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