Reclaiming Ohi:yo'- Restoring the Altered Landscape of the Beautiful River Main MenuWelcomingFront page for this Digital Exhibit.The Seneca Nation of IndiansWe 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 ProjectOur elders fought for our land and sovereignty in the 1950s and 1960s. They fought to stop the construction of Kinzua Dam.The Allegheny ReservoirThe reservoir has altered the landscape, ecosystem, and our interactions with Ohi:yo.The Allegheny Reservoir: A Visual Depiction of Water LevelsAt 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 PeopleThe U.S. Army Corps of EngineersThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in collaboration with the U.S. federal government built Kinzua Dam between 1960 and 1965.Kinzua Era TimelinesThis page provides two different temporal representations of the Kinzua Era (1956-1966).Kinzua Dam's Environmental ImpactsThe creation of Kinzua Dam has had lasting environmental impacts on our land and water. Learn more here.Ohi:yo' Restoration and Resiliency ProjectsMembers 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 DepartmentThe 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 ResilienceWe will continue on.Access and Use RightsFor our full statement on rights and use of our exhibit contents see this page.Additional ResourcesThis page contains additional resources that can provide more in-depth information that is perhaps not included within our exhibit.About this ExhibitThis page contains information about our intra-Nation departmental collaborations and exhibit acknowledgements.The Seneca-Iroquois National Museum663b8929f7a99e6bad2d94d8e2c4f4c0dbfcfc0fDana Reijerkerk3c44fb85ab096c2290175e81dd4f16f0002a41e0This exhibit was published by the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, 2018.
The Reservoir During Winter Draw down
12018-07-26T18:00:21-07:00Dana Reijerkerk3c44fb85ab096c2290175e81dd4f16f0002a41e0308612Seneca Nation of Indian land within the Allegany Territory that was inundated with the construction of the Allegany Reservoir is only underwater for part of the year. Come Fall of every year, much of the bottom of the Reservoir has begun to dry up as the water reserves are lowered at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This seasonal lowering and emptying of the water reserves held within the Reservoir leaves the land exposed and unprotected to weather elements, which in combination with the water fluctuations throughout the year, expediates the erosion of the shorelines and banks of Ohi:yo'. In addition, this annual exposure to the weather makes it difficult for natural vegetation to grow, which acts as a barrier to erosion, which creates an aesthetically barren landscape during low and no water seasons. As part of the many restoration projects the Nation is involved in, the Nation's Fish and Wildlife Department creates artificial habitat to provide the needed environment for fry and young of year fish, such as the Walleye, shelter and food come summer when this portion of the Allegany Reservoir is once again underwater. The artificial habitat shown here is made from recycled vinyl siding ranging from one and a half (1.5) feet to three (3) feet in height, which is done to provide a more diverse artificial environment.plain2018-08-03T16:22:49-07:00Seneca Nation Fish & Wildlife Department2018-07-17stillimageFWD-003banks (landforms), rivers, erosion, independent sovereign nations, native peoples reservations, flood dams, gravity dams, rolled-fill damsSeneca-Iroquois National MuseumengSeneca Nation of Indian land within the Allegany Territory that was inundated with the construction of the Allegany Reservoir is only underwater for part of the year. Come Fall of every year, much of the bottom of the Reservoir has begun to dry up as the water reserves are lowered at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This seasonal lowering and emptying of the water reserves held within the Reservoir leaves the land exposed and unprotected to weather elements, which in combination with the water fluctuations throughout the year, expediates the erosion of the shorelines and banks of Ohi:yo'. In addition, this annual exposure to the weather makes it difficult for natural vegetation to grow, which acts as a barrier to erosion, which creates an aesthetically barren landscape during low and no water seasons. As part of the many restoration projects the Nation is involved in, the Nation's Fish and Wildlife Department creates artificial habitat to provide the needed environment for fry and young of year fish, such as the Walleye, shelter and food come summer when this portion of the Allegany Reservoir is once again underwater. The artificial habitat shown here is made from recycled vinyl siding ranging from one and a half (1.5) feet to three (3) feet in height, which is done to provide a more diverse artificial environment.42.107313888889,-78.837822222222electronicimage/jpegborn digitalRecord has been transformed into MODS from the original accession record. Metadata originally created in a locally modified version of qualified Dublin Core.languageOfCataloging authority = "iso639-2b"; dcTerm:languagerecordCreation Date encoding = "w3cdtf"; dcTerm:datesubject authority = "aat";dcTerm:subjectsubject authority = "tgn"; dcTerm:coveragedateCreated encoding= "w3cdtf"; dcTerm:temporalAllegany Reservation, Allegany (county), Kinzua Reservoir (reservoir)Shane TitusThis record was created by Dana Reijerkerk.1 photograph2016-03-21Dana Reijerkerk3c44fb85ab096c2290175e81dd4f16f0002a41e0