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. This exhibit was published by the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, 2018.

The Walleye Fish Hatchery

30861
In the spring of 2009 the Seneca Nation Council approved the construction of the Walleye Fish Hatchery, which was an effort to help restore our once prosperous walleye population and restore and improve fish habitat in Ohi:yo'. The walleye have long been a source of subsistence for our Seneca people and still are. 

The primary reasons for a decline in our walleye are:Through a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grant, the Seneca Nation Fish and Wildlife Department was able to build our completely green facility, which runs entirely on renewable resources, on our Allegany Territory. 

Walleye Collection and Hatching Process

Every March, spawning season for the walleye, since 2012 Nation Fish and Wildlife Officers can be seen going out on Ohi:yo' in their electroshocking boat to collect mature walleye.
The walleye that are caught are brought back to the hatchery and placed in holding tanks by gender. Officers check the female walleye on a daily basis to see if their eggs are ready to be removed. Once females are ready for stripping, officers strip milt from approximately 5 to 7 males as well as the eggs from females and mix them in a bowl, stirring the fertilized eggs with a turkey feather.  
Fertilized eggs, which at this stage are bright yellow, are placed in the hatchery's incubation racks. A tube that pumps water is placed inside the jar to keep the eggs from sticking together and helps prevent algae, bacteria, or mold from growing on the eggs. 

Fish eggs when first fertilized are bright yellow and gradually turn black in color.

After hatching, fry swim to the top of the water column in the hatching jars and swim out to the raceways, long tubs filled with water. Fry are left in the raceways for about three days at which point they are transferred into either the reservoir or the hatchery's rearing ponds. 

Releasing Fry into the Allegheny Reservoir 


Fry are fish that have just hatched. 

Releasing Fingerlings into the Reservoir


The Hatchery's two rearing ponds hold walleye fry for 60 to 70 days after the initial group hatched that season has already been released into the reservoir. 

This page has paths:

  1. Seneca Nation Fish and Wildlife Department Dana Reijerkerk