STAMP development violates Canandaigua Treaty between US and Tonawanda Senecas of Hodínöhšö:ni’ Confederacy

Editor:

On Monday, November 11th, the 230th Commemoration of the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty was held at the Ontario County Courthouse in the city of Canandaigua.

Every year, this commemoration is held to “polish the chain of friendship, symbolizing the relationship between the (at the time) new United States of America and the Hodínöhšö:ni’ Confederacy,” a people of whom I am proud to be of.

This “chain” is held onto by both ends by both parties, and the responsibility of upholding this promise belongs to both. It was made to create a “firm and permanent friendship” between our Nations, and stands as a monumental agreement to this day, but the WNY STAMP mega industrial site represents a violation of this agreement and an erasure of this treaty.

The Science, Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing Park in Genesee County is an economic development zone which promises to bring high-tech manufacturing to Western New York. As of this writing, there are two tenants: Plug Power, and Edwards Vacuum.

This site is being built on our reservation border with only a 400’ buffer between it, and that place we call the “Big Woods.” The site poses runoff, explosive, noise and light pollution risks to our territory. Should any spills occur, we are close enough that contaminants could find their way into our wells and eventually, our people.

I’ve enjoyed the life of a Tonawanda Seneca citizen on the Tonawanda Seneca Territory. I’ve lived here all my life, learning our traditions, enjoying our customs and usage as did many who’ve grown here. I’ve spent time with my father gathering medicines in an area we call the “Big Woods.” Others hunt, source what they need for their craft there, and they’ll come from nearby territories.

We are very protective of these woods and our lands but share it with the rest of the Hodínöhšö:ni’. We’re a small community, but we’re among those fortunate enough to have kept our original Chief system under the Great Law of Peace alive with no other systems imposed upon us from American interference. In the Great Law, it is one of the duties of our leaders to make decisions thinking of faces not yet seen. However now, there is a fear of what might be brought by the STAMP site.

The Canandaigua Treaty ensures that the Hodínöhšö:ni’ remain sovereign and ensures “free use and enjoyment” of our lands. Last I had known, it’s enshrined in the U.S. Constitution that “all treaties are the supreme law of the land.”

There is no distinction between types of treaties or nations. If they would not be so quick to break the Treaty of Paris, or the Treaty of Versailles, then why would it be acceptable to break the Treaty of Canandaigua. Our leadership, and our people, call upon the Federal and State Organizations to respect the Tonawanda Seneca Nation’s right to thorough consultation, to engage in Nation-to-Nation conduct, and to hold up their end of the chain.

Grandell Logan

Basom