Lake of Betrayal: Film Screening and Discussion
A film screening (see the trailer at: https://vimeo.com/200400298) and discussion with the filmmakers and members from the Tuscarora, Seneca, and other Haudenosaunee Nations in the Multipurpose Room of Niagara University’s Lower Level Gallagher, February 15th, 5-9 PM. Come and enjoy Native foods (Corn Soup and Fry Bread) and learn about the history of the Kinzua Dam – a flashpoint in history for the Seneca Nation of Indians.
Completed in 1965, the dam was to mitigate flooding in Pittsburgh, but the 27-mile reservoir that formed above it inundated the Seneca Indians’ ancestral lands, forcing their removal in breach of one of the United States’ oldest treaties. Set against a backdrop of a federal Indian termination policy, pork-barrel politics, and undisclosed plans for private hydropower, Lake of Betrayal reveals an untold story from American history-a one-sided battle pitting a small Native American nation against some of the strongest political, social, and commercial forces in the country. Although the Seneca suffered irreplaceable cultural losses, the Kinzua crisis became a turning point to build a stronger Seneca Nation.
This event is sponsored by the Departments of Political Science and Modern and Classical Languages, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs.