Just southeast of Rochester, New York, in the town of Victor, lies Ganondagan (ga·NON·da·gan), the site of a Native American community that was a flourishing, vibrant center for the Seneca people.

Americans everywhere owe a debt to the Seneca people; as one of the six nations comprising the Iroquois Confederacy, their democratic ideals served as an inspiration for the U.S. Constitution. If you're a woman, you may be surprised to learn that the Seneca's matriarchal Society helped inspired the 1848 declaration of sentiments that eventually lead to a woman's right to vote. The Seneca also developed one of the world's most basic and healthy cuisines using natural foods that are still popular today, as are many of the natural medicines they used to treat illnesses. From politