the good mind of rodney haring

“Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground...” 

–From The Great Binding Law of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy as translated by Arther C. Parker, 1915  

Rodney Haring’s roots in the cultures of the Seneca Nation of Indians, of which he is an enrolled member, and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy inform everything he does, in his personal life and in his work as Director of the Roswell Park Center for Indigenous Cancer Research. 

He is so deeply attuned to the cultural traditions and values of the Seneca and the Haudenosaunee that his own story is inextricable from the story of his ancestors. Though Haring was raised on the Cattaraugus Reservation south of Buffalo, that isn’t where he starts when I ask about his personal history. 

“See this land here and this city here, this whole area and this whole region?” He gestures in the direction of downtown Buffalo. “Before European contact, before colonization, it was all Seneca land ... so I look at the city as part of the history of who I am. Before Buffalo was here, any of these buildings, it was all landscape. And that landscape was part of the Seneca Nation.” 

Dr. Haring grew up on the Cattaraugus Reservation, where he still lives today and where he feels his deepest connection to Seneca culture. It’s everywhere, he says: “When you live in the middle of the reservation, there’s no way not to see it and there’s no way not to live it. I’ve traveled all over the world, but once I cross the reservation boundary, I’m home.” 

Of course, the Seneca people didn’t always live within the limited boundaries of their five New York reservations, and Dr. Haring’s connections with his ancestors transcend any such physical boundary. His ancestors once occupied a massive stretch of land from northwestern Pennsylvania to southern Ontario along the Allegheny River and beyond. 

As the westernmost nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy–known by many of us as the Iroquois Nations–the Seneca were known as the “Keepers of the Western Door” and they and the rest of the Haudenosaunee nations developed a rich and complex culture and set of values that continue to be passed down from generation to generation today. 

Perhaps the most widely recognized of these values outside of the Haudenosaunee community is the Seventh Generation Principle, which represents the foundation for the Confederacy’s stewardship of environment, cultural legacy, and community. 

The Seventh Generation Principle lays out the enduring Haudenosaunee philosophy that everything one does now, today, should be done in service of the seven generations to come. This philosophy instills a deep connectedness to generations past and future and a powerful sense of responsibility for community. 

Rodney Haring, who like all children of the Haudenosaunee inherited the values represented by the Seventh Generation Principle, can remember even as a child being drawn to give back to his community, to the Seneca, and to native and indigenous people worldwide. 

Over the course of his education–from which he emerged with an impressive associate’s degree in science, two bachelor’s degrees in social interdisciplinary studies and psychology, a master’s degree in social work, and a PhD in social welfare–he developed a strong understanding of the health and wellness-related disparities faced by native communities and a passionate interest in combatting those by combining modern academic medicine with traditional native wisdom. 

Dr. Haring’s intensive research and years of work–including 15 years practicing social work on the Cattaraugus Reservation–in these areas led him to Roswell Park in 2016 and eventually to the launch of the Center for Indigenous Cancer Research in early 2020.

To understand the purpose of the Center for Indigenous Cancer Research, one first needs to understand that American Indian and Native Alaskan (AINA) communities have faced disparities in medicine and health care dating back to the earliest days of European colonization five centuries ago. They persist today because of the enduring legacy of colonization and the corresponding poverty and food insecurity, underfunding of education and medical services, limited access to preventative care, and lack of trust in health care systems. 

Today, compared with the general population, AINA communities see higher rates of certain cancers, of obesity and diabetes, and of mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, indigenous populations faced some of the highest coronavirus mortality rates in the United States. 

For Dr. Haring, it’s important to maintain an awareness not only of these challenges but also of the powerful resiliency native communities have built in response. It’s the combination of the two that has driven his life’s work: “My journey, how I became who I am as an academic and a researcher, really spawned from my understanding of [these] disparities, but also of our resiliencies. Our parents and our grandparents had to be strong, had to move and carry forward ... so I think a lot about that. That’s where I find strength in the things I do.” 

He has poured that strength into developing a program at Roswell Park that seeks to reduce the impact of cancer–and co-occurring health and wellness issues–on indigenous communities at home on Seneca and Haudenosaunee land, throughout the United States, and globally. 

The key, Dr. Haring believes, is collaboration. The work Dr. Haring is doing is not only for and about native communities; it’s with and by them. 

Members of these communities are involved in every component of the Center’s efforts. Dr. Haring and his staff–all of whom have roots in native communities–have partnered with several sovereign nations, including the Seneca and Tuscarora locally, the St. Regis Mohawk in central New York State, and the Kahnawake Mohawk territory in southern Quebec, to understand their unique needs before developing plans to address those needs. 

By offering education and research opportunities, hosting cancer screenings and clinical trials, and layering modern academic medicine with traditional knowledge and ancestral wisdom all with a community-centered approach, the Center is forging a strong foundation for improved cancer, health, and wellness outcomes for indigenous people. 

And it’s all, of course, designed not only for the here and now but for the future: “The things we create now, what we’re doing now, what we’re talking about here today, are pieces of a conversation that hopes to inspire and keep our seven generations forward healthy. I’m not thinking, ‘We’re gonna do this now, accomplish this thing in one or two years.’ What I’m thinking is, ‘What kind of change is gonna happen seven generations down the line?’ That carries into [the Center for Indigenous Cancer Research]. It’s embracing the next generations of indigenous cancer scientists, educators, clinicians, across the board. Roswell is the oldest [cancer research] center in the US and sits in the ancestral homelands of the Seneca. We’re really honoring that now.” 

Two years after its launch, Roswell Park’s Center for Indigenous Cancer Research isn’t showing any sign of slowing down in either its growth internally or its impact on the wider community. The team is now a dozen strong and growing and has conducted research that will make critical differences in how the cancer care continuum from prevention to diagnosis to treatment and survivorship is applied in and for indigenous communities. 

Rodney Haring is leading this work with a unique perspective, one informed, naturally, by another Haudenosaunee idea. 

“The Good Mind is the way we carry ourselves every day,” he explains. “It’s about embracing strength and peace to create wellness. I try to walk that path every day by honoring people’s journeys–which may differ from mine–and listening with an open mind. I try to present myself that way even in the face of the most significant challenges, to embrace stepping back and considering what my word is going to say and what my action is going to do.” 

The Good Mind of Dr. Rodney Haring elevates community and compassion, guides him to act always with intention, always knowing that he is a small part of a much larger whole. 

“I’m not into writing a hundred articles or books,” he says of his career as a researcher and advocate. “I would be happy with one that makes a change for the next generation.”