classes that have been held over the last 2 months. The event turned out great and a good time was held by all participants. Nya:wëh to all the Seneca Nation Departments that made the event happen!
Seneca Nation Health System: Stop The Spread of Foodbourne Illness!
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About 1 in 6 Americans get sick from exposure to foodborne illnesses and about 130,000 people end up hospitalized from those illnesses. Ground beef, and other ground meats like turkey and chicken, are processed differently than other cuts of meat. Because the meat is ground into tiny pieces, the bacterium found in the environment is mixed throughout the meat, making it harder to kill. Freezing and refrigerating ground meats will not kill all the bacteria. The best way to kill bacteria that may be in your ground beef is simply by cooking it to an internal temperature of 160° F or higher. This ensures that any bacterium left will be killed and cannot be passed down to those that are consuming the meat. If you are eating in a restaurant, it is important to send back meat you think is undercooked. www.nap.edu/resource/13069/Ground-Beef-Fact-Sheet.pdf
An E. coli outbreak occurs when people eat at restaurants or buys meat from grocery stores. E. coli infections vary but symptoms include severe stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea. The first person became sick on March 1, 2019 with 196 people across ten states ill by May 13, 2019.
The ongoing outbreak has caused K2D Foods and Grant Park Packing to recall 166,624 pounds of ground beef. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/05/e-coli-count-nears-200-as-outbreak-stretches-to-10-states-ground-beef-implicated/
A Salmonella outbreak sickened 137 people from March 3 to May 1, 2019. Symptoms of salmonellosis are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 12 to 72 hours after coming into contact with the contaminated food. An epidemiological investigation tied the outbreak to pre-cut melons from Caito Foods, LLC. https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/carrau-04-19/index.html
Many things can go wrong while preparing food
- Make sure ready-to-eat foods, such as fruits or vegetables, are washed thoroughly.
- Cook and reheat meat to the correct temperatures.
- Stop cross-contamination of meats and vegetables by keeping them separate and preparing them on clean surfaces.
- Not properly disposing of or storing food the right way will also get you get sick. Hot food should be kept hot (between 140-165°F), and cold food needs to be cold (40°F or colder).
Cleanliness has a huge impact on battling pathogens. Workstations that are not clean can cross contaminate and breed pathogens. The bacteria from undercooked meat can also contaminate other foods on your plate.
Stay up to date on both, food recalls and outbreaks:
Celebrating Oldest Seneca June Conklin's 101st Birthday
On May 30th, we celebrated June Conklin's 101st Birthday at the Post #1587 Legion. President Rickey Armstrong, Clerk Bethany Johnson, Commander Ronald Cook Jr. and June's daughter spoke during this special occasion of honoring our oldest enrolled Seneca member. Becky Bowen served as the Emcee for the day. Ja:goh June. Nya:wëh to all who attended the celebration luncheon.
Black Bear Capture & Release In Steamburg
The black bear is common around the Allegany Territory and recently one had been rummaging trash cans in the Steamburg community. It was humanely captured and released. The Seneca Nation Conservation Department wants to remind you that they're available to help remove unwanted wildlife.
Seneca Nation Dispatch: Allegany - (716) 945-2779 & Cattaraugus - (716) 532-3040
Department of Interior Invites Joint Submission from Seneca Nation, New York State Before Review of Compact Amendment Can Begin
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ALLEGANY TERRITORY, SALAMANCA, N.Y. – Citing a regulatory requirement that a State who is a party to a Compact under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), must “certify” an amendment submission to the United States Department of Interior (DOI), the Interior Department has informed the Seneca Nation that, as part of the submission, federal regulations require that New York State certifies that the Governor has the authority to enter into the amendment.
In April, two members of a three-person arbitration panel determined that the Seneca Nation was obligated to continue making revenue sharing payments to New York State after Year 14 of the Nation-State Gaming Compact, despite the complete absence of any language to that effect in the Compact, which went onto effect in 2002. By creating an obligation that did not previously exist, the panel’s ruling effectively amended the agreed upon terms of the Compact. Following federal law under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Nation requested that DOI review the amendment created by the panel’s ruling. The written response received from Interior indicates that, in order to review the amendment, the Department would have to receive a certification from New York State that the Governor had the authority to enter into the amendment.
“While we regret that we must return the proposed Arbitration Award, we look forward to a new submission that includes a complete set of documents in compliance with the requirements of 25 C.F.R. Part 293,” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary John Tahsuda stated in his letter to the Seneca Nation.
“This action by the Department of Interior unfortunately fails to resolve the ongoing disagreement between the State of New York and the Seneca Nation. Without federal review, the amendment crafted by the arbitration panel remains unenforceable,” President Rickey L. Armstrong, Sr. said.
“Before notifying the State that our revenue share obligation had ended, we requested and received confirmation, in writing, that the Interior Department concurred with us that the Compact payment obligation ended after 14 years,” President Armstrong continued. “With that confirmation, the Seneca Nation leadership made a final payment to New York State in March 2017, completing our 14-year obligation.”
“Once the arbitration panel finalized its ruling, which amended the Compact, we moved expeditiously to submit our request to the Department of the Interior within a matter of days, in the hope that the Department would make a decision that would resolve this impasse once and for all. Instead, we were notified after seven weeks that the review process never even started.”
Upon receipt of the decision by Interior on Wednesday, the Seneca Nation filed suit in federal court to have the arbitration decision vacated for being inconsistent with federal law, or, in the alternative, staying enforcement until the Secretary of Interior reviews the amendment created by the arbitration decision and finds it consistent with IGRA. The motion filed by the Nation is consistent with the rules governing arbitration proceedings, which were agreed to by the State.
“You cannot simply skip past the fact that the arbitration decision and amendment must concur with federal law, and, right now, the amendment and the law conflict with one another,” President Armstrong said. “The only other alternative to resolve the matter would be for the Nation and the State to come to some agreement and jointly submit it to the Department of Interior for review. The Nation is open to those discussions.”
“Unfortunately, unless the Governor is willing to sit down with the Seneca Nation leadership to negotiate a mutually agreeable resolution that we could submit to the Department of Interior together, I am concerned that this litigation will continue for the foreseeable future, leaving the Seneca Nation and the local governments who benefit tremendously from our gaming operations in legal and financial limbo.”
Since the Seneca Nation began its gaming operations in 2002, the Nation has sent more than $1 Billion in revenue share contributions to Albany. The Seneca Nation has also invested more than $1 Billion to develop its casino properties in Niagara Falls, Salamanca and Buffalo. Today, the Nation’s casino operations employ approximately 4,000 workers, making Seneca Gaming Corporation one of the largest private employers in Western New York.
