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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'.

"Quaker Booklet Urges Quick Action on Seneca Indian Bill", The Republican-Press, Jan. 28, 1964

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Contents of this tag:
1. Walter Taylor, George Heron Walter Taylor, the national representative of the American Indian Program of the American Friends Service Committee, a Society of Friends organization, is speaking with George Heron (SNI President 1958-1960, 1962-1964) in front of two of the proposed resettlement area maps for displaced Seneca families (Jimersontown and Steamburg) that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created. Between April and September of 1961, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed and mapped out the flowage and clearing easements for the Allegeny Reservoir, part of which would extend into Seneca Nation of Indians land on the Allegany Territory. Between May 1961 and January of 1962 the Seneca Nation of Indians and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers negotiated the individual landowner boundary lines of the "take" areas: Seneca Nation land below the 1365 elevation line that the U.S. Army Corps was taking to be a part of the Reservoir. Seneca Nation officials were given copies of these maps and held personal meetings with families who lived in the "take" areas in addition to discussing the maps' boundaries among Council.
2. George Heron, Basil Williams, Robert "Bob" Haines, Theodore"Ted" Hetzel, 1961 Between May 1961 and January of 1962 the Seneca Nation of Indians and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers negotiated the individual landowner boundary lines of the "take" areas on the Army Corps proposed resettlement maps. From left to right: George Heron (SNI President 1958-1960, 1962-1964), SNI President Basil Williams (1960-1962), Bob Haines, the Chairman of the Indian Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and Theodore "Ted" Hetzel, a member of the Indian Committees of the American Friends Service Committee and a Board Member of the Indian Rights Association. The Indian Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and the Indian Committees of the American Friends Service Committee are both Quaker organizations. The Society of Friends has historically been involved with the Seneca people and the Seneca Nation of Indians since the Pickering Treaty (Treaty of Canandaigua) was signed in 1794, the same treaty which would be broken by building Kinzua Dam. Starting as early as the 1950s the Quakers and the Seneca Nation of Indians worked together to bring awareness of the destruction to the Seneca way of life that the Kinzua Dam would cause as a result of being built. Between April and September of 1961, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed and mapped out the flowage and clearing easements for the Allegeny Reservoir, part of which would extend into Seneca Nation of Indians land on the Allegany Territory. Between May 1961 and January of 1962 the Seneca Nation of Indians and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers negotiated the individual landowner boundary lines of the "take" areas: Seneca Nation land below the 1365 elevation line that the U.S. Army Corps was taking to be a part of the Reservoir. Seneca Nation officials were given copies of the Army Corps proposed resettlement area maps for displaced Seneca families and held personal meetings with families who lived in the "take" areas in addition to discussing the maps' boundaries among Council. From left to right: George Heron (SNI President 1958-1960, 1962-1964), SNI President Basil Williams (1960-1962), Bob Haines, the Chairman of the Indian Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and Theodore "Ted" Hetzel, a member of the Indian Committees of the American Friends Service Committee and a Board Member of the Indian Rights Association. The Indian Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and the Indian Committees of the American Friends Service Committee are both Quaker organizations.
3. President Cornelius Seneca Public Outreach Letter (pg 1 of 4)
4. Letter from President John F. Kennedy to SNI President Basil Williams (pg 1 of 2) Seneca Nation Presidents', beginning with Cornelius Seneca (1956-1958), began writing to public officials in Pennsylvania, New York, and even the President of the United States in an effort to stop the construction of Kinzua Dam. In a letter from U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy declares that he will not halt Kinzua Dam's construction. President Kennedy's reasoning, like many who supported building the dam at this location, argued that national U.S. interests superceede that of the Senecas. President Kennedy's remarks and stance on the issue were not unusual for this time period. Shortly after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it would be constructing Kinzua Dam in Warren, Pennsylvania, which would result in the inundation of one-third of the Seneca Nation of Indians Allegany Territory, we as a nation began voicing our dissent. Seneca Nation Presidents', beginning with Cornelius Seneca (1956-1958), began writing to public officials in Pennsylvania, New York, and even the President of the United States in an effort to stop the construction of Kinzua Dam. In a letter from U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy declares that he will not halt Kinzua Dam's construction. President Kennedy's reasoning, like many who supported building the dam at this location, argued that national U.S. interests superceede that of the Senecas. President Kennedy's remarks and stance on the issue were not unusual for this time period. The American popular perception of Native Americans during the 1950s and 1960s could not separate stereotypical Plains Indian tropes from modern descendants of indigenious populations, like the Seneca Nation of Indians. There was a prevailing notion among many Americans that there were no more living "authentic" Native Americans. U.S. Indian policy at this time reflected these viewpoints and worked towards eliminating the nation to nation relationship that federally recognized indian status created.
