The University at Buffalo, including the Glacier Modeling Lab, exists on the land of the Seneca, who are a matrilineal Native society that has lived in western New York for at least 5000 years. The Seneca are a part of the Haudenosaunee (English: People of the Longhouse; common exonym: Iroquois; simple form: Six Nations) Confederation.
We believe in the importance of seeking out and stating the truth. Therefore, we acknowledge the history of Native habitation of this land and its extortion, via treaties such as Fort Stanwix and Canandaigua, from the Seneca by white settlers. These settlers – the cultural ancestors of White people living in New York today – committed atrocities, including land theft. When we one day become ancestors ourselves, we want, instead, a legacy of peace and coexistence.
Native people arrived after the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during Earth’s last great climate change event. We value the Seneca as our neighbors, the descendants of great explorers, and fellow human beings with undeniable rights.