A group, including Seneca and non-Seneca people, gathered
together recently to express concern over the continuing erosion of
land below a cemetery that holds their ancestors.

The meeting was initiated by Marty (Tome) Hayes, a former
Corydon resident before the construction of Kinzua Dam. She said
she has seen enough of the erosion and wants to stop it before it
gets so bad that her’s and other’s family remains are washed
away.

Rebecca Bowen, a Cornplanter descendant and chairman of the
Kinzua Dam Issues Committee – along with others at the meeting –
refer to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the responsible party
to prevent further erosion.

“They moved the remains here. It is their responsibility, they
are ignoring the issue – for 43 years,” she said. “They are an
arrogant group that would allow the remains of our people to float
out in the water.

“We didn’t want to be here. They should bear the
responsibility,” she added.

Another meeting attendee Steve Tome, who is a descendant of both
Seneca and non-Seneca family, said he believes there should be a
way for the Army Corps to address the issue of erosion.

“This cemetery should be preserved. It is a beautiful place, it
is very important,” he said. “I believe it is on the National
Register of Historic Places. You would think it wouldn’t be so hard
to preserve.

“Now’s the time for action.”

Justin Schapp, Kinzua Dam project coordinator, said he was at
the meeting to talk with others to determine a way to mitigate the
land repair at the base of the cemetery.

“They are the Army Corps, they should be able to build
anything,” he said.

“I expect the Army Corps will not respond and the blame will be
shifted to the Allegheny National Forest,” said Schapp. “We don’t
want to wait until the graves are floating in the water.”

To date, neither the Army Corps of Engineers nor forest
officials have responded to the responsibility of the erosion or
ownership of the land below the cemetery. Harry Tome, caretaker of
the cemetery, said he sold the land to the national forest years
ago.

The group discussed ideas, such as a concrete wall, or rip-rap,
almost anything to stabilize the area against erosion.

Tom Pitts, a resident of the former Town of Corydon, is bitter
about the issue of the continued erosion threatening the remains of
his wife and in-laws buried there.

“If the government can do it for immigrants, why not do
something here?” he asked.

He helps Tome with care and maintenance at the cemetery. He is
also a part of the cemetery association.

“They removed some gravel in 1996,” said Pitts, explaining it
helped serve as support for the shoreline, where the erosion is
occurring. “We’d like them to fix it.”

He said that leaves sand, which is washed away by the waves
coming to shore.

While at the meeting, it was discussed that boaters and campers
(which are not permitted in that spot) continually damage the
shoreline, as well.

Observer and Salamanca resident Sidney Horton was also on
hand.

“I had been here as a child and I remember what I saw. I have a
tremendous amount of respect for the people here,” he said. “They
say rest in peace and there is freedom in religion and then they
disrespect them and move them. This is further disrespect.

“They need to move forward and do the right thing.”

Robert Dean of the Kinzua Dam Issues Committee and an
archeologist, said in the past there have been instances of remains
washing out into the reservoir.

“It makes it obvious that it could happen,” he said. “They don’t
want to admit to a problem, they don’t want to set a
precedent.”

Jennifer (Coats) Yata currently lives in San Francisco. Her
parents were residents removed from Corydon before dam
construction. She comes back to the area every Memorial Day to put
flowers on graves of family members that have passed.

Yata said she remembers hearing the stories of the removal and
the “tremendous” anger expressed by her family and others.

“But my father wouldn’t want me to hold onto the anger. He would
want me to use my skills to do what I can to fix this,” she said.
Yata is a geologist.

“Whoever is responsible needs to look for different solutions
(to stop the erosion)” she said. “People are getting older and
there are fewer of those who remember what happened.”