The Senecas

We've been staying with Britt's Dad in Salamanca, NY, who has treated us to some of the best views (and food) of our whole trip. It's been a spectacular finish to a great three weeks.

All of Salamanca is within the borders of the Seneca nation-- the only American town of its kind. The Senecas moved here after being displaced by the Kinzua Dam project, which flooded thousands of acres of their ancestral homeland, despite their efforts to fight the project in court with the help of the Quakers, the support of Johnny Cash, and a signed treaty from George Washington in their back pocket. While the U.S. burned houses and dug up cemeteries, the Seneca nation watched in disbelief as America once again failed to honor her word. I had never heard of it until this week.