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171-572: The land that became Quehanna Wild Area was home to Native Americans , including the Susquehannock and Iroquois , before it was purchased by the United States in 1784. Settlers soon moved into the region and, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the logging industry cut the virgin forests ; clearcutting and forest fires transformed the once verdant land into the "Pennsylvania Desert". Pennsylvania bought this land for its state forests , and in

342-622: A matriarchal society that lived in stockaded villages of large long houses . The Susquehannocks' numbers were greatly reduced by disease and warfare with the Five Nations of the Iroquois , and by 1675 they had died out, moved away, or been assimilated into other tribes. After this, the Iroquois exercised nominal control of the lands of the West Branch Susquehanna River valley. They also lived in long houses, primarily in what

513-433: A nuclear reactor and six shielded radiation containment chambers for handling radioactive isotopes, referred to as hot cells , at the end of Reactor Road. The second was for jet engine trials, and had two test cells with bunkers just north of Quehanna Highway, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) apart. The northern test cell was at the center of the 16-sided polygon; even if a jet engine broke its moorings, it could not leave

684-519: A CCC-built drinking water fountain fed by a spring because it was downhill from the reactor and he feared people might drink contaminated water from it. In 1964, drilling revealed that the Quehanna Wild Area's geology and hydrology made it unsuitable for burying waste. However, according to Seeley's Great Buffaloe Swamp , a history of the Quehanna region, there are 180 contamination sites in

855-547: A Cherokee ancestor on the Dawes Rolls, although all Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants had been members since 1866. As of 2004, various Native Americans are wary of attempts by others to gain control of their reservation lands for natural resources, such as coal and uranium in the West. The State of Maine is the only State House Legislature that allows Representatives from Indian Tribes. The three nonvoting members represent

1026-423: A Curtiss-Wright division manufactured Curon foam for furniture and household products and used beryllium oxide to make high-temperature ceramics for application in the nuclear industry. In 1956 Curtiss-Wright began isotope work at the facility, and The New York Times published two stories on the new nuclear research laboratory that year, followed by a November 1957 report that the one-megawatt nuclear reactor

1197-518: A Penn State game preserve stocked with exotic animals like bison and boar ; a large youth camp for several hundred children; and a radioactive waste disposal site. By November 1967, all of the land was back in the state forests and state game lands. In 1967, Pennsylvania leased the reactor complex to the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC), which already had a federal license to work with nuclear materials. NUMEC, which soon became

1368-465: A body of law, Jim Crow institutionalized economic, educational, and social disadvantages for Native Americans, and other people of color living in the south. Native American identity was especially targeted by a system that only wanted to recognize white or colored, and the government began to question the legitimacy of some tribes because they had intermarried with African Americans. Native Americans were also discriminated and discouraged from voting in

1539-613: A contract with the AEC; their AEC license allowed them to have up to 6 million curies of radioactive strontium-90 in the form of strontium titanate , which powered the SNAP generators. A SNAP-7 reactor made at Quehanna was used in the world's first nuclear-powered lighthouse, the Baltimore Harbor Light , from May 1964 to April 1966. In early 1963, Curtiss-Wright still owned or leased all of Quehanna and sublet land along Quehanna Highway to

1710-967: A division of troops numbering 221 privates, three captains. five lieutenants and two ensigns along Anderson Creek to meet the Goschgoschink Path at the Big Spring. McClelland's division relieved American forces at Lake Erie and later fought well at the Battle of Chippewa and Battle of Lundy's Lane . An Amish heritage corridor extends generally along the Great Shamokin Path through Clearfield , Jefferson , Indiana and Armstrong counties, beginning at Big Spring near Luthersburg, Clearfield County, and ending in Rural Valley in Armstrong County. The corridor winds through Amish settlements near

1881-522: A fast-moving fire in the Elk State Forest, north of Quehanna, killed eight firefighters. The CCC also built structures and established or improved many of the state parks , including Parker Dam and S. B. Elliott State Parks on the western Quehanna plateau. The United States' entry into World War II ended the CCC, and all its camps were closed by the summer of 1942. The Quehanna Trail passes near or through

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2052-490: A federal Indian trust relationship are based. Cultural activism since the late 1960s has increased the participation of Indigenous peoples in American politics. It has also led to expanded efforts to teach and preserve Indigenous languages for younger generations, and to establish a more robust cultural infrastructure: Native Americans have founded independent newspapers and online media outlets, including First Nations Experience ,

2223-592: A few miles, left it to go west to what is now Chestnut Grove, and then on to The Big Spring , near Luthersburg, Brady Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania . Fort Augusta was a stronghold in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania , in the upper Susquehanna Valley from the time of the French and Indian War to the close of the American Revolution . The fort was erected by Col. William Clapham in 1756 at

2394-400: A firm that recovered copper from wire by burning off its insulation, a procedure that contaminated the soil. On July 12, 1963, Governor William Scranton announced the termination of Curtiss-Wright's lease on 42,596 acres (17,238 ha); the state paid the company for the roads it had built, and Curtiss-Wright donated six of the eight buildings in the industrial complex to the state. In 1965

2565-510: A genealogical library of material on early families in Northumberland County and surrounding counties. The museum is located at 1150 North Front Street, Sunbury, Pennsylvania . Fort Augusta's underground powder magazine still exists. The Big Spring near Luthersburg, Brady Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania , was an important camp site and trail hub. Here, the Goschgoschink Path , later known as Mead's Path, turned northwest to

2736-488: A gray conglomerate that may contain sandstone, siltstone , and shale, as well as anthracite coal, and which forms much of the Quehanna plateau. The next formations are found in the valleys and gorges which the creeks have eroded over time. The first of these is the Mississippian Pocono Formation , which is buff-colored with shale, coal, and conglomerate inclusions; parts of this formation are also known as

2907-715: A hearing of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives . A former employee told how a night watchman walked through a spill in the reactor complex without knowing it; the man's car and the carpets in his house had to be destroyed as a result of the contamination. Others told about burying hundreds of drums of unknown waste from the reactor facility and digging a trench 125 by 25 feet (38.1 by 7.6 m) and 12 feet (3.7 m) deep for waste drums north of Wykoff Run Road. The locations of some sites, which included radioactive waste, beryllium oxide, and other toxic compounds, were not recorded. A forest ranger testified that he had dismantled

3078-467: A large degree of tribal sovereignty . For this reason, many Native American reservations are still independent of state law and the actions of tribal citizens on these reservations are subject only to tribal courts and federal law. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted US citizenship to all Native Americans born in the US who had not yet obtained it. This emptied the "Indians not taxed" category established by

3249-724: A more collective basis than the culture which Europeans were familiar with. Most Indigenous American tribes treated their hunting grounds and agricultural lands as land that could be used by their entire tribe. Europeans had developed concepts of individual property rights with respect to land that were extremely different. The differences in cultures, as well as the shifting alliances among different nations during periods of warfare, caused extensive political tension, ethnic violence, and social disruption. Native Americans suffered high fatality rates from contact with European diseases that were new to them, and to which they had not acquired immunity . Smallpox epidemics are thought to have caused

3420-435: A natural condition by allowing physical and biological processes to operate, usually without direct human intervention." Quehanna Wild Area contains two state forest natural areas: the 1,215-acre (492 ha) M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area in the center, and the 917-acre (371 ha) Marion Brooks Natural Area on the northwest edge. Marion Brooks Natural Area, known for its 22-acre (8.9 ha) stand of white birch ,

3591-405: A plant to make metal and plastic parts for airplanes. The complex was renamed from Quehanna to Piper, a name it retains. Piper employed up to 1,000 people, but moved its operations from Pennsylvania to Florida in 1984. The Young Adult Conservation Corps was also based at Piper from 1977 to 1982. This federally funded program employed up to 45 young people for local conservation projects in

