Lake of Betrayal

LAKE OF BETRAYAL explores the history of Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania and its impact on the Seneca Nation of Indians. Completed in 1965, it was originally proposed to help mitigate flooding in Pittsburgh. Yet, two hundred miles downriver, a 27-mile reservoir formed and inundated vast tracts of the Seneca Indians’ ancestral lands, forcing their removal in breach of the United States’ oldest treaty. The film looks at the Seneca Nation’s fight to protect its sovereignty against the U.S. government’s Indian termination policy and overwhelming political and economic forces following WWII.

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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE: Viewer Discussion Guide

Official Website: Lake of Betrayal