Seneca’s inclusion on the Power 250 list follows his recent recognition as Native Business Magazine’s 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year.
Irving, NY – Seneca Nation businessman, J C Seneca, was recently announced as a member of the 2021 Business First Power 250, a list of the most powerful people in the Buffalo Business Community. According to the business publication, selections are made based on an individual’s ability to get things done coupled with their level of community-wide respect and influence. This is the first appearance on the list for Seneca who is the owner of Native Pride Travel Plaza, Six Nations Manufacturing, Buffalo Cigarettes, and Tallchief Hemp/CBD as well as founder of the JC Seneca Foundation. He notes the announcement as a milestone in his professional career.
“Twenty-five years ago, I began selling cigarettes from a construction trailer on the land where Native Pride now stands,” Seneca said. “While I had dreams and plans, I never imagined being recognized as one of the most powerful business people in our community. I am honored and thank Business First for their acknowledgment of my work and achievements in my businesses and through my foundation. I am also grateful to the family, friends and mentors who have worked alongside me in helping to successfully develop the varied enterprises that have earned me this recognition.”
Seneca’s inclusion on The Power 250 list follows his recent tribute of 2020 Business Entrepreneur of the Year as awarded by the national publication, Native Business Magazine. The honor acknowledges Native businesses and individuals who are rising above challenges and circumstances to advance business and protect sovereignty, and also celebrates Natives who demonstrate courage, innovation and commitment to economic self-sufficiency and prosperity.
In 2020, Seneca celebrated the 25th anniversary of his Native Pride business by rebranding it with the Tallchief name of his ancestors, undertaking a full renovation of the Tallchief Diner, developing the Tallchief Outdoor Event Center, securing a $114,000 National Fuel Grant to extend natural gas lines to his business operations, and launching installation of a compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel station to supplement the travel plaza’s gasoline, diesel, and propane fuel services. He recently announced a partnership with Dr. Raul Vazquez, owner of G-Health Enterprises, to provide mobile healthcare and medical services to people on the Native territories and surrounding communities across WNY where there is a concerning lack of available care.
ABOUT J C SENECA: J C Seneca is a member of the Seneca Nation and owner of Tallchief Territory, Home of Native Pride Travel Plaza, located on the Seneca Nation in Irving, NY. He started working in 1987 as a young entrepreneur with big dreams. By 1995 he developed his own truck stop business and spent the next 25 years building a successful 22-pump gas and diesel service area complimented by a diner, a 24/7 convenience store and shower and lounge services for professional truck drivers. In 2019, Seneca was recognized as a Top 50 Native Business Entrepreneur by Native Business Magazine, a national publication based in Bellevue, WA. Seneca’s civic leadership is reflected in the creation of the J C Seneca Foundation, a nonprofit corporation with a mission to advance healthy living in body, mind, and spirit for the people of the Seneca Nation and surrounding communities. Backed by a quarter century of goals and achievement, in 2020 Seneca made the decision to reformat his Native Pride Brand by incorporating it with his family’s Seneca Nation Heritage. It is a heritage tied to his great, great, great grandfather, Tallchief, who claimed the land where Seneca began his entrepreneurial journey and today continues to grow his business, now known as Tallchief Territory, Home of Native Pride. For more information visit: Tallchief Territory
ABOUT THE JC SENECA FOUNDATION: The JC Seneca Foundation (JCSF) is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to advance healthy living in body, mind, and spirit for the people of the Seneca Nation and surrounding communities. The foundation accomplishes these purposes through a variety of means including supporting the activities of other charitable organizations and conducting fundraising events. The foundation also sponsors programs such as It Takes A Tribe, a foster care project. For more information visit: JC Seneca Foundation
Native Business Magazine
Carmen Davis - Founder, Publisher and Executive Editor
Mrs. Davis is the founder, publisher and executive editor of the only Native American wholly owned and operated national tribal business publication, Native Business Magazine, and the producer of the annual and nationally attended Native Business Summit.
Mrs. Davis is also president of Davis Strategy Group has over 23 years of service to Indian Country and as an entrepreneur she has successfully established, operated, managed and grown several businesses in multiple sectors. She is equal parts a strategic visionary and behind-the-scenes implementor, essential in guiding and overseeing every process of brand development, business expansion, nation-to-nation relationship building and more.
She was named in 2009 as one of the first recipients of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s, “40 Under 40” award which recognizes up and coming community and business leaders from across Indian Country.