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3762-481: A portion of the 73.2-mile (117.8 km) Quehanna Trail was routed through the wild area. Primitive camping by hikers is allowed, but the area has no permanent residents. Several other trails are open to cross-country skiing in the winter, but closed to vehicles. Quehanna is on the Allegheny Plateau and was struck by a tornado in 1985. Defoliating insects have further damaged the forests. Quehanna Wild Area

3933-468: A resolution recommending that the federal and legislative branches of the U.S. government terminate tribal governments. In 2007, a group of Democratic Party congressmen and congresswomen introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to terminate Federal recognition of the Cherokee Nation . This was related to their voting to exclude Cherokee Freedmen as members of the tribe unless they had

4104-652: A site now within the limits of the city of Sunbury , in an area the Indians called " Shamokin ." It was first constructed as part of the British defense against the raids of the French and Indians from the upper Allegheny region. Later, it served as a rebel American fortress during the American Revolution to aid in protecting settlers of the upper Susquehanna from Britain's Indian allies to the north. Named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha ,

4275-402: A small octagonal "restricted area" around the reactor site is still shown on official DCNR maps. On September 20, 1967, two Bureau of Forestry employees attempted to remove a metal ladder from a 20,000-US-gallon (76,000 L; 17,000 imp gal) metal storage tank for jet fuel at the northern jet engine test cell. Both were killed in an explosion when the acetylene torch cut through

4446-436: A subsidiary of Atlantic-Richfield Corporation (ARCO), set up a large irradiator in what had been the reactor pool. The irradiator contained over 1 million curies of cobalt-60 to produce intense gamma rays , which were used to sterilize medical equipment and irradiate food and wood. In the spring of 1967 the state had concluded that radiation contamination at the Quehanna site "could never be completely cleaned up", and so

4617-465: A type that posed a particular risk to human health", but Curtiss-Wright itself had left both solid and liquid radioactive waste in the facility. Some of the Curtiss-Wright waste was contaminated with toxic beryllium oxide. Penn State had acquired the reactor license, and with it came legal responsibility for the nuclear waste on the site; its plan with the AEC called for the release of 90 percent of

4788-400: A variety of diseases, but in many cases this happened long after Europeans first arrived. When severe epidemics did hit, it was often less because Native bodies lack immunity than because European colonialism disrupted Native Communities and damaged their resources, making them more vulnerable to pathogens." After the thirteen British colonies revolted against Great Britain and established

4959-423: Is chemically very similar to calcium (both are alkaline earth metals ) and can be absorbed by the body, where it is chiefly incorporated into bones. Strontium-90 decays by beta decay and has a half-life of 29 years; when it is in the body, its radioactivity can lead to bone cancer and leukemia . Many in the conservation movement urged the state to buy back the land, especially after the Curtiss-Wright lease

5130-537: Is condescending for such lands to be considered "held in trust" and regulated in any fashion by any entity other than their own tribes. Some tribal groups have been unable to document the cultural continuity required for federal recognition. To achieve federal recognition and its benefits, tribes must prove continuous existence since 1900. The federal government has maintained this requirement, in part because through participation on councils and committees, federally recognized tribes have been adamant about groups' satisfying

5301-503: Is crossed by rights-of-way for three electrical power lines and two natural gas pipelines . It is one of the largest areas in Pennsylvania without permanent inhabitants. The state forest system also has natural areas, with more restricted usage. According to the Bureau of Forestry, "A natural area is an area of unique scenic, historic, geologic or ecological value that will be maintained in

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5472-774: Is in Benezette Township in Elk County , established in 1843. The northeast part of Quehanna is in Cameron County (incorporated in 1860) in Gibson Township , which was formed in 1804 while part of Clearfield County. The first European American settlers arrived in Chingleclamouche Township in about 1793, and the first sawmill in Clearfield County began operating in 1805. Settlers initially occupied land along

5643-595: Is known as the " Kelp Highway ". The early inhabitants by land were classified as Paleo-Indians , who spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into numerous culturally distinct nations. Major Paleo-Indian cultures included the Clovis and Folsom traditions , identified through unique spear points and large-game hunting methods, especially during the Lithic stage . Around 8000 BCE, as the climate stabilized, new cultural periods like

5814-620: Is no longer part of the wild area. After Curtiss-Wright's lease ended and it donated six of the eight buildings in the complex to the state in 1963, Pennsylvania formed the Commonwealth Industrial Research Corporation to administer and lease the Quehanna facilities, which it did until 1967. Over the years a series of tenants have occupied parts of the industrial complex. One company manufactured logging trailers there from 1967 to 1971, and another processed frozen meat from 1968 to 1970. In 1968 Piper Aircraft established

5985-576: Is now New York , and had a strong confederacy which gave them power beyond their numbers. To fill the void left by the demise of the Susquehannocks, the Iroquois encouraged such displaced eastern tribes as the Shawnee and Lenape (or Delaware) to settle in the West Branch watershed. The Seneca tribe of the Iroquois hunted in much of Pennsylvania and the Quehanna area. The Iroquois and other tribes used

6156-729: Is the largest tribe if only full-blood individuals are counted; the Navajo are the tribe with the highest proportion of full-blood individuals, 86.3%. The Cherokee have a different history; it is the largest tribe, with 819,000 individuals, and it has 284,000 full-blood individuals. As of 2012, 70% of Native Americans live in urban areas, up from 45% in 1970 and 8% in 1940. Urban areas with significant Native American populations include Minneapolis, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Houston, New York City, and Los Angeles. Many live in poverty. Racism, unemployment, drugs and gangs are common problems which Indian social service organizations such as

6327-543: The American Indian Movement (AIM) drawing attention to Indigenous rights. Landmark legislation like the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 recognized tribal autonomy, leading to the establishment of Native-run schools and economic initiatives. Tribal sovereignty has continued to evolve, with legal victories and federal acknowledgments supporting cultural revitalization. By

6498-533: The Archaic stage arose, during which hunter-gatherer communities developed complex societies across North America. The Mound Builders created large earthworks, such as at Watson Brake and Poverty Point , which date to 3500 BCE and 2200 BCE, respectively, indicating early social and organizational complexity. By 1000 BCE, Native societies in the Woodland period developed advanced social structures and trade networks, with

6669-511: The Census Bureau until 1930: American Indians and Alaska Natives as percentage of the total population between 1880 and 2020: Absolute numbers of American Indians and Alaska Natives between 1880 and 2020 (since 1890 according to the Census Bureau ): 78% of Native Americans live outside a reservation. Full-blood individuals are more likely to live on a reservation than mixed-blood individuals. The Navajo , with 286,000 full-blood individuals,

6840-636: The Dawes Act , which undermined communal landholding. A justification for the policy of conquest and subjugation of the Indigenous people emanated from the stereotyped perceptions of Native Americans as "merciless Indian savages" (as described in the United States Declaration of Independence ). Sam Wolfson in The Guardian writes, "The declaration's passage has often been cited as an encapsulation of

7011-530: The Great Shamokin Path , the major native east–west path connecting the Susquehanna and Allegheny River basins, which passed south of what is now the wild area. The native village of Chinklacamoose (or Chingleclamouche) was on this path at the West Branch Susquehanna River, at what is now Clearfield to the southwest of Quehanna. The Sinnemahoning Path along Sinnemahoning Creek ran north of Quehanna; as

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7182-761: The Hopewell tradition connecting the Eastern Woodlands to the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico . This period led to the Mississippian culture , with large urban centers like Cahokia —a city with complex mounds and a population exceeding 20,000 by 1250 CE. From the 15th century onward, European contact drastically reshaped the Americas. Explorers and settlers introduced diseases, causing massive Indigenous population declines, and engaged in violent conflicts with Native groups. By

