Departments

Remember the Removal 2025

On Saturday September 27th, 2025, the Seneca Nation held their annual Remember the Removal event at the Steamburg Community Building in Steamburg, NY with the first memorial walk on the newly constructed Red House Bridge.

Remember the Removal (RTR) is an event held each year in remembrance of Senecas who were forced from their lands, their homes and their way of life. The Seneca Nation deems it’s vital to educate younger generations of the Kinzua Dam removal that broke the Treaty of Canandaigua and flooded 10,000 acres of prime Seneca land on the Allegany territory, Ohi:yo’ (good river). One hundred and thirty families were forced to relocate for the construction of the Kinzua Dam in Warren County, Pennsylvania to prevent flooding in Pittsburg. In 1964, The Army Corps of Engineers built a dam that allowed the city of Pittsburg, PA and its corporations like Heinz to thrive without the nuisance of flooding.

The last Saturday of September of each year is when Remember the Removal is recognized by the Seneca Nation Council motion dated 1984. In 1984, the first event was held with a walk through the flooded communities that included cemeteries, farms and the Cold Spring Longhouse. Brenda Deeghan, daughter of survivor Carolyn Brant, advocated for a yearly event and a grass roots committee of locals was formed.

“I had a dream where I saw hundreds of our ancestors walking down the old road, wearing all their Seneca traditional clothing. They were sad and mourning because we had started to forget our past and what we had lost. I shared this dream with Rebecca Bowen who said maybe we should do this since it’s been 20 years since we were relocated. She said she would talk to her sister Jackie Bowen who also supported the idea. The idea was shared with other Seneca members, and a grass roots committee was formed with the intent of recognizing what the Allegany Senecas experienced 20 years before and educating the young people so that it never happens again. The committee shared from their hearts and approached the SNI Councillors of the time who also supported the event idea and that is how the Remember the Removal started,” shared Deeghan.

Today, two of the heads of households still reside in the Ohi:yo’ community. Carolyn Brant of Jimersontown and Bennett Wheeler of Steamburg are the remaining survivors of the 130 families forced to move. They were both present at the event and received a gift in commemoration of their hardship and loss. Bennett Wheeler tossed the wreath over the newly constructed Red House bridge in memory of all who lost their homes in a somber moment.

The children and descendants of the heads of households are many of the elders in attendance today. They remember the Red House School, playing ball at the fields, swimming in the river, and attending ceremonies and events and the Cold Spring Longhouse. They knew best spots to pick elderberries and huckleberries, where to see the Northern Lights, and the deepest spots to ice fish. Dennis Bowen, Brenda Deeghan, and Councillor Maurice “Moe” John Sr. shared their memories and hope for the future of reclaiming and rebuilding on the lost lands.

“Our Land. Our Roots” was the theme of the program this year in support of the Seneca Nation’s 1365’ Committee. In 2023, the Seneca Nation Council approved a resolution to establish the 1365 Resettlement Committee to identify livable lands in the Take Area and develop a comprehensive plan for their resettlement. Since then, the Committee has held several meetings to advance its plan, including multiple meetings with representatives from the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the same agency that carried out the United States government’s order in the 1960s to take 10,000 acres of Seneca land for the construction of the Kinzua Dam to prevent flooding in Pittsburgh. Hundreds of Seneca families were relocated, homes were bulldozed and burned, sacred sites were destroyed, and the Seneca ways of life in the area were changed forever.

“We believe that re-establishing our connection to the land strengthens our self-sovereignty,” said the late Tyler Heron, former 1365 Resettlement Committee Chairman. “We lost material things when the United States government betrayed us, including homes and buildings, but there were emotions attached to those places as well. We are channeling that passion and emotion into a plan that takes into consideration the health and welfare of the Seneca people.”

The newly constructed Red House bridge was finished in July replacing one of the last structures of the pre-Kinzua days. Although the bridge was still used by locals, it had become unsafe with a gaping hole on one side. “It’s a great feeling to have the new Red House Bridge replaced and upgraded so our communities are connected once again. This bridge and way of passage meant a lot to our ancestors. This is the third bridge that has been constructed for our people to get across Ohi:yo’,” shared Rod Pierce.

The Red House Bridge is the start of progress and hope of reclaiming and rebuilding on flooded lands of Ohi:yo’. “My father would say this is progress, and I think that we should take advantage of what we have been given. This is a great way to represent how we have progressed over the past 60 years and how we need to continue to do that. We need to continue to keep each other up,” shared Tracie Heron, daughter of Tyler Heron.

President J. Conrad Seneca and Councillor Odie Porter spoke at the Steamburg Community Building with solutions and legal pathways to make reclaiming and rebuilding a reality for our next seven generations.

“This is a community based way to come together to remember and pray with a a good mind because we are still here. This event opened my eyes on how important it is to learn our history and connect with elders. Relating to elders and asking questions about is not something you can do online or by reading a book,” stated Adam Clark.