Canandaigua 1794 and the Kinzua Dam (1958-1965)

What happened

In the Treaty of Canandaigua (1794), the United States acknowledged the Seneca's land within set boundaries as theirs. Article III says the United States "will never claim the same, nor disturb the Seneka nation" in its free use and enjoyment of that land.

In October 1956 the Army Corps of Engineers began surveying Seneca land for the Kinzua Dam over the Nation's objections, Environmental Health News reports. The dam was meant to protect Pittsburgh from flooding. The Seneca hired the engineer Arthur E. Morgan in 1957 to propose another plan, and they argued their case in court on the 1794 treaty.

The federal court of appeals ruled against them on November 25, 1958. It wrote that it was "undisputed" that the flooding "will infringe Indian rights acquired by treaty in 1794," and also undisputed that Congress can authorize a taking despite a treaty. The question was whether Congress had shown that intent clearly. The court said Congress knew the Seneca lands would flood and that the Nation would not give them up, and held that Congress had authorized the taking.

Environmental Health News says the Seneca lost nine communities and 10,000 acres of the Allegany Territory, and around 600 people lost their homes. A Bureau of Indian Affairs release says legislation in August 1964 awarded the Senecas $15 million for relocation and rehabilitation after one-third of their Allegany Reservation was taken for the reservoir.

Good to know. The court called the treaty infringement undisputed but held that Congress had power to authorize it anyway. Figures for land and people lost vary by source.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error