7353-803: The Indigenous peoples of Canada are generally known as First Nations , Inuit and Métis ( FNIM ). The history of Native Americans in the United States began before the founding of the U.S., tens of thousands of years ago with the settlement of the Americas by the Paleo-Indians . The Eurasian migration to the Americas occurred over millennia via Beringia , a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska , as early humans spread southward and eastward, forming distinct cultures and societies. Archaeological evidence suggests these migrations began 60,000 years ago and continued until around 12,000 years ago. Some may have arrived even before this time fishing in kayaks along what

7524-552: The Lenape language . Sinnemahoning Creek's name means "stony salt lick " in Lenape. Prior to the arrival of William Penn and his Quaker colonists in 1682, forests covered up to 90 percent of what is now Pennsylvania: more than 31,000 square miles (80,000 km) of eastern white pine , eastern hemlock , and a mix of hardwoods . Scull's 1770 map of the Province of Pennsylvania showed

7695-613: The Mississippi River , in order to accommodate continued European American expansion. This resulted in what amounted to the ethnic cleansing or genocide of many tribes, who were subjected to brutal forced marches . The most infamous of these came to be known as the Trail of Tears . Contemporary Native Americans have a unique relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes, or bands that have sovereignty and treaty rights upon which federal Indian law and

7866-602: The Senate Indian Affairs Committee endorsed a bill that would grant federal recognition to tribes in Virginia. As of 2000 , the largest groups in the United States by population were Navajo , Cherokee , Choctaw , Sioux , Chippewa , Apache , Blackfeet , Iroquois , and Pueblo . In 2000, eight of ten Americans with Native American ancestry were of mixed ancestry. It is estimated that by 2100 that figure will rise to nine out of ten. The civil rights movement

8037-602: The Susquehanna River with those on the Allegheny River (and the Ohio River downstream of Kittanning). For several decades in the early 18th century, the villages of Shamokin and Kittanning were two of the most important Native American villages in Pennsylvania. The colonists recorded the path as used by Moravian Bishop Ettwein and his group of some 200 Lenape and Mohican Christians in 1772. They traveled west along

8208-587: The United States , particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska . They may also include any Americans whose origins lie in any of the indigenous peoples of North or South America. The United States Census Bureau publishes data about "American Indians and Alaska Natives ", whom it defines as anyone "having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America ... and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment". The census does not, however, enumerate "Native Americans" as such, noting that

8379-696: The United States Constitution , allowed Natives to vote in elections, and extended the Fourteenth Amendment protections granted to people "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. However, some states continued to deny Native Americans voting rights for decades. Titles II through VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applies to Native American tribes and makes many but not all of

8550-578: The Venango Path , Lake Erie and Canada. The Great Shamokin Path continued through Troutville and followed tributaries of Mahoning Creek to Punxsutawney . From Punxsutawney , the trail followed Cowanshannock Creek to Smicksburg, Rural Valley , Kittanning and the Allegheny River. During the War of 1812 , Major William McCelland departed Fort Loudoun , near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania , on March 4, 1814 and marched

8721-565: The first written accounts of the contact were provided by Europeans . Ethnographers classify the Indigenous peoples of North America into ten geographical regions which are inhabited by groups of people who share certain cultural traits, called cultural areas. The ten cultural areas are: At the time of the first contact, the Indigenous cultures were different from those of the proto-industrial and mostly Christian immigrants. Some Northeastern and Southwestern cultures, in particular, were matrilineal and they were organized and operated on

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8892-560: The 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps worked to improve them. In 1955 the Curtiss-Wright Corporation bought 80 square miles (210 km) of state forest to focus on developing nuclear-powered jet engines . They named their facility Quehanna for the nearby West Branch Susquehanna River , itself named for the Susquehannocks. Curtiss-Wright left in 1960, after which a succession of tenants further contaminated

9063-515: The 1970s. In 1997 the whole Quehanna Wild Area was declared Pennsylvania Important Bird Area #31 by the Pennsylvania Audubon Society . In 2003, the Bureau of Forestry proposed expanding the Quehanna Wild Area by incorporating more of the surrounding Elk and Moshannon State Forests. Despite efforts to restrict use, some environmentalists criticize Quehanna's administration. Christopher Klyza, author of Wilderness Comes Home: Rewilding

9234-522: The 19th century, westward U.S. expansion, rationalized by Manifest destiny , pressured tribes into forced relocations like the Trail of Tears , which decimated communities and redefined Native territories. Despite resistance in events like the Sioux Uprising and Battle of Little Bighorn , Native American lands continued to be reduced through policies like the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and later

9405-513: The 21st century, Native Americans had achieved increased control over tribal lands and resources, although many communities continue to grapple with the legacy of displacement and economic challenges. Urban migration has also grown, with over 70% of Native Americans residing in cities by 2012, navigating issues of cultural preservation and discrimination. Continuing legal and social efforts address these concerns, building on centuries of resilience and adaptation that characterize Indigenous history across

9576-455: The 48 states and Alaska. Native American population rebounded sharply from 1950, when they numbered 377,273; it reached 551,669 in 1960, 827,268 in 1970, with an annual growth rate of 5%, four times the national average. Total spending on Native Americans averaged $ 38 million a year in the late 1920s, dropping to a low of $ 23 million in 1933, and returning to $ 38 million in 1940. The Office of Indian Affairs counted more American Indians than

9747-643: The Americas , including Mesoamerican peoples such as the Maya , as well as Canadian and South American natives . In 2022, 634,503 Indigenous people in the United States identified with Central American Indigenous groups, 875,183 identified with the Indigenous people of Mexico , and 47,518 identified with Canadian First Nations . Of the 3.2 million Americans who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native alone in 2022, around 45% are of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, with this number growing as increasing numbers of Indigenous people from Latin American countries immigrate to

9918-399: The Americas. According to the 2020 census, the U.S. population was 331.4 million. Of this, 3.7 million people, or 1.1 percent, reported American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry alone. In addition, 5.9 million people (1.8 percent), reported American Indian or Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races. The definition of American Indian or Alaska Native used in the 2010 census

10089-613: The Burgoon Sandstone. Below this is the late Devonian and early Mississippian Huntley Mountain Formation , which is made of relatively soft grayish-red shale and olive-gray sandstone. The lowest and oldest layer is the red shale and siltstone of the Catskill Formation . The Allegheny Plateau has a continental climate , with occasional severe low temperatures in winter and average daily temperature ranges (the difference between

10260-555: The Elk State Forest was made in 1900, and by 1997 it encompassed 197,729 acres (80,018 ha). Forty-six percent, or 22,179 acres (8,976 ha), of the total 48,186 acres (19,500 ha) of Quehanna Wild Area lies in the Elk State Forest. The remainder lies in the Moshannon State Forest. The state established a tree nursery in the Moshannon State Forest in 1911, which became the largest in Pennsylvania before it closed in 1980. In addition to planting millions of trees, in 1913

10431-538: The Ghost Dance properly, the European American colonists would vanish, the bison would return, and the living and the dead would be reunited in an Eden ic world. On December 29 at Wounded Knee, gunfire erupted, and U.S. soldiers killed up to 300 Indians, mostly old men, women, and children. Days after the massacre, the author L. Frank Baum wrote: The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon

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10602-399: The Indians were destined to vanish under the pressure of white civilization, stating in an 1886 lecture: I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn't like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth. One of the last and most notable events during the Indian wars was the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. In

10773-473: The Iroquois in the Second Treaty of Fort Stanwix ; this acquisition is known as the Last Purchase, as it completed the series of purchases from the resident Native American tribes of lands within the boundaries of Pennsylvania, initiated by William Penn and continued by his heirs. Although most of the Native Americans left this area of Pennsylvania, the state's Native American heritage can be found in many of its place names. The Susquehannocks were also known as

