Oil Springs Reservation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oil Springs Reservation Tga:no’s  (Seneca)
Indian Reservation
Location of Oil Springs Reservation in New York
Area
• Total	0.96 sq mi (2.5 km2)
• Land	0.95 sq mi (2.5 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Population  (2010)
• Total	1
• Estimate  (2016)	1
• Density	1.0/sq mi (0.40/km2)
Website	http://www.sni.org/oilsprings.html

The Oil Springs Reservation is a special area of land in southwestern New York, United States. It belongs to the Seneca Nation, a group of Native Americans who are officially recognized by the government.

This reservation is quite small, covering about 1 square mile (2.6 square kilometers). It's split between two counties: Allegany and Cattaraugus. It's located northwest of the village of Cuba.

For a long time, the Seneca people and other Native American groups before them used the water from a special spring here. This water had petroleum in it, and they used it for medicine. Even French missionaries learned about this spring in the 1600s. Today, the Seneca Nation runs two gas stations on the reservation. These stations help bring money to the Seneca people.

History

Early History and Conflicts

In 1627, a French missionary named Joseph de La Roche Daillon visited this area. At that time, the Oil Springs belonged to the Wenro people. The Wenro were an Iroquoian-speaking tribe.

However, the Wenro left the area in 1639. They hoped to join their allies, the Huron, further northwest. This was because the Seneca, who were part of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy, were attacking these tribes. The Seneca were trying to take over more land for hunting and the valuable fur trade. The Iroquois Confederacy, which included the Seneca and Mohawk, wanted to control the fur trade with the French.

American Revolutionary War and Land Treaties

During the 1700s, the Seneca usually supported the British in wars, including the American Revolutionary War. Seneca warriors joined British and Iroquois attacks against American settlements. These attacks were mainly led by Mohawk warriors under Joseph Brant.

In response, American rebels launched the Sullivan Expedition. This expedition swept through Iroquois lands in western New York. They destroyed over 40 Seneca villages, along with their crops and winter supplies. Many Seneca people who survived had to flee to Canada. Many suffered from hunger that winter.

After Britain lost the war, they gave control of their lands in the colonies to the new United States. This included lands that belonged to the Iroquois nations. Because of the intense fighting in New York, many people wanted the Native Americans to leave. Even though two Iroquois nations had supported the rebels, they were still forced to give up most of their lands to the U.S.

However, in the Treaty of Canandaigua, the Seneca successfully negotiated to keep five areas of land. These included the land around Oil Springs, the Allegheny River, Cattaraugus Creek, and the Tonawanda Reservation.

Protecting Seneca Lands

A Seneca diplomat named Cornplanter helped with the negotiations with the United States. He was later given a special 1500-acre (607-hectare) plot of land in Pennsylvania. This land was for him and his family. Mary Jemison, a European-American woman who became part of the Seneca tribe, also received land. She later sold her plot and started Jemison Town on the Allegany Reservation. Many Seneca also moved to Canada. They settled with other Iroquois people at the Six Nations Grand River Reserve.

In the 1830s, during a time called the federal Indian Removal period, a company tried to buy all the remaining Seneca lands in New York. They tricked and pressured some Seneca chiefs into signing the Treaty of Buffalo Creek. In the end, the company only bought the Buffalo Creek Reservation. The Oil Springs Reservation, along with the Allegany and Cattaraugus reservations, remained with the Seneca.

In 1848, the Seneca Nation of Indians was officially formed. They recognized Oil Springs as one of their three territories. However, Oil Springs is the only one of these three areas that does not have a main government center or official representation in the Seneca government.

Fighting for Control

In the 1850s, the Seneca began a legal case to remove people who were illegally living on the Oil Springs Reservation. These people, called squatters, had surveyed the land and given parts of it to important men. The Seneca wanted to get back control and use of their land.

Thanks to the efforts of a respected Seneca leader named Governor Blacksnake, the state court ruled in favor of the tribe. The Oil Springs Reservation was returned to the Seneca in 1861. This happened two years after Blacksnake passed away. Blacksnake had been part of the negotiations for the Treaty of Big Tree. He testified in court that he had helped survey the Oil Spring lands. He said that the lands were accidentally left out of the treaty. He even had a map that showed the Oil Spring reservation marked just like the other Seneca lands.

The U.S. Census of 1890 listed the reservation as "Oil Spring Reservation." It's not clear exactly when the name changed to "Oil Springs." It might have been changed because "Oil Springs" was easier to say. A change around 1890 would fit with the creation of the United States Board on Geographic Names that same year. This board changed and standardized many place names.

Since 2014, the Seneca have operated a bingo and gaming hall at Oil Springs.

Geography

The Oil Springs Reservation is divided into two parts. According to the United States Census Bureau:

• The part in Allegany County is about 0.59 square miles (1.53 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, but a small part (1.64%) is water. This water includes a section of Cuba Lake.
• The part in Cattaraugus County, located in the Town of Ischua, is about 0.37 square miles (0.96 square kilometers). This entire section is land.

Demographics

According to the census from 2010, there were no residents living in the Cattaraugus County part of the reservation. The entire reservation had only one resident. This person was Native American and lived in the Allegany County section of the property.