5. Letter from President John F. Kennedy to SNI President Basil Williams (pg 2 of 2) Seneca Nation Presidents', beginning with Cornelius Seneca (1956-1958), began writing to public officials in Pennsylvania, New York, and even the President of the United States in an effort to stop the construction of Kinzua Dam. In a letter from U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy declares that he will not halt Kinzua Dam's construction. President Kennedy's reasoning, like many who supported building the dam at this location, argued that national U.S. interests superceede that of the Senecas. President Kennedy's remarks and stance on the issue were not unusual for this time period. Shortly after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it would be constructing Kinzua Dam in Warren, Pennsylvania, which would result in the inundation of one-third of the Seneca Nation of Indians Allegany Territory, we as a nation began voicing our dissent. Seneca Nation Presidents', beginning with Cornelius Seneca (1956-1958), began writing to public officials in Pennsylvania, New York, and even the President of the United States in an effort to stop the construction of Kinzua Dam. In a letter from U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy declares that he will not halt Kinzua Dam's construction. President Kennedy's reasoning, like many who supported building the dam at this location, argued that national U.S. interests superceede that of the Senecas. President Kennedy's remarks and stance on the issue were not unusual for this time period. The American popular perception of Native Americans during the 1950s and 1960s could not separate stereotypical Plains Indian tropes from modern descendants of indigenious populations, like the Seneca Nation of Indians. There was a prevailing notion among many Americans that there were no more living "authentic" Native Americans. U.S. Indian policy at this time reflected these viewpoints and worked towards eliminating the nation to nation relationship that federally recognized indian status created.
6. "Seneca Ceremony Mourns Land Taken by U.S. Despite Treaty" (Page 1 of 2)
7. "Critic at Large: The Senecas Being Forced From Their Lands are Bitter with Good Cause", The New York Times, Feb. 25, 1964
8. Merrill Bowen Letter to JFK
9. George D. Heron Speech, Nov. 22, 1963 (4 of 4)
10. Kinzua Project of the Indian Comittee Report, 1963
11. "Quaker Booklet Urges Quick Action on Seneca Indian Bill", The Republican-Press, Jan. 28, 1964
12. President Cornelius Seneca Public Outreach Letter (pg 2 of 4)
13. "Second Look at Kinzua" editorial, The Washington Post, Jan., 24, 1960
14. President Cornelius Seneca Public Outreach Letter (pg 3 of 4)
15. Memo to SNI President George Heron from Arthur Lasarus, Jr. In a letter to SNI President George Heron, Arthur Lasarus, Jr., the lawyer to the Nation, comments on Pennsylvania Senator Joseph Clark's response to "Second Look at Kinzua", an editorial published earlier that week in The Washington Post. This internal memo shows the significance to our ancestors that the press publicity had in addition to providing insight into internal communication during the Kinzua Era. In a letter to SNI President George Heron, Arthur Lasarus, Jr., the lawyer to the Nation, comments on Pennsylvania Senator Joseph Clark's response to "Second Look at Kinzua", an editorial published earlier that week in The Washington Post. This internal memo shows the significance to our ancestors that the press publicity had in addition to providing insight into internal communication during the Kinzua Era. "Second Look at Kinzua" and many others like it sparked a public debate in the Western New York State region over Indian status. Articles like this appeared in other newspapers at the regional and national level from both sides of the debate.