10944-625: The Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis attempt to address. Below are numbers for U.S. citizens self-identifying to selected tribal groupings, according to the 2010 U.S. census. There are 573 federally recognized tribal governments and 326 Indian reservations in the United States. These tribes possess the right to form their own governments, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal) within their lands, to tax, to establish requirements for membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone, and to exclude persons from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include

11115-401: The Moshannon and Elk state forests in 1912, 1913, 1926, and 1930, and minor fires occurred in other years. During the Great Depression , the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established ten camps in Moshannon State Forest, and ten in Elk State Forest. The young men of the CCC planted trees, blazed new trails, built roads and bridges, and fought fires, which continued to be a problem. In 1938

11286-408: The Mosquito Creek gorge is up to 500 feet (150 m) deep, and the Red Run gorge in the north is almost 900 feet (270 m) deep. The Allegheny Plateau formed in the Alleghenian orogeny some 300 million years ago, when the part of Gondwana that became Africa collided with the landmass that became North America, forming Pangaea . In the dissected plateau , years of erosion have cut away

11457-442: The Northeast , notes that the Pennsylvania wild areas are not true wilderness areas. He is especially critical of the continued use of roads through the wild areas and limited logging allowed "for forest health and wildlife habitat improvements". Quehanna Wild Area lies at an elevation of 1,896 feet (578 m) on the Allegheny Plateau . The area falls into portions of two distinct geological physiographic provinces , with all but

11628-451: The Pennsylvania DEP commissioned a "site characterization study". In 1998, a firm named NES began the cleanup work; they changed their name to Scientech in 1999 and to EnergySolutions in 2006. The cleanup was originally estimated to take six months; by 2006 it had taken 8 years and cost $ 30 million. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 's (DEP) Bureau of Radiation Protection: "Inadequate characterization of

11799-425: The Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and Passamaquoddy Tribe . These representatives can sponsor any legislation regarding American Indian affairs or co-sponsor any pending State of Maine legislation. Maine is unique regarding Indigenous leadership representation. In the state of Virginia , Native Americans face a unique problem. Until 2017 Virginia previously had no federally recognized tribes but

11970-410: The Quehanna facility for research and training. The Curtis-Wright reactor was dismantled and its fuel returned to the AEC. Martin Company, which soon became Martin Marietta , leased the hot cells, intending to use them in the manufacture of small radioisotope thermoelectric generators . Curtiss-Wright warned Penn State "that the radiation involved in Martin's operations would be 'extremely high' and of

12141-402: The Secretary of State, rather than the Bureau of Indian Affairs . The Bureau of Indian Affairs reports on its website that its "responsibility is the administration and management of 55,700,000 acres (225,000 km ) of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives ". Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights believe that it

12312-479: The Susquehanna River. This army was gathered from the French posts at Duquesne , Kittanning , Venango and Le Boeuf and assembled at the mouth of Anderson Creek . They constructed crude boats, rafts and bateau for passage down the Susquehanna River for the proposed attack. They dragged along with them two small brass cannon, but after reconnoitering, found the distance too great for the guns to shoot from

12483-454: The Susquehanna, from which the Susquehanna River and its West Branch obtained their names. In the 1950s the Curtiss-Wright Corporation coined the name "Quehanna" for its nuclear reservation, which it derived from the last three syllables of "Susquehanna", "in honor of the river that drained the entire region". Part of Quehanna Wild Area lies in the Moshannon State Forest, named for Moshannon Creek , which means "moose stream" or "elk stream" in

12654-478: The U.S. federal government's claim to recognize the "sovereignty" of Native American peoples falls short, given that the United States wishes to govern Native American peoples and treat them as subject to U.S. law. Such advocates contend that full respect for Native American sovereignty would require the U.S. government to deal with Native American peoples in the same manner as any other sovereign nation, handling matters related to relations with Native Americans through

12825-405: The US and more Latinos self-identify with indigenous heritage. Of groups Indigenous to the United States, the largest self-reported tribes are Cherokee (1,449,888), Navajo (434,910), Choctaw (295,373), Blackfeet (288,255), Sioux (220,739), and Apache (191,823). 205,954 respondents specified an Alaska Native identity. Native Hawaiians are counted separately from Native Americans by

12996-589: The United States was established, Native American tribes were considered semi-independent nations, because they generally lived in communities which were separate from communities of white settlers . The federal government signed treaties at a government-to-government level until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871 ended recognition of independent Native nations, and started treating them as "domestic dependent nations" subject to applicable federal laws. This law did preserve rights and privileges, including

13167-453: The United States, President George Washington and Secretary of War Henry Knox conceived the idea of " civilizing " Native Americans in preparation for their assimilation as U.S. citizens. Assimilation, whether it was voluntary, as it was with the Choctaw , or forced , was consistently maintained as a matter of policy by consecutive American administrations. During the 19th century,

13338-535: The ability, to harness the atom's power for peaceful purposes". Under the new program, the airplane manufacturer Curtiss-Wright Corporation sought a large isolated area in central Pennsylvania "for the development of nuclear-powered jet engines and to conduct research in nucleonics , metallurgy , ultrasonics , electronics , chemicals and plastics". Curtiss-Wright worked closely with the state, and in June 1955, Governor George M. Leader signed legislation that authorized

13509-536: The acidity of Mosquito Creek and its tributaries, with technical assistance from the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). In a December 8, 1953 speech to the United Nations , President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced a new Atoms for Peace policy, and Congress enacted his program into law the following year. Atoms for Peace "made funding accessible to anyone who had the imagination, if not

13680-417: The area. The waste was also removed from the farm site, but at the industrial complex the waste was covered with 2,500 cubic yards (1,900 m) of soil on 4 acres (1.6 ha) and fenced off. The industrial complex covers about 100 acres (40 ha) on both sides of Quehanna Highway at the southeast edge of the Quehanna Wild Area. Although the industrial complex lies within the historic 16-sided polygon, it

13851-414: The boot camp program, which is considered an alternative to prison, are released on parole . The boot camp began to receive men and women from the "general population of state prison inmates" in 2005 and 2006, respectively. At the end of June 2009, the facility had 494 inmates, 61 percent of whom were in the boot camp program, and cost just over $ 17 million a year to operate. In December 1970

14022-509: The building without completing decontamination, and disposal of the above ground material in a regular landfill . This plan was approved by the NRC in October 2006, and a December 2006 survey showed "that the above grade structure met the release limits" of the disposal plan. The former reactor structure was demolished, and on May 13, 2009 the NRC released the state from its license for the site. As of 2011,

14193-407: The census, being classified as Pacific Islanders . According to 2022 estimates, 714,847 Americans reported Native Hawaiian ancestry. The 2010 census permitted respondents to self-identify as being of one or more races. Self-identification dates from the census of 1960; prior to that the race of the respondent was determined by the opinion of the census taker. The option to select more than one race

14364-424: The clearcut land, which became known as the "Pennsylvania Desert". As the timber was exhausted and the land burned, many companies abandoned their holdings. Conservationists such as Joseph Rothrock became concerned that the forests would not regrow without proper management. They called for a change in the philosophy of forest management and for the state to purchase land from the lumber companies. In 1895, Rothrock

14535-458: The colonists' ignorance of the land north of the West Branch Susquehanna River; Sinnemahoning Creek was missing, and the region that includes Quehanna was labeled "Buffaloe Swamp". This began to change when the land was purchased from the Iroquois in 1784, and became part of Northumberland County . In 1795 it became part of Lycoming County ; as the new county was divided into more townships, Quehanna became part of Chingleclamouche Township (named for

14706-447: The colonization process as comprising genocide against Native Americans. As part of a policy of white settler colonialism , European settlers continued to wage war and perpetrated massacres against Native American peoples, removed them from their ancestral lands , and subjected them to one-sided government treaties and discriminatory government policies. Into the 20th century, these policies focused on forced assimilation . When

