{"id":30514,"date":"2023-01-18T11:21:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T16:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=30514"},"modified":"2023-01-18T11:49:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T16:49:32","slug":"a-pattern-of-disrespect-seneca-nation-condemns-veto-of-burial-protection-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2023\/01\/18\/a-pattern-of-disrespect-seneca-nation-condemns-veto-of-burial-protection-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A pattern of disrespect’: Seneca Nation condemns veto of burial protection bill"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Seneca<\/a>
A welcome sign on the Seneca Nation. Photo: Ken Lund<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
‘A pattern of disrespect’<\/div>\r\n
Seneca Nation condemns veto of burial protection bill<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, January 18, 2023<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nLeaders of the Seneca Nation<\/a> are speaking out after the governor of New York vetoed a bill that would have protected burial grounds across the state.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAt the Seneca Nation Council’s first meeting of 2023, the tribe’s legislative body said the veto by Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/a> (D) leaves New York as one of the few places where unmarked burial sites remain unprotected. A tribal resolution approved on January 14<\/a> cites the need for the Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act, which had received unanimous support from state lawmakers.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe importance of the Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act to Native people cannot be overstated, and its rejection by the Governor was an affront to Native Nations, our people and our ancestors,\u201d Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong, Sr. said in a news release<\/a> on Wednesday.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe Seneca people have lived, raised our families and been laid to rest in our ancestral lands from time immemorial. Because of our forced relocation from our expansive ancestral lands to our present-day territories over hundreds of years, the final resting places of all of our ancestors is likely unknowable,” Armstrong said. “The Act would have finally given Native communities a true voice in honoring our moral and ethical obligation to protect those most sacred sites from destruction and desecration.\u201d\r\n

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‘A pattern of disrespect’: Seneca Nation condemns veto of burial protection bill<\/div>\r\n
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<\/P>\r\nHochul vetoed Senate Bill S5701<\/a> on December 30, 2022, in one of her final actions of the year. A message from the governor’s office<\/a> claims the discovery of human remains is a “rare occasion” and that the legislation failed to address the interests of private property owners.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“I recognize the need for a process to address the handling of unearthed human remains\r\nin a way that is respectful to lineal descendants or culturally-affiliated groups,” Hochul said on her one-page veto message<\/a>. However, any process addressing the handling of unearthed human remains that also involves the private property of New Yorkers must appropriately protect both interests.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut in passing the resolution, Seneca Nation lawmakers said Hochul’s veto represents an ongoing “pattern of disrespect” towards tribal nations and their people. Armstrong echoed the message in the news release on Wednesday.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe continued blatant disregard for Native issues and priorities coming from New York\u2019s Executive Chamber is disturbing,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cFor more than two centuries, our governments, our people and our priorities have been greeted with a deafening silence and contempt from New York governors. We see little hope for change based on recent actions.\u201d\r\n

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