Research Catalog

Title

In the shadow of Kinzua : the Seneca nation of Indians since World War II / Laurence Marc Hauptman.

Author

Hauptman, Laurence M.

Publication

Syracuse, New York : Syracuse University Press, 2014.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xxxiii, 415 pages : illustrations, maps; 24 cm.

Summary

"The Kinzua Dam has cast a long shadow on Seneca life since World War II. The project, formally dedicated in 1966, broke the Treaty of Canandaigua of 1794, flooded approximately 10,000 acres of Seneca lands in New York and Pennsylvania, and forced the relocation of hundreds of tribal members. Hauptman presents both a policy study, namely how and why Washington, Harrisburg, and Albany came up with the idea to build the dam, as well as a community study of the Seneca Nation of Indians in the postwar era. Sold to the Senecas as a flood control project, the author persuasively argues that major reasons for the dam were the push for private hydroelectric development in Pennsylvania and state transportation and park development in New York. This important study, based on Hauptman's forty years of archival research as well as numerous interviews with Senecas, shows that these historically resilient Native peoples adapted in spite of this disaster. Unlike previous studies, he stresses the federated nature of Seneca Nation government, one held together in spite of the great diversity of opinion and intense politics. Indeed, in the Kinzua crisis and its aftermath, the Senecas truly had heroes and heroines who faced problems head on and devoted their energies to rebuilding their nation for tribal survival. Without adequate financial resources or college diplomas, they left legacies in many areas, including two community centers, a modern health delivery system, two libraries, and a museum. Money allocated in a "compensation bill" passed by Congress in August 1964 produced a generation of college-educated Senecas, some of whom now work in tribal government making major contributions to the nation's present and future. Facing impossible odds and forces hidden from view, they motivated a cadre of volunteers to help rebuild their devastated nation. Although their strategies did not stop the dam's construction, they laid the groundwork for a tribal governing structure and for other areas that followed from the 1980s to the present, including land claims litigation and casinos." -- Publisher's description.

Series Statement

Iroquois and their neighbors series

Uniform Title

Iroquois and their neighbors.

Subject

• Seneca Indians > History > 20th century
• Seneca Indians > Government relations
• Seneca Indians > Land tenure
• Kinzua Dam (Pa.) > Environmental conditions

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-377) and index.

Call Number

JFE 14-3411

ISBN

• 9780815633280 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 0815633289 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 9780815652380 (e-book) (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

• 2013042648
• 40023334783

OCLC

877859150

Author

Hauptman, Laurence M., author.

Title

In the shadow of Kinzua : the Seneca nation of Indians since World War II / Laurence Marc Hauptman.

Publisher

Syracuse, New York : Syracuse University Press, 2014.

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Iroquois and their neighbors series

Iroquois and their neighbors.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-377) and index.

Other Standard Identifier

40023334783

Research Call Number

JFE 14-3411