14877-587: The confluence with the West Branch of the Susquehanna, and upriver to French Margaret's Town (developed as western Williamsport ) on Lycoming Creek . The Sheshequin Path led north along Lycoming Creek to Sheshequin (now Ulster ) on the North Branch Susquhehanna River. Further west the path went through the village of Quenashawakee, forded Larrys Creek and Pine Creek and came to the Great Island (now just east of Lock Haven ). The Great Island

15048-401: The construction of a research facility at Quehanna. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sold Curtiss-Wright 8,597 acres (3,479 ha) for $ 181,250 ($ 22.50 an acre, $ 55.60 a hectare), and gave the company a 99-year lease on the remaining 42,596 acres (17,238 ha) at $ 30,000 a year. Curtiss-Wright controlled 51,193 acres (80.0 sq mi; 207.2 km) in a regular 16-sided polygon, which

15219-493: The creeks; these dams controlled water in small streams that would otherwise be unable to carry logs and rafts. For example, in 1871 a single splash dam on the Bennett Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek could release enough water to produce a wave 2 feet (0.6 m) high on the main stem for two hours. Mosquito Creek , which drains much of the southern part of Quehanna Wild Area, had at least nine splash dams in its watershed. This

15390-473: The daily high and low) of 20 °F (11 °C) in winter and 26 °F (14 °C) in summer. Quehanna Wild Area is part of the Mosquito Creek and Wykoff Run watersheds, where the mean annual precipitation is 40 to 42 inches (1,016 to 1,067 mm). Weather records are not available for Quehanna Wild Area, but they are known for the nearby village of Karthaus. The highest recorded temperature at Karthaus

15561-516: The dehumanizing attitude toward Indigenous Americans that the US was founded on." Native American nations on the plains in the west continued armed conflicts with the U.S. throughout the 19th century, through what were called generally Indian Wars . Notable conflicts in this period include the Dakota War , Great Sioux War , Snake War , Colorado War , and Texas-Indian Wars . Expressing the frontier anti-Indian sentiment, Theodore Roosevelt believed

15732-479: The early 20th century. Fire had always been a hazard; the sparks from logging steam engines started many wildfires , and more wood may have been lost to fires than to logging in some areas. On the clearcut land nothing remained except the discarded, dried-out tree tops, which were very flammable; much of the land burned and was left barren. The soil was depleted of nutrients, fires baked the ground hard, and jungles of blueberries, blackberries, and mountain laurel covered

15903-453: The facility was demolished and its nuclear license terminated in 2009. Since 1992 the industrial complex has been home to Quehanna Motivational Boot Camp , a minimum-security prison. Quehanna Wild Area has many sites where radioactive and toxic waste was buried, some of which have been cleaned up while others were dug up by black bears and white-tailed deer . In 1970 the name was officially changed to Quehanna Wild Area, and later that decade

16074-970: The first Native American television channel; established Native American studies programs, tribal schools universities , museums, and language programs. Literature is at the growing forefront of American Indian studies in many genres, with the notable exception of fiction—some traditional American Indians experience fictional narratives as insulting when they conflict with traditional oral tribal narratives. The terms used to refer to Native Americans have at times been controversial . The ways Native Americans refer to themselves vary by region and generation, with many older Native Americans self-identifying as "Indians" or "American Indians", while younger Native Americans often identify as "Indigenous" or "Aboriginal". The term "Native American" has not traditionally included Native Hawaiians or certain Alaskan Natives , such as Aleut , Yup'ik , or Inuit peoples. By comparison,

16245-520: The following year. The state first bought land that became the Moshannon State Forest in 1898; the second purchase, and first in the Quehanna region, was 3,263 acres (1,320 ha) in the Three Runs area, acquired for $ 1 an acre ($ 2.47 a hectare) in 1900. Three smaller state forests (Karthaus, Sinnemahoning, and Moshannon) were merged to form the present Moshannon State Forest; in 1997, the forest covered 131,622 acres (53,266 ha). The first purchase for

16416-525: The greatest loss of life for Indigenous populations. "The decline of native American populations was rapid and severe, probably the greatest demographic disaster ever. Old World diseases were the primary killer. In many regions, particularly the tropical lowlands, populations fell by 90 percent or more in the first century after the contact." Estimates of pre-Columbian population of the United States vary from 4 to 18 million. Jeffrey Ostler writes: "Most Indigenous communities were eventually afflicted by

16587-402: The guarantees of the U.S. Bill of Rights applicable within the tribes. Since the 1960s, Native American self-determination movements have resulted in positive changes to the lives of many Native Americans, though there are still many contemporary issues faced by them . Today, there are over five million Native Americans in the US, about 80% of whom live outside reservations. The states with

16758-556: The highest percentage of Native Americans are Alaska , Oklahoma , New Mexico , South Dakota , Montana , and North Dakota . Beginning toward the end of the 15th century, the migration of Europeans to the Americas led to centuries of population, cultural, and agricultural transfer and adjustment between Old and New World societies, a process known as the Columbian exchange . Because most Native American groups had preserved their histories by means of oral traditions and artwork,

16929-621: The hill opposite the fort. The defense at Fort Augusta was strong enough to resist attack by storming or by siege, and the French attack was abandoned. A British defeat at Fort Augusta may have altered the history of the course of the French and Indian War. In the 21st century on the site of the old Fort, the Northumberland County Historical Society has its headquarters in the "Hunter House Museum." The museum contains historical and archaeological artifacts dealing with Fort Augusta and items of local history. It maintains

17100-479: The hot cells, dismantle cell 4, and decontaminate the rest remotely. After the accidental release, another radiological survey was performed, and the state government concluded that PermaGrain needed to be relocated. The DCNR made the policy decision that Quehanna Wild Area would be closed to industrial uses. After looking at multiple sites with Clearfield County development authorities, a new site for PermaGrain Products

17271-683: The hot cells; much of this work was done robotically, with financial aid from the Department of Energy . The cleanup was thought finished, so a final survey was done in December 2004, and a Final Status Survey Report was filed in February 2005. However, when the NRC and scientists from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education surveyed the facility in May 2005, they found many areas of contamination above

17442-471: The ideology known as manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. Westward expansion of European American populations after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native Americans and their lands, warfare, and rising tensions. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act , authorizing the federal government to relocate Native Americans from their homelands within established states to lands west of

17613-470: The largest of the 16 wild areas in the state. According to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, "a wild area is an extensive area, which the general public will be permitted to see, use and enjoy for such activities as hiking, hunting, and fishing. No development of a permanent nature will be permitted in order to retain the undeveloped character of the area. These areas will be administered according to

17784-514: The latter term can encompass a broader set of groups, e.g. Native Hawaiians , which it tabulates separately. The European colonization of the Americas from 1492 resulted in a precipitous decline in the size of the Native American population because of newly introduced diseases , including weaponized diseases and biological warfare by colonizers, wars , ethnic cleansing , and enslavement . Numerous scholars have classified elements of

17955-475: The legal limits. According to the NRC's Quehanna Site Status Summary, strontium-90 had contaminated the "buildings as well as ... surface and subsurface soil" but was not in groundwater. More cleanup work was done in the summer of 2005, but the site still did not meet NRC regulations. DEP concluded that "some type of migration of radioactive material [was] taking place in the concrete at the facility", and changed its disposal plan. The new plan called for demolition of

18126-553: The liquid radioactive waste into the environment and the burial of most radioactive solids on site. Items coated with beryllium oxide dust "were covered in plastic and buried out in the woods", where some were unearthed by black bears and white-tailed deer . Once jet engine testing stopped, the bunkers at the test cells were used "to store hazardous and explosive material". In 1962 Martin Marietta began to manufacture Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power (SNAP) thermoelectric generators under

