The Seneca Mothers of the Nation Stand in Solidarity with the Mothers of Ukraine

by Leslie Logan

ALLEGANY TERRITORY, SALAMANCA – A group of Seneca women, Mothers of the Nation, are gathering on the Allegany territory today to send a message of support to mothers, children, and families of Ukraine on International Women's Day.

The Mothers of the Nation issue the following statement:

The Mothers of the Nation express solidarity with the mothers of Ukraine. On this, International Women's Day, it is especially important to pay tribute to and lend support to the Ukrainian people, as they struggle, now daily against Russian military occupation, aggression, and forced removal. We express our heartfelt sympathies for the losses of human life the Ukraine people are enduring and the devastation to their country.

Our own ancestors experienced an attempted genocidal assault with the invasion of our lands by American forces, directed by Major General John Sullivan under the order of President George Washington in 1779.

We, too, were Ukraine. We were invaded, our women and children were killed. We fled under large-scale military attack and our ancestral lands in the Finger Lakes area were taken.

We, too, were Ukraine in 1965. Ten thousand acres of our Ohi:yo' lands in Allegany were seized by the US Army Corps of Engineers to make way for the construction of the Kinzua Dam. Our homes were burned to the ground, our land was flooded, and we were forcibly displaced.

The Mothers of the Nation convey our prayers for the people of Ukraine. We wish you strength to oppose your aggressors, the will to persevere in the face of extreme conditions, and pray that the Ukrainian people emerge stronger, overcome, and thrive.