Honoree praised for lifelong commitment to the Seneca Nation and Western New York
From the Office of NY State Senator George Borrello,
ALBANY, N.Y. — Senator George Borrello today announced that Tina Abrams, a member of the Seneca Nation Council and longtime community leader, has been selected as the 57th District’s honoree for the New York State Senate’s Women of Distinction award, recognizing her decades of leadership, advocacy, and service to the Seneca Nation and the broader Western New York community.
Abrams has spent years as a powerful voice for her people and a tireless advocate for Native American rights, community service, and cultural preservation. That commitment to service runs deep in her family. Her grandfather and father were among those who fought to secure Seneca Nation women’s right to vote in 1964, helping instill in her a lasting belief in the power of perseverance and advocacy.
She carried that legacy into her own distinguished career in public service. First elected to the Seneca Nation Council in 2001, she made history in 2012 as the first woman appointed Co-Chair of the legislative body, where she helped oversee Nation enterprises, build relationships with Native organizations across the country, and advocate on federal and state issues affecting tribal lands.
“The Women of Distinction honor exists to shine a light on leaders whose contributions often go far beyond what headlines capture. Tina Abrams has spent more than two decades fighting for her community, her Nation, and Indigenous peoples across this country. Tina’s life and work are a testament to what it means to lead with purpose and principle. I am proud to recognize her as the 2026 Woman of Distinction for the 57th Senate District,” said Borrello.
Abrams’s commitment to service extends well beyond her work in tribal government. She serves as chairperson of the Seneca Nation’s annual Veterans Powwow, honoring Native veterans and cultural traditions, and is a member of the Remember the Removal Committee, which commemorates the forced displacement of Seneca families from their ancestral lands for the construction of the Kinzua Dam.
“I am humbled to be chosen as a Woman of Distinction, and grateful to Senator Borrello for this incredible honor,” Abrams said. “This community is our shared home and serving the needs of the community is not an individual path. We all have a voice and an interest in seeing our community – and all of its residents – succeed, advance and grow.”
Since 2003, Abrams has served on the Cattaraugus County Planning Board, and since 2021 on the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center Board of Directors. In 2019, she was elected Northeast Region Vice President of the National Congress of American Indians and served on its COVID Task Force during the pandemic.
In 2025, Abrams was honored as one of the “Living Trailblazing Women” by the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women as part of the Trailblazing Women of Western New York Monument Project, further recognition of a lifetime spent opening doors and creating lasting change. She also received the Brooks Patterson Community Leadership Award from the Cattaraugus County Planning Board, the first Seneca Nation member to receive the honor.
Raised on the Cattaraugus Territory and a longtime resident of the Allegany Territory, Abrams attended Gowanda Central Schools and graduated with honors from Jamestown Business College with a degree in Business Management. She and her husband, John, have three children and ten grandchildren.
The New York State Senate’s Women of Distinction program was created to honor women whose achievements, leadership, and dedication have enriched the quality of life in their communities and across the state. Tina Abrams’s record of service, perseverance, and advocacy reflects the very best of that tradition.
Ms. Abrams will be honored at a ceremony in Albany on May 5th and in the district at a future date.