18297-556: The mother of King George III , Fort Augusta was the largest of the Provincial forts. It was dismantled in 1794 after the United States gained independence. During the French and Indian War in 1757–1758, several hundred French and Indian troops traveled the Great Shamokin Path in an effort to destroy Fort Augusta , the main stronghold of the English at the junction of the East and West branches of

18468-532: The native village of Shamokin (modern-day Sunbury ) along the left bank of the West Branch Susquehanna River north and then west to the Great Island (near modern-day Lock Haven ). There it left the river and continued further west to Chinklacamoose (what is now the borough of Clearfield ) and finally Kittanning on the Allegheny River . The Great Shamokin Path connected settlements along

18639-495: The native village). Chingleclamouche Township was included in Clearfield County when it was established in 1804. Later it was divided between at least three counties and many townships, and no longer exists under that name. The southern part of Quehanna Wild Area is now in parts of Covington , Girard , and Karthaus townships in Clearfield County; they were incorporated in 1817, 1832, and 1841. The northwest part of Quehanna

18810-519: The northern part of the wild area between 1907 and 1911. There were only two major roads on the Quehanna plateau in the 19th and early 20th centuries, both originally turnpikes . The Caledonia Pike ran east–west from Bellefonte to Smethport , and passed south of what became the wild area, while the Driftwood Pike ran from near Karthaus north to Driftwood on the Sinnemahoning, and passed through

18981-534: The northernmost part in the Pittsburgh Low Plateau , known for its coal and mineral deposits, and characterized by steep-cut stream beds. The northernmost part of the wild area, including Marion Brooks Natural Area, is in the Deep Valleys section, home to some of the most remote and wild areas of the state; streams here have cut deep valleys with steep-sided slopes. In the southern part of Quehanna Wild Area,

19152-447: The nuclear reactor facility and its hot cells with radioactive isotopes , including strontium-90 and cobalt-60 . The manufacture of radiation-treated hardwood flooring continued until 2002. Pennsylvania reacquired the land in 1963 and 1967, and in 1965 established Quehanna as a wild area, albeit one with a nuclear facility and industrial complex. The cleanup of the reactor and hot cells took over eight years and cost $ 30 million;

19323-430: The path continued west, fording Clearfield Creek before reaching Chinklacamoose (now Clearfield ). At Chinklacamoose the Great Shamokin Path rejoined the West Branch Susquehanna River and followed it west seven miles (11 km) to Curwensville, Pennsylvania and Anderson Creek . Several crossings of the Susquehanna were needed to avoid thickets of mountain laurel bushes here. The path followed Anderson Creek Gorge

19494-607: The path forked into two branches, both leading to Canaserage on Muncy Creek (today Muncy ). At Canaserage the river and path turned west. At least two other paths led northeast: the Wyalusing Path (along Muncy Creek to Wyalusing ); and the Towanda Path (to Towanda ), both on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. The Great Shamokin Path led west to the village of Otstonwakin (now Montoursville ) on Loyalsock Creek at

19665-615: The path from their village of Friedenshütten ( Cabins of Peace ) near modern Wyalusing on the North Branch of the Susquehanna to their new village of Friedensstadt ( City of Peace ) on the Beaver River in southwestern Pennsylvania. Today a 4-mile (6.4 km) long rail trail in Armstrong County follows a short portion of the Great Shamokin Path, and the former course of the Rural Valley Railroad. The village of Shamokin

19836-421: The path with the gentlest grade, it may have been the route the first Paleo-Indians took entering this part of Pennsylvania from the west. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) and the subsequent colonial expansion encouraged the migration of many Native Americans westward to the Ohio River basin . In October 1784, the United States acquired a large tract of land, including what is now Quehanna Wild Area, from

20007-529: The polygonal area. Both of these were on the land which Curtiss-Wright had purchased, which was a regular octagon surrounded with a 24-mile (39 km) fence built by forest rangers, supervised from three guard houses on Quehanna Highway and Wykoff Run Road. The third installation was an industrial complex at the southeast edge of the polygon, in Karthaus Township, on the Quehanna Highway. At this site,

20178-459: The principals of forest protection...". Consequently, within a wild area, no new permanent camp leases, mines, wells, roads, or rights-of-way for utility lines are allowed, although existing camps, roads, and rights-of-way may remain. Vehicles are allowed only on public roads; trails are limited to hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, and wheelchairs, and only primitive camping by backpackers is allowed. Quehanna has two paved roads open to vehicles, and

20349-560: The problem was quickly resolved. King would later make trips to Arizona visiting Native Americans on reservations, and in churches encouraging them to be involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In King's book Why We Can't Wait he writes: Great Shamokin Path The Great Shamokin Path (also known as the "Shamokin Path") was a major Native American trail in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania that ran from

20520-410: The problems of Virginia Indians in establishing documented continuity of identity, due to the work of Walter Ashby Plecker (1912–1946). As registrar of the state's Bureau of Vital Statistics, he applied his own interpretation of the one-drop rule , enacted in law in 1924 as the state's Racial Integrity Act. It recognized only two races: "white" and "colored". Plecker, a segregationist , believed that

20691-553: The reactor facility, which was now under the control of Pennsylvania's government. The DEP assumed responsibility for the NRC license and legacy contamination. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), working with the NRC and state, removed the cobalt-60 from the site for disposal at the low-level radioactive waste facility in Barnwell, South Carolina in September 2003. Scientech continued decontamination work and demolished

20862-492: The reactor was on standby and only 750 employees remained, 400 of whom were in the Curon foam division; many engineers and scientists had already left. On August 20, 1960, Curtiss-Wright announced that it was donating the reactor facility to Penn State and selling its Curon foam division; the remaining 235 employees lost their jobs. Penn State, located about an hour south of Quehanna, had its own nuclear reactor , but intended to use

21033-498: The right to label arts and crafts as Native American and permission to apply for grants that are specifically reserved for Native Americans. But gaining federal recognition as a tribe is extremely difficult; to be established as a tribal group, members have to submit extensive genealogical proof of tribal descent and continuity of the tribe as a culture. In July 2000, the Washington State Republican Party adopted

21204-566: The river and creeks, as these provided a means of transportation. Some settlers would harvest timber and float it downstream once a year to make money for items they could not produce themselves, but by 1820 the first full-time lumbering operations began in the region. The white pine was the most sought after tree, yielding spars for ships and timber for buildings. Hardwoods were also harvested, and eventually hemlocks were cut for their wood and their bark, which contained tannins used in tanning leather. As lumber became an industry in Pennsylvania,

21375-476: The rivers and creeks were declared public highways by the Pennsylvania General Assembly . This permitted their use to float logs to sawmills and markets. Log booms were placed on the West Branch Susquehanna River to catch the floating timber; Lock Haven built a boom in 1849, and Williamsport 's Susquehanna Boom opened in 1851. Businesses purchased vast tracts of land and built splash dams on

21546-471: The same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money (this includes paper currency). In addition, there are a number of tribes that are recognized by individual states , but not by the federal government. The rights and benefits associated with state recognition vary from state to state. Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights point out that

21717-511: The same requirements as they did. The Muwekma Ohlone of the San Francisco Bay Area are pursuing litigation in the federal court system to establish recognition. Many of the smaller eastern tribes, long considered remnants of extinct peoples, have been trying to gain official recognition of their tribal status. Several tribes in Virginia and North Carolina have gained state recognition. Federal recognition confers some benefits, including

21888-617: The sediment caused the formation of the rocks that are found today. At least five major rock formations from the Devonian and Carboniferous periods are present in Quehanna Wild Area. The youngest of these, which forms the highest points on the plateau, is the Pennsylvanian Allegheny Formation , which has clay, coal, limestone, sandstone, and shale. Below this is the Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation ,

