Oil Springs Reservation
Tga:no’s (Seneca) | |
---|---|
Indian Reservation | |
Coordinates: 42°13′56″N 78°18′20″W / 42.23222°N 78.30556°W | |
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 | |
• Total | 1 |
• Estimate (2016)[3] | 1 |
• Density | 1.0/sq mi (0.40/km2) |
Website | http://www.sni.org/oilsprings.html |
Oil Springs Reservation or Oil Spring Reservation is an Indian reservation of the federally recognized Seneca Nation that is located in southwestern New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the Indian reservation had one resident; in 2005 no tribal members had lived on the property. The reservation covers about one square mile (2.6 km2), divided between the present-day counties of Allegany and Cattaraugus. The reservation is northwest of the village of Cuba. It is bordered by the Town of Cuba and the Town of Ischua.
The Seneca and earlier indigenous peoples had learned to use the petroleum-tainted water of the spring at this site for medicinal purposes. French Jesuit missionaries learned about its properties from the Seneca and recorded the spring as early as the 17th century. Today the Seneca operate two tax-free gas stations on this reservation to generate revenue for their people's welfare.