Reclaiming Ohi:yo'- Restoring the Altered Landscape of the Beautiful River

Welcoming

   
 Nya:-wëh Sgë:-nö 
 I am thankful you are well.

This exhibit references and discusses the Kinzua Dam, the forced relocation of our Seneca people from communities on our Allegany Territory. This material is being presented so that you can gain a contextual understanding of the ecological effects and impacts of the dam. In addition, it is our intention to educate users on the historical and cultural importance that Ohi:yo' has to our Seneca people. Please keep your mental safety in mind and utilize the navigation tools to the top left of the screen to choose which pages to view. 

This selection of archival and historic photographs, maps, newspaper articles, and information has been arranged to present the history and ecological impacts of the Kinzua Dam on our Seneca Nation (Nation). In order to provide a deeper understanding of the ecological and cultural impacts Kinzua has had on our people, we have pulled materials from a wide variety of sources. 

Much of this exhibit was curated with materials housed within the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum and Seneca Nation Archives Department, however, additional sources of information have been pulled from newspapers, such as The New York Times, and other Nation departments, such as Fish and Wildlife. More information about this exhibit can be found on the About this Exhibit page. 


For more information about the history and culture of our people, visit https://sni.org/. Information can also be found at our Onöhsagwë:dé Cultural Center, the new location of the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum. 

How To Use This Exhibit

This is a digital exhibit that acts like a book, with various pages, like this one, linked to the next corresponding page. This is an interactive exhibit. Pages contain links to media, citations, other Scalar pages, external websites, and additional resources and can be interacted with by hovering over the hyperlink or icon. 

Finding Content, Selecting Pages

We designed the different page pathways using circular logic and ways of thinking so as to keep this exhibit more in line with our cultural norms. In this way you have the option to choose how you wish to be presented the information found within this space; you can choose which page and which content you wish to view at any point in time, from any page within this exhibit. 

You have the option to view this exhibit following a linear pathway from start to finish, by clicking on the corresponding link at the bottom of each page. At any point in time, you can deviate from this linear path by simply clicking on a link other than the "continue to" button. 
All pages of this exhibit can also be found by hovering over the menu icon  located in the top left of the screen of every page. This will bring up the table of contents, which is also listed on this page. In addition, you can search for content by clicking on the magnifying glass icon located at the top right of the screen. The wayfinder icon will show you where you are within the exhibit. This function shows your most recently viewed pages or content and also allows you to view alternative navigation styles other than the current layout you see before you. For alternative views of this exhibit, click on "visualizations" under the wayfinder tab.

Seneca Language Words

Throughout this exhibit you will find words written in our language. These words are italicized and made bold with the English translation and/or pronunciation written next to it in parenthesis. 

We use our word Ohi:yo' to describe the Allegany River. Ohi:yo' means "Beautiful River" or "Good River". 

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