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Reclaiming Ohi:yo'- Restoring the Altered Landscape of the Beautiful River
Main Menu
Welcoming
Front page for this Digital Exhibit.
The Seneca Nation of Indians
We call ourselves Onödowá'ga:' (oh-non-doh-wah!-gawh!), which means "People of the Great Hill". We are one of six other nations that collectively call ourselves Hodinöhsö:ní (hoh-dee-nonh-sonh-neeh!), meaning "People of the Longhouse".
Ohi:yo'
Ohi:yo', our Beautiful River, has always been our home and source of nourishment.
The Kinzua Dam Project
Our elders fought for our land and sovereignty in the 1950s and 1960s. They fought to stop the construction of Kinzua Dam.
The Allegheny Reservoir
The reservoir has altered the landscape, ecosystem, and our interactions with Ohi:yo.
The Allegheny Reservoir: A Visual Depiction of Water Levels
At times of water storage the water depth of the river channel is approximately 26 feet, with as little as 6 to 8 feet of water during the winter months.
The Significance of Kinzua to our Seneca People
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in collaboration with the U.S. federal government built Kinzua Dam between 1960 and 1965.
Kinzua Era Timelines
This page provides two different temporal representations of the Kinzua Era (1956-1966).
Kinzua Dam's Environmental Impacts
The creation of Kinzua Dam has had lasting environmental impacts on our land and water. Learn more here.
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.
Seneca Nation Fish and Wildlife Department
The Nation's Fish and Wildlife Department engages in restoration and resiliency projects related to Ohi:yo'.
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'.
A Legacy of Resilience
We will continue on.
Access and Use Rights
For our full statement on rights and use of our exhibit contents see this page.
Additional Resources
This page contains additional resources that can provide more in-depth information that is perhaps not included within our exhibit.
About this Exhibit
This page contains information about our intra-Nation departmental collaborations and exhibit acknowledgements.
The Seneca-Iroquois National Museum
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Dana Reijerkerk
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This exhibit was published by the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, 2018.
Landlocked Fish Kills in the Allegany Reservoir
1 2018-07-20T15:19:23-07:00 Dana Reijerkerk 3c44fb85ab096c2290175e81dd4f16f0002a41e0 30861 5 Once landlocked, tens of thousands of young of year fish die because of oxygen degradation, predation, and water evaporation. Fish species affected by land locking are Crappie, Northern Pike, Muskellunge, Channel Catfish, Walleye, Bullhead, Small Mouth Bass, Large Mouth Bass, White Bass, Yellow Perch, and Paddlefish. plain 2018-08-20T16:01:12-07:00 Dana Reijerkerk 3c44fb85ab096c2290175e81dd4f16f0002a41e0This page is referenced by:
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The Allegheny Reservoir
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The reservoir has altered the landscape, ecosystem, and our interactions with Ohi:yo.
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The Allegheny Reservoir is the water reserves from the Kinzua Dam blocking Ohi:yo. It is one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S. and covers a third of our land on our Allegany Territory.
The reservoir fluctuates on a seasonal basis. During summer, water covers our land that we have used for generations. In fall, much of the water reserves are lowered at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
As the reservoir is gradually brought down to winter pool elevation it leaves behind vast tracts of land. The mudflats that are left behind are a reminder of the land that was lost and show the continued impacts, such as erosion and sedimentation.
At times of water storage the water depth of the river channel is approximately 26 feet, with as little as 6 to 8 feet of water during the winter months.
The seasonal lowering and emptying of the water reserves within the reservoir leave our inundated land exposed and unprotected to weather elements for part of the year. This annual exposure makes it difficult for natural vegetation to grow, which acts as a barrier to erosion caused in part by the frequent water-level fluctuations. Our native plants that grow along Ohi:yo' are also culturally important. Some plant species, such as sassafras, are used by our Seneca people for medicinal purposes.
Significant loss of our river's banks has been observed since the creation of the reservoir, which is likely a result of the frequent water level fluctuations, stream direction and velocities, wave action, and geological conditions.
In addition, the emptying of the reservoir in fall creates areas of landlocked water that trap fish, leading to mass fish kills.
Our Seneca people living on the Seneca Nation's Allegany Territory were not the only Seneca people 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. -
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Ohi:yo' Restoration and Resiliency Projects
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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.
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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. The restoration and resiliency projects were made possible by a U.S. Department of the Interior Hurricane Sandy Grant, which was awarded through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Artificial Habitat
The seasonal lowering and emptying of the water reserves within the reservoir leave our inundated land exposed and unprotected to weather elements for part of the year. This annual exposure makes it difficult for natural vegetation to grow, which acts as a barrier to erosion but is also habitat to our fish within our river.
The Seneca Nation's Fish and Wildlife Department creates artificial habitat to provide the needed environment, shelter, and food for fry and young of year fish, such as the Walleye.
Some of the artificial habitat is made from recycled Christmas trees, which are tied in bundles of three or four and weighed down with cinder blocks. The Nation's Fish and Wildlife Department places this type of artificial habitat in areas identified for spawning and nursing fish, such as Yellow Perch, Crappie, Walleye, and White Bass.
In certain areas wooden structures are also placed to help prevent erosion. The Christmas trees are then tied to the wooden structures to help prevent sediment buildup. Recycled cement rubble that has been removed from local construction projects is also bordered around nursery areas, again to provide shelter and food for young of year fish.
Artificial habitat is also made from recycled vinyl siding that ranges in size from one and a half to three feet in height, which is done to provide a more diverse artificial environment.
Land Locked Fish and Trenches
The draining of the reservoir in fall in combination with the sediment buildup that covers spawning and nursery areas leaves many areas of landlocked water that fish get trapped in, leading to mass fish kills. Once landlocked, tens of thousands of young of year fish die because of oxygen degradation, predation, and water evaporation.
Fish species affected by land locking are Crappie, Northern Pike, Muskellunge, Channel Catfish, Walleye, Bullhead, Small Mouth Bass, Large Mouth Bass, White Bass, Yellow Perch, and Paddlefish.
The Seneca Nation of Indian's Fish and Wildlife Department works to combat erosion and the mass loss of landlocked fish by building artificial habitat and digging trenches in the bottom of the Reservoir. During the winter months maintenance to the trenches dug in years past is done.Mapping the Restoration Projects
The Seneca Nation's Geographic Information Services (G.I.S.) Department has helped document and track the various restoration projects related to our river.