16. "Seneca Ceremony Mourns Land Taken by U.S. Despite Treaty " (Page 2 of 2)
17. President Cornelius Seneca Public Outreach Letter (pg 4 of 4)
18. Senator Joseph S. Clark editorial response, Jan. 30, 1960 In Senator Joseph S. Clark (Rep. of Pennsylvania) reply to the "Second Look at Kinzua" editorial, he voices an opinion that many public policy officials within the U.S. government held at this time. When Senator Clark states that the reimbursement will be "to the same extent as other American citizens", he is not recognizing the soverignty of the Seneca Nation of Indians, sovereignty afforded and recognized by our treaty with the U.S. and our special political and economic federal recognition indigenous status. Clark also directly states his position that the U.S. national interest superceedes that of the Seneca which further corroborates his viewpoint, like many others in this time period, that there are no more Native Americans just Americans. In Senator Joseph S. Clark (Rep. of Pennsylvania) reply to the "Second Look at Kinzua" editorial, he voices an opinion that many public policy officials within the U.S. government held at this time. Senator Clark outlines the viewpoint that Native American status is an antiquated government policy that should be dissolved. When Senator Clark states that the reimbursement will be "to the same extent as other American citizens", he is not recognizing the sovereignty of the Seneca Nation of Indians, sovereignty afforded and recognized by our treaty with the U.S. and our special political and economic federal recognition indigenous status. Clark also directly states his position that the U.S. national interest supersedes that of the Seneca which further corroborates his viewpoint, like many others in this time period, that there are no more Native Americans just Americans. This idea of the "dying Indian" has been around since the turn of the 20th century and has only been fueled by the Hollywood trope of what is seen as identifiably "indian" by the American public.
19. George D. Heron Speech, Nov. 22, 1963 (1 of 4)
20. George D. Heron Speech, Nov. 22, 1963 (2 of 4)
21. Robert Haines Reply, Kinzua Project of the Indian Committee, 1963
22. George D. Heron Speech, Nov. 22, 1963 (3 of 4)
23. "Kinzua Dam Upheld: Suggested Alternative is Declared Economically Impractical", The New York Times, Mar. 26, 1960 Maurice K. Goddard, the Secretary to the Department of Waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1955-1979), writes into The New York Times supporting the construction of Kinzua Dam. In October of 1957 Congress asks the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to contract an independent civilian engineering firm to give a second opinion on whether Arthur E. Morgan's Conewango Plan was indeed the better alternative. Goddard's comments on the private engineering firm fail to mention that this firm was not neutral: some of the firm's leaders were former U.S.A.C.E. employees and had incentive not to give a proper third-party assessment. Moreover, our ancesters were opposed to the dam's placement because there was an alternative that had considerably more benefits, including the alleged primary purpore of flood control, that would still allow the U.S. to uphold the treaty and for us to retain our land and way of life. Maurice K. Goddard, the Secretary to the Department of Waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1955-1979), writes into The New York Times supporting the construction of Kinzua Dam. In October of 1957 Congress asks the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to contract an independent civilian engineering firm to give a second opinion on whether Arthur E. Morgan's Conewango Plan was indeed the better alternative. Goddard's comments on the private engineering firm fail to mention that this firm was not neutral: some of the firm's leaders were former U.S.A.C.E. employees and had incentive not to give a proper third-party assessment. Moreover, our ancesters were opposed to the dam's placement because there was an alternative that had considerably more benefits, including the alleged primary purpore of flood control, that would still allow the U.S. to uphold the treaty and for us to retain our land and way of life.
Contents of this tag:
1. Cornplanter Grant Visit, Stop at Kinzua Dam Members of the Seneca Nation, Society of Friends, and Congress stopped at the construction site of Kinzua Dam on their way to the Cornplanter Grant on September 15, 1962. Identified in the photograph, Front to back, right to left: Harry Watt (center), Myra Watt, Fred Claflin, Gert Claflin, Darla Claflin, Butch Claflin, Walter Jimerson, Dorothy Jimerson, Gordon Jimerson, Ron Jimerson, Effie Johnson, and Boyd Johnson. September 15, 1962 was declared "American Indian Day" by New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller, most likely in response to the controversy surrounding the building of Kinzua Dam. Members of the Seneca Nation of Indians, Society of Friends, and Congress gathered at the Cornplanter Monument located on the Cornplanter Grant in Warren County, Pennsylvania to mourn and remember Chief Cornplanter and the land that makes up the Cornplanter Grant. The Cornplanter Monument and the Cornplanter Grant were both named in honor of Chief Cornplanter, one of the signers of the Canandaigua Treaty and a very esteemed member of the Senecas; if Kinzua Dam was completed the Allegany Reservoir would completely submerge the Cornplanter Grant. Members of the Seneca Nation stopped at the construction site of Kinzua Dam on their way to the Cornpanter Grant. Senecas in the photograph can be seen wearing components of Plains Indian regalia, which was worn throughout many of the photographs of the Kinzua Era as a way to bring attention to the issue and be seen as identifiably "indian" by the American public. Identified in the photograph, Front to back, right to left: Harry Watt (center), Myra Watt, Fred Claflin, Gert Claflin, Darla Claflin, Butch Claflin, Walter Jimerson, Dorothy Jimerson, Gordon Jimerson, Ron Jimerson, Effie Johnson, and Boyd Johnson.
2. The President John F. Kennedy Letter (pg 1 of 2) Seneca Nation Presidents', beginning with Cornelius Seneca (1956-1958), began writing to public officials in Pennsylvania, New York, and even the President of the United States in an effort to stop the construction of Kinzua Dam. In a letter from U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy declares that he will not halt the construction of Kinzua Dam. President Kennedy's reasoning, like many who supported building the dam, argued that national U.S. interests superceded that of our Seneca people. President Kennedy's remarks and stance on the issue were not unusual for this time period.
3. Kinzua Vigil, 1961 On August 12, 1961 a small group of Quakers, who named themselves the Treaty of 1794 Committee, and our Seneca people gathered in Kinzua, Pennsylvania for a protest vigil against the construction of the Kinzua Dam. The Society of Friends has historically been involved with the Seneca people and the Seneca Nation of Indians since the Pickering Treaty (Treaty of Canandaigua) was signed in 1794, the same treaty which would be broken by the building of Kinzua Dam. Since 1795 the Society of Friends has maintained an Indian Committee as part of their Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Many of their Quaker allies like Walter Taylor and Theodore "Ted" Hetzel were a part of said committee. Identified in the photograph is Harold Parker, standing center; third from the left facing front is Bessie Parker, Harold Parker's wife.
4. "Seneca Ceremony Mourns Land Taken by U.S. Despite Treaty" (Page 1 of 2) News article from The New York TImes reporting on the gathering of our Seneca people, members of the Society of Friends, and Congress at the Cornplanter Grant on September 15, 1962. In Johnny Cash's song, "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow", his lines "The treaties are safe we'll keep our word but what is that gurgling/ It's the back water from Perfidy Lake it's rising all the time" reference events depicted in this news article.
5. Merrill Bowen Letter to JFK The Seneca people living on the Seneca Nation's Allegany Territory were not the only ones directly affected by building Kinzua. The Cornplanter Grant located in Pennsylvania was also inundated, leaving Chief Cornplanter's heirs without their communities, their homes, and their land. In a letter to President John F. Kennedy, Merrill Bowen, the Cornplanter Indian Landowners Corporation President, appealed for help relocating the Cornplanter Cemetery and Monument.
6. "Critic at Large: The Senecas Being Forced From Their Lands are Bitter with Good Cause"
7. "Seneca Indian Area Becoming a Happy Tourist Ground"
8. "Tourist Approach to the Kinzua Dam"
9. "Pittsburgh a Key to Senecas' Fight: City Presses Bid for Dam on Reservation Lands-Cities Flood Danger" One of the many reasons citizens of Pittsburgh wanted to build Kinzua Dam in Warren, PA despite ethical objections was because the other five reservoirs in the chain had already been built. Since the 1930s, a chain of reservoirs that would protect Pittsburgh and those downriver from flooding were constructed; the final installment to this chain would have been Kinzua Dam. This news article provides insight into our reasoning for not building the dam in Warren. Our Allegany Territory is located in a valley surrounded by steep hillsides, which therefore only has a small amount of land for living and subsistence. A portion of our Allegany Territory is also occupied by congressional villages (Salamanca, Carrollton, Killbuck, Great Valley, and Vandalia), established by acts of Congress, that are leased from the Nation and largely populated by non-Senecas. The land inundated by the reservoir was a significant portion of our best land for living and subsistence.
