HAL scholarship commemorates Indigenous Peoples Day

Ken Slaugenhoupt, right, president of the Historical Association of Lewiston, presents Elijah Smith, a member of the Deer Clan of the Tuscarora Nation, the annual HAL scholarship commemorating Indigenous Peoples Day, on Monday, Oct. 10.

Elijah is a student at the University at Buffalo who a degree in liberal arts and is working on his second degree in mechanical engineering. He plans on pursing a master’s degree in the future. Elijah expressed his appreciation and said the funds would help him complete his educational pursuits. He was accompanied by his mother, Janice Smith, and by his aunt, Patti Fischer.

The ceremony took place at the Tuscarora Heroes Monument. Speakers included Tom Collister, the Lewiston Museum curator; and Neil Patterson, Sr., a member of the Tuscarora Council. Collister explained the first natives inhabited this area nearly 10,000 years ago when Niagara Falls was where today’s Niagara Power Project is located.

Mayor Anne Welch and Deputy Mayor Victor Eydt were in attendance representing the Village of Lewiston.

(Images courtesy of Lee Simonson/HAL)