22059-445: The site and the presence of ongoing industrial operations resulted in many project delays and increased costs." The hot cells proved to have more radioactive sources than originally thought. In October 1998 a Scientech worker doing decontamination cut a tube in hot cell number 4, which accidentally released strontium-90 into PermaGrain's work area. As a result, a robot had to be constructed to remove 3,000 curies of cobalt-60 in two of

22230-466: The site, and in April 1967 undertook a joint radiological survey with Penn State and the AEC. The survey found "licensable [ sic ] quantities of strontium-90 stayed behind as structural contamination and residual radioactivity in piping and tanks, estimated at about 0.2 curies". This met the standards for that day, although Penn State did raise questions about the contamination remaining. Strontium

22401-472: The sites of several former CCC camps. Other Depression-era public works projects shaped the area. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) had at least two camps for World War I veterans in the Quehanna area, and built the Karthaus emergency landing field for airmail planes , similar to those that became Mid-State Regional Airport and Cherry Springs Airport . The 3,700-by-1,800-foot (1,100 by 550 m) airfield

22572-485: The soft rocks, forming the valleys, and leaving the hardest rocks relatively untouched. The land on which Quehanna Wild Area sits was part of the coastline of a shallow sea that covered a great portion of what is now North America in the Pennsylvanian subperiod. The high mountains to the east of the sea gradually eroded, causing a buildup of sediment made up primarily of clay , sand and gravel . Tremendous pressure on

22743-649: The south in the late 1950s after they reached out to him. At that time the remaining Creek in Alabama were trying to completely desegregate schools in their area. In this case, light-complexioned Native children were allowed to ride school buses to previously all white schools, while dark-skinned Native children from the same band were barred from riding the same buses. Tribal leaders, upon hearing of King's desegregation campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, contacted him for assistance. He promptly responded and, through his intervention,

22914-598: The southern and western states. In the south segregation was a major problem for Native Americans seeking education, but the NAACP's legal strategy would later change this. Movements such as Brown v. Board of Education was a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement headed by the NAACP , and inspired Native Americans to start participating in the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. began assisting Native Americans in

23085-535: The state as "colored" and gave them lists of family surnames to examine for reclassification based on his interpretation of data and the law. This led to the state's destruction of accurate records related to families and communities who identified as Native American (as in church records and daily life). By his actions, sometimes different members of the same family were split by being classified as "white" or "colored". He did not allow people to enter their primary identification as Native American in state records. In 2009,

23256-425: The state encouraged use of state forest lands by allowing permanent leases for camp sites; when the state stopped issuing new permits in 1970, 4,500 campsites had been leased. The Pennsylvania Game Commission began purchasing land for state game preserves in 1920, and by 1941, State Game Lands 34, which is partly in Quehanna Wild Area, had been established. Despite these conservation efforts, major forest fires swept

23427-413: The state forest commission officially changed the designation from Quehanna Wilderness Area to Quehanna Wild Area, making it the first state forest wild area in Pennsylvania. Elk and Moshannon state forests jointly administer Quehanna's 48,186 acres (75.3 sq mi; 195.0 km); for comparison, this is over three times larger than the 23-square-mile (60 km) area of Manhattan , making Quehanna

23598-493: The state had recognized eight. This is related historically to the greater impact of disease and warfare on the Virginia Indian populations, as well as their intermarriage with Europeans and Africans. Some people confused ancestry with culture, but groups of Virginia Indians maintained their cultural continuity. Most of their early reservations were ended under the pressure of early European settlement. Some historians also note

23769-565: The state legislature passed an act declaring the former leased area a wilderness area , and Maurice K. Goddard , secretary of the Department of Forests and Waters, named it the Quehanna Wilderness Area. Although Martin Marietta completed its AEC contract and its lease expired on December 21, 1966, it had to stay at the reactor site "until radiation contamination was brought to acceptable levels". Martin Marietta partially decontaminated

23940-570: The state parks and forests and on state game lands. In addition, Sylvania Electric Products used two buildings in the industrial complex as warehouses for light bulbs until 1993. In 1992, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation began a heavy equipment training school at Piper, which is still in operation. In 1992 the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections opened the Quehanna Motivational Boot Camp at Piper as

24111-552: The state's "first military-style motivational boot camp". The minimum security program for non-violent, first-time offenders has accepted both male and female inmates from the start. Originally designed to house 200, the Department of Corrections expanded the facility in the late 1990s to a capacity of 500 on about 50 acres (20 ha). The inmates spend six months in a military-style program that offers opportunities for education and builds positive life skills; they also are offered drug and alcohol therapy. Those who successfully complete

24282-529: The state's Native Americans had been "mongrelized" by intermarriage with African Americans; to him, ancestry determined identity, rather than culture. He thought that some people of partial black ancestry were trying to " pass " as Native Americans. Plecker thought that anyone with any African heritage had to be classified as colored, regardless of appearance, amount of European or Native American ancestry, and cultural/community identification. Plecker pressured local governments into reclassifying all Native Americans in

24453-547: The tank wall and ignited fumes inside it. A tract within the Elk State Forest at the northern edge of the wild area is known as Noble-Chambers Memorial Forest in their memory. Although Fergus reports entering a bunker in his 2002 book, and Young describes a bunker's slit windows in his 2008 book, as of 2010 the southern bunker was covered with earth, and the northern bunker is still completely intact and can be entered. In 1986, former Curtiss-Wright and Martin Marietta employees testified about hazards and waste disposal practices before

24624-474: The total extermination of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth. In the 20th century, Native Americans served in significant numbers during World War II, marking a turning point for Indigenous visibility and involvement in broader American society. Post-war, Native activism grew, with movements such as

24795-416: The trees used by the beavers to construct their dams . With the assistance of Pennsylvania's Department of Forests and Waters, Game Commission, and Fish and Boat Commission , they dynamited 79 dams. Afterward, they discovered the water was acidic upstream of the dams too, and eventually realized that the problem was caused by acid rain , not the beavers. The association has operated several stations to reduce

24966-590: The villages of Troutville in Clearfield County; Big Run , Cloe and Punxsutawney in Jefferson County; Smicksburg in Indiana County; and Rural Valley in Armstrong County. Amish buggies co-mingle with automobiles through the corridor. The Troutville Amish settlement in Brady Township, Clearfield County , is good-sized and has eight congregations. The settlement has farms, trades and small shops. Troutville

25137-425: The wild area. Wagon trains and railroads brought supplies to the lumber camps in the woods; some wood hicks set up small farms on cleared land that also provided food. There were at least eight farms in Quehanna, though they were not very productive because of "poorly drained acid soil and a short growing season". The lumber era in Quehanna did not last; the old-growth and second-growth forests were clearcut by

25308-455: The wild area. Waste has been found at the former air field, within the M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area, near the industrial complex, at the former Lincoln Farm, and at the copper wire-burning site on the highway. These last three waste sites were cleaned in 1991 at a cost of $ 187,698. At the wire-burning site 150 short tons (140 t) of contaminated soil were removed from 3 acres (1.2 ha), with clean earth and grass seed placed on top of

25479-694: The years leading up to it the U.S. government had continued to seize Lakota lands. A Ghost Dance ritual on the Northern Lakota reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota , led to the U.S. Army's attempt to subdue the Lakota. The dance was part of a religious movement founded by the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka that told of the return of the Messiah to relieve the suffering of Native Americans and promised that if they would live righteous lives and perform

25650-483: Was 106 °F (41 °C) in 2011, and the record low was −22 °F (−30 °C) in 1994. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the hottest month, and June is the wettest month. Native Americans in the United States This is an accepted version of this page Native Americans (also called American Indians , First Americans , or Indigenous Americans ) are the Indigenous peoples of

