Indigenous Governance Database
Seneca Nation of Indians
Seneca Nation Constitution
Location: New York Population: 7800 Date of Constitution: 1848, as amended through 1993
Seneca Nation: Terms of Office Excerpt
SECTION I. Our government shall have a legislative, executive, and judiciary department. The legislative power shall be vested in a Council of sixteen members, who shall be known and called the Councillors of the Seneca Nation of Indians, eight Councillors elected to the Council shall be from the…
Seneca Nation Implements Native Plant Policy
The Seneca Nation of Indians are spearheading a movement to reintroduce more indigenous flora to public landscapes on tribal lands in Upstate New York. The tribal council unanimously approved a policy that mandates all new landscaping in public spaces on Seneca lands exclusively be comprised of…
Huge Push to Save Endangered Seneca Language
The Seneca Nation of Indians have a deep rooted history in Western New York. Stories of their ancestors are here and their culture from ceremonies to traditions is still very much alive. But the language, a huge part of their culture, is dying. That's why there is a big push to preserve the…
These Are My People...
This documentary short is the first film made by an all-Aboriginal film crew, training under the NFB's Challenge for Change Program. It was shot at Akwesasne (St. Regis Reserve). Two spokesmen explain historical and other aspects of Longhouse religion, culture, and government and reflect on the…
Chief Oren Lyons Discusses Sovereignty
This is a short interview with Chief Oren Lyons on the issue of sovereignty that was filmed shortly after the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was passed.
Chief Oren Lyons on International Leadership and Empowerment
In this presentation, Chief Oren Lyons discusses the topic of international leadership and empowerment. The speech was given on March 18, 2011, at Humboldt State University.