SALAMANCA — County planning officials honored one of their own for decades of service to the community.

During the annual Cattaraugus County Planning Board Dinner on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the Seneca Allegany Administration Building, the board presented the Brooks Patterson Community Leadership Award to board member and Seneca Nation Councilor Tina Abrams.

Abrams, first elected to the Seneca Nation Council in 2001, was the first woman appointed as the legislative body’s co-chair in 2012. Planning Board officials said Abrams exemplifies the values of community leadership, integrity, and service honored by the award, a reflection of the traditional teachings of her people.

She is also the first woman to chair the Seneca Nation Athletic Commission, which regulates MMA, boxing and bare-knuckle events on the Seneca Nation territories. She joined the planning board in 2002, and in 2019, Abrams was elected to serve as Northeast Region Vice President of the National Congress of American Indians and served on the NCAI COVID task force. In recognition of her leadership and many accomplishments, Abrams received the Trail Blazing Women of Western New York award in 2025.

A member of the Seneca Nation’s Wolf Clan, Abrams was raised on the Nation’s Cattaraugus Territory and has lived on the Allegany Territory for more than 40 years. She attended Gowanda Central Schools and later graduated from Jamestown Business College with honors and with her degree in Business Management. Abrams and her husband, John, have been married for 42 years and have three children and 10 grandchildren.

The evening also included the monthly meeting of the planning board, followed by an hour-long tour of Onöhsagwë:de’, the Seneca Iroquois Cultural Center.