10. President Cornelius Seneca Public Outreach Letter (pg 1 of 4)
11. "Second Look at Kinzua" Editorial
12. "Kinzua Dam Upheld: Suggested Alternative is Declared Economically Impractical"
13. Kinzua Project of the Indian Comittee Report, 1963 The Indian Committee of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (a Society of Friends organization) worked with the Seneca Nation to prevent the construction of the dam. In December of 1962 when it became clear the U.S. court system would not help us, we began focusing our efforts on relocating our communities that would be inundated as part of the Allegany Reservoir. We quickly needed to prepare new houses, churches, schools- entire communities for our people who were being relocated.
14. "Kinzua Dam Protested: Morality of Flooding Seneca Indians Land is Questioned"
15. NCAI President's Reply to "Second Look at Kinzua" At the 14th Annual Convention of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), an indigenous professional organization in the United States, the NCAI passes a resolution to protest the building of the Kinzua Dam and uphold Seneca Nation sovereignty; Clarence Wesley, President of the NCAI, wrote a letter to The Washington Post in response to their "Second Look at Kinzua" editorial published a few days before. Wesley's letter argues that the real objective of behind building the dam is pollution control for the industrialized waterfront downstream. Many of our own people also believed then and now that this was the case.
16. Memo to SNI President George Heron from Arthur Lasarus, Jr. In a letter to SNI President George Heron, Arthur Lasarus, Jr., the lawyer to the Nation, comments on Pennsylvania Senator Joseph Clark's response to "Second Look at Kinzua", an editorial published earlier that week in The Washington Post. This internal memo shows the significance to our ancestors that the press publicity had in addition to providing insight into internal communication during the Kinzua Era. "Second Look at Kinzua" and many others like it sparked a public debate in the Western New York State region over Indian status. Articles like this appeared in other newspapers at the regional and national level from both sides of the debate.
17. Senator Joseph S. Clark's Editorial Response In Senator Joseph S. Clark reply to the "Second Look at Kinzua" editorial, he voices an opinion that many public policy officials within the U.S. government held at this time. Senator Clark's outlines the viewpoint that our indigenous status is an antiquated government policy that should be dissolved. When Senator Clark states that the reimbursement will be "to the same extent as other American citizens", he is not recognizing the sovereignty of the Seneca Nation, sovereignty afforded and recognized by our treaty with the U.S. and our special political and economic federal recognition indigenous status.
18. George D. Heron Speech, Nov. 22, 1963 (1 of 4)
19. "Quaker Booklet Urges Quick Action on Seneca Indian Bill", The Republican-Press, Jan. 28, 1964
20. Robert Haines Reply, Kinzua Project of the Indian Committee, 1963 Throughout the Kinzua Era, and evidenced in many of our other exhibit materials, responses to previously published statements were a popular form of communicating where one stood on the issue.This letter that would have been given out at the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends shows our relationship with the Quakers. The referenced Kinzua Planning Newsletter was created in conjunction with the Society of Friends and the Seneca Nation to keep our Seneca communities but also the American public updated on what was happening.
21. Senator Robert Haines Becoming an Honorary Seneca
22. Last-Ditch Protest on Dam Launched by 16 Quakers

This page is referenced by:

The Religious Society of Friends The Religious Society of Friends is a Christian religious organization that is commonly known as Quakers. We have had a relationship with the Religious Society of Friends since the treaty-making era that continues to this day.

During the Kinzua Era (1956-1966) the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends allied with our Seneca people to protest the building of the dam. In many of the photographs found within this exhibit, you will find references to the Society of Friends and their organizations.

Members of the Society of Friends, such as Walter Taylor, Bob Haines, and Ted Hetzel worked with the Seneca Nation throughout the legal proceedings, negotiating the boundaries of the proposed resettlement areas for our Seneca people, and published materials intended to bring awareness and educate its readers about the alternative flood control plan to Kinzua.
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