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Reclaiming Ohi:yo'- Restoring the Altered Landscape of the Beautiful River Ohi:yo' Restoration and Resiliency Projects Members of the Seneca Nation's Watershed Resources Working Group are involved in various restoration and resiliency projects for our Ohi:yo'. The Seneca Nation's Fish and Wildlife Department in particular engages in projects related to building artificial habitat, repopulating our river's Walleye population, and building trenches to help land locked fish. Fighting for the Water: Fracking Wastewater in Ohi:yo' In 2016 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) began deliberating a 1,000-barrel/day of unconventional gas drilling wastewater (Frack Wastewater) disposal facility in Potter County proposed by Epiphany Allegheny LLC. In response to the news of these fracking plans, our Seneca people again fought for our people, our communities, and our Ohi:yo'.

The Kinzua Dam Project

On April 14th, 1958 the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could take our land to build Kinzua Dam, a proposed flood control project originating in the 1930s, in Warren, Pennsylvania.

For the next four years, the Seneca Nation and our Seneca people fought to prevent the dam from being built. Its construction would mean the taking and subsequent flooding of our Seneca communities in our Allegany Territory.

What Kind of Dam is it?

Kinzua Dam is a combination concrete gravity structure and rolled-earth embankment dam. Between October 15, 1960 and September 29, 1961, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the two rolled-earth embankments that sat on either side of the concrete gravity structure. The earth embankments alone were made up of over one-half million yards of earth.

The construction of Kinzua Dam in Warren, Pennsylvania was completed in December of 1965.

On June 3rd, 2017, a local news station, WGRZ-TV, reported on the history of the Kinzua Dam and the Seneca Nation. View that coverage here: https://youtu.be/ToGeLwIaP9w.

For more information about Kinzua Dam's construction, see the Additional Resources page.

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This is a downstream view of the river's valley from the top of the nearly completed Kinzua Dam. Our Allegany Territory is located in a valley surrounded by steep hillsides. Our land that was inundated by the Allegheny Reservoir was the flattest portions, which was most conducive to living and farming on. Up until the Kinzua Era, many of our Seneca people on our Allegany Territory were subsistence farmers. Original Caption by Ted Hetzel: "Making a Dam".

What Kind of Dam is it?

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