This is a map of Salamanca, New York (with a few surrounding areas). In specific, this map is an Image Map, which means that you can use the mouse to click on areas on the map, and it will display information in this box! If you would like to see this brief again after beginning to explore, you can click the Page Header and it will redirect the box back to it's original state.
Salamanca is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York–one of two cities in the county. It has an area of roughly 6.24 square miles, and a population of around 6,000 people–20% of which are indigenous peoples. The city lies within a Seneca Nation of Indians Reservation, which belongs to the Seneca people, also known as the Onödowá’ga:’. In the Onöndowa’ga:’ Gawë:nö’– the Seneca language–this translates to the “Great Hill People”. The Seneca nation is one of six comprising the Iroquois Confederacy, or the Six Nations (the Haudenosaunee), and were the biggest of the six nations. They are also known as the “Keeper of the Western Door,” as the westernmost group of the Six Nations.
My map has 10 locations on it, each of which relates to important familial locations–be they houses or areas of communal family gatherings. You have my Great Grandma’s trailer, 3 of my Grandma & Poppy’s houses, Allegany State Park (where we hold our family reunions), my Aunt Vicki’s old apartment in the closed school, the park where we held my Cousin Adam’s birthday party, my Grandpa Rick’s house, my Aunt Clarissa’s house,
and finally the house I used to live in, back when we lived in Salamanca.
My family and by extension family history is an important part of my identity. A lot of my core conversations between myself and my grandparents revolve around stories of the past–about my parents, aunts, cousins, or other relatives. My parents, too, spend a lot of time telling me stories from my early childhood and their pasts. These stories help me feel closer and more connected to my family, which is a very important part of my life.