Hochul Said Sorry. But for the Seneca Nation, Is That Enough? (Part 02)

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By Leslie Logan

May 21, 2025

Guest Opinion. Yesterday, Senecas asked what concrete next steps would follow Gov. Hochul's apology. The Seneca people have called for reparations, foremost is for resources to support language preservation and cultural revitalization. Others suggest land back and monetary reparations for survivors. 

Read part one of this opinion piece here. 

Yesterday, Gov. Hochul committed to making changes to the NYS curriculum that better reflect Seneca history. President Seneca stated that he intends to push for monies geared towards language preservation and will work with the state to have dollars earmarked specifically for on-territory programs.

The State legislature, meanwhile, just passed a $254 billion budget with a sizable forecasted $13.9 billion budget gap. Dipping into the recesses of Hochul’s heart for an apology is one thing; dipping into an already busted budget for reparations is another.

Gov. Hochul apologized on behalf of the state for the failings of a state-operated residential school that closed before she was born. She even went so far as to call the residential schools an attempt at ethnic cleansing. To acknowledge the atrocities, to bring awareness to the depth of the devastation caused, for that we can be grateful. For that, some may find a path to healing. For that, the administration can claim a small win–for the survivors, for the descendants, for Seneca history, and maybe, just maybe, for Seneca-State relations. For that, some Seneca may even be forgiving.

Our traditional teachings remind us to be forgiving. But do we forget the old injuries and the new, recent state transgressions, aggressions, and incursions? Do we put a history of state abuse and recent abrasive action by the governor herself to the side and just get over it?

In the early days of dealings with colonists and antagonists intruding on our lands, we followed ancient protocols designed to set the stage for talks and negotiations. We engaged in the Edge of the Woods, the Requickening, and relied upon the Silver Covenant Chain as necessary customs for maintaining peace and good relations. These were welcoming steps, and pre-talk practices rooted in traditional culture to clear the throat, clean the ears, wipe the eyes, and open the mind to make way for positive relations. At their foundation, they were about keeping a good mind and mutual respect. The Silver Covenant Chain stood for the need to maintain strong linkages, friendships, and relations. If relations deteriorated, the involved parties had a responsibility to “polish the chain” and refortify relations.

In 2025, the Edge of the Woods, the Requickening protocols and the concept of the Silver Covenant Chain still hold value. I believe our ancient traditions can still be applied in principle, if not in new forums, as today, with attempts to re-establish relations and build a new, healthier, mutually respectful dynamic with New York State. Hochul may not be the Seneca peoples’ ideal candidate for building trust, but her commitment to assuming state responsibility for the brutalities of the Thomas Indian School and even her courage to deliver the apology on the territory—where the stew of hostility is on a low simmer, suggests there may be hope of a new day dawning in Seneca-State relations.

The bulk of credit, however, must go to President Seneca for realizing the need for change in the tenor of relations. Decades of fight, fight, fight have not delivered the desired results for the Seneca Nation. A strong leader, like the leaders of old, pursues a path of diplomacy in the quest for justice for their people. J.C. Seneca exhibits the qualities, the willingness to take risks–that not all Senecas support–that seek to bring about the means to an end.

Sometimes, the request for an apology may just be a valid need to address the harm done. Sometimes an apology is political despite all the pronouncements to the contrary. Sometimes, asking for an apology is really a diplomatic craft, such as fine-tuned engineering for oiling and polishing the chain.

Within the context of the current national political climate that devalues diversity, is on a revived expansionist rampage to overtake indigenous-majority Greenland, assume Canada, whitewash history, and erase significant contributions of Native people–a state apology that acknowledges the horrors of residential school history and values Native children is refreshing, needed; albeit overdue.

To honor TIS survivors justly, their voices should be heard and resonated with. Elliot Tallchief wasn’t wrong when he said, “New York state has always treated us badly and still does. Nothing has changed.”  

One has to only look at the state’s railroading of the STAMP project at Tonawanda, threatening old-growth forest environs, to see that little has changed. And at the Seneca Nation, people have more than half a billion reasons to claim bad treatment.

My mother, whose mother was in TIS for all of her developmental years, participated in the closed session with Hochul, where elders shared their stories. She came out with a different opinion of the governor, finding her to be genuine, compassionate, and not at all what she expected. She said she felt her own feelings of hostility peeling away, giving her hope that improved relations with the state were possible.

Can a governmental apology engender a pivotal moment in time for the Seneca Nation–for healing, for warming of relations? Maybe, just maybe, if mutual respect exists, if good faith is demonstrated, maybe an apology truly can have the power to heal and bring about change. I’m cautiously optimistic; I’ll be waiting for those next steps.

Leslie Logan (Seneca, Cattaraugus Territory) is a freelance writer and consultant, outspoken activist, community organizer, proud mother of two, and descendant of residential school survivors of Thomas Indian School, Quaker Bridge (Tunesassa), and Carlisle.