ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Sunday’s Bonnies basketball game against George Washington will be especially meaningful, regardless of who wins.

St. Bonaventure will formally acknowledge the land upon which the university sits.

In a pregame ceremony just before the noon tipoff, the Rev. Stephen Mimnaugh, vice president for Mission Integration, will read publicly for the first time a statement acknowledging that the Seneca Nation of Indians were “for generations … the stewards of the land” now home to SBU’s 500-acre campus.

Seneca Nation President JC Seneca and First Lady Nicole Seneca will join university President Dr. Jeff Gingerich for the midcourt ceremony. Layla Seneca, a cousin of the president, will then sing the National Anthem. Native American Heritage Day is the theme for the game.

Several Seneca Nation councilors and other Seneca VIPs will also be in attendance, and children from the Cattaraugus and Allegany Community Centers will play basketball at halftime.

The Land Acknowledgement Statement was SBU’s first commitment to the Seneca Nation after the university and its Seneca neighbors formed a committee last year to strengthen their bonds and friendship.

Since 2021, the university has had a minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies; received a $147,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant to bolster its relationship with the Seneca Nation; hosted several Native American cultural events; and recognized the student founders of SBU’s Indigenous Student Confederacy at a Bonnies game in November.