25821-646: Was a very significant moment for the rights of Native Americans and other people of color. Native Americans faced racism and prejudice for hundreds of years, and this increased after the American Civil War . Native Americans, like African Americans, were subjected to the Jim Crow Laws and segregation in the Deep South especially after they were made citizens through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. As

25992-590: Was an important crossroads with paths leading in many directions. The Great Shamokin Path left the river here (which turns north) to continue west along Bald Eagle Creek , fording Beech Creek and following Marsh Creek and Little Marsh Creek to its end. Then it climbed the Allegheny Front to modern-day Snow Shoe and on to Moshannon, where there were two branches possible to Kylertown. The branches differed in their fords of Black Moshannon Creek and Moshannon Creek , both of which were difficult to cross. From Kylertown

26163-593: Was appointed the first forestry commissioner in what became the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the forerunner of today's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). In 1897, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation that authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations", and the first of the Pennsylvania state forest lands were acquired

26334-511: Was as follows: According to Office of Management and Budget, "American Indian or Alaska Native" refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. Despite generally referring to groups indigenous to the continental US and Alaska, this demographic as defined by the US Census Bureau includes all Indigenous people of

26505-540: Was built in 1935 and 1936 along Hoover Road (the old Driftwood Pike), just north of what is now M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area. During World War II, the landing strip was blocked to prevent enemy planes from secretly landing there. In 1946 the Mosquito Creek Sportsmen's Association was founded to promote conservation in the region. One of the association's initial concerns was the acidification of streams, which they originally attributed to tannic acid from

26676-644: Was built in 1976 and 1977 with help from a federally funded jobs program, the Young Adult Conservation Corps, and the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps. Parts of the trail have been moved, away from damage caused by the 1985 tornado, to avoid pipelines, to circumvent the Piper Boot Camp, and to pass closer to streams. The wild area also has six shallow ponds for waterfowl and other wildlife, the result of dams built on marshy areas in

26847-454: Was canceled. In April 1967 Penn State vacated the site and gave the reactor complex to the state. Martin Marietta departed in June 1967, and early in that same year, Pennsylvania bought the remaining land back from Curtiss-Wright for $ 992,500, about $ 811,000 more than they had sold it for in 1955. Various usage plans for the area were proposed, including: a vacation resort with a large artificial lake, motels, golf courses , and honeymoon resort;

27018-696: Was completed. In 1958, the corporation received a twenty-year license from the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to operate a four-megawatt open pool nuclear research reactor , and received permission from the Pennsylvania Sanitary Water Board to dispose of some radioactive waste in Meeker Run, a tributary of Mosquito Creek. The project was billed as "the greatest thing that ever happened in North Central Pennsylvania", and

27189-410: Was easier to fence than a circular area. The state constructed $ 1.6 million of roads to the area; the Quehanna Highway was built on parts of an old CCC road, which followed an earlier logging railroad grade. Pennsylvania also canceled 212 camp site leases to help ensure security for the installation. Curtiss-Wright built three facilities on its land. The first was a nuclear research center with

27360-554: Was expected to employ between 7,000 and 8,000 people. Curtiss-Wright spent $ 30 million on the project, and developed a community for its scientific and technical staff at the village of Pine Glen , southeast of Karthaus in Centre County. By 1960 the Air Force had decided not to pursue nuclear-powered aircraft, and the federal government canceled $ 70 million in "high-altitude testing contracts" with Curtiss-Wright. By June 1960,

27531-557: Was formerly known as Paige Run Natural Area; in 1975 it was renamed for Marion E. Brooks, a pioneering environmentalist from Elk County. Quehanna Wild Area also has two wildlife viewing areas with blinds for observing elk and other animals: Beaver Run Dam's pond and wetlands and Hoover Farm's fields and feeding plots. The Quehanna plateau is home to the Quehanna Trail , a 73.2-mile (117.8 km) loop hiking trail , about 34 miles (55 km) of which are in Quehanna Wild Area. The trail

27702-456: Was founded in 1827 by the Reverend J. George Schmick, and most of the citizens are Amish. The population was 46 at the 2010 census, and is one of the smallest incorporated boroughs in Pennsylvania. The Smicksburg settlement has specialty shops with Amish wares of handcrafts, quilts, furniture, foods and eating establishments. Rural Valley is a borough in Armstrong County , Pennsylvania , where

27873-456: Was glad to find a tenant with nuclear experience. A group of NUMEC employees discovered that irradiating hardwood treated with plastics produced very durable flooring. In 1978 they formed PermaGrain Products, Inc. as a separate company from ARCO, and purchased the rights to the process as well as "the main irradiator, a smaller shielded irradiator and related equipment". PermaGrain sold the flooring for use in basketball courts and gymnasiums, and

28044-621: Was introduced in 2000. If American Indian or Alaska Native was selected, the form requested the individual provide the name of the "enrolled or principal tribe". Censuses counted around 346,000 Native Americans in 1880 (including 33,000 in Alaska and 82,000 in Oklahoma, back then known as Indian Territory ), around 274,000 in 1890 (including 25,500 in Alaska and 64,500 in Oklahoma), 362,500 in 1930 and 366,500 in 1940, including those on and off reservations in

28215-498: Was just south of the "forks of the Susquehanna", the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River with the Susquehanna River (also known as the North Branch). From there, the Great Shamokin Path headed north and forded the river (where current Northumberland developed), then went along the left (west) bank of the West Branch Susquehanna River to the Shawnee town of Chillisquaque on Chillisquaque Creek . The path continued north through what are now Milton and Watsontown , where

28386-399: Was named an Important Bird Area by the Pennsylvania Audubon Society , and is home to many species of birds and animals. Eco-tourists come to see the birds and elk, and hunters come for the elk, coyote , and other game. The Iroquoian -speaking Susquehannocks were the earliest recorded inhabitants of the West Branch Susquehanna River basin, which includes Quehanna Wild Area. They were

28557-454: Was named for Jacob Trautwien who settled the area in 1832. The Smicksburg Amish settlement is centered on the borough of Smicksburg, Indiana County , about 10 miles southwest of Punxsutawney. The Smicksburg settlement is the third-largest Amish settlement in Pennsylvania, and the eleventh largest in the U.S. The Smicksburg settlement has 18 church districts and was founded in 1962. Amish here drive Midwestern-style black buggies. Smicksburg

28728-564: Was purchased, and the company submitted its plans for a new building and license to the NRC in October 2001. In order to approve the move to the new site, the NRC required PermaGrain to provide an inventory of all their cobalt-60 sources, dispose of a damaged source, and dispose of any other sources not mechanically certified. However in late December 2002, PermaGrain filed for bankruptcy under Chapter Seven . PermaGrain had employed 135 people in 1988 and 80 in 1995. When PermaGrain went bankrupt, about 100,000 curies of cobalt-60 were abandoned at

28899-444: Was the longest occupant of the Quehanna facility, operating there from 1978 to December 2002. PermaGrain also let Neutron Products, Inc., a Maryland company, do cobalt-60 work in its hot cells, which required an amendment of their license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the successor to the AEC). In 1993, strontium-90 contamination in the reactor facility led the NRC to require PermaGrain to begin decontamination work, and

29070-436: Was the predominant lumber transport system in the Quehanna region from 1865 to 1885 and after 1850, five different kinds of lumber rafts could be found on its streams and river. Much of the timber was too remote to be transported via the streams, and logging railroads were the next development in the Quehanna lumber era. In or around 1880, these railroads allowed the clearcutting of the remaining forests. The Quehanna plateau

29241-467: Was unusual in using standard gauge track for its logging railroads: most such railways were narrow gauge . The logging railroads used special geared steam locomotives , such as the Shay , Climax and Heisler . Nine companies operated logging railroads in what became Moshannon State Forest; the Goodyear Lumber Company was the largest and cut much of what became Quehanna Wild Area between 1902 and 1912. The Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company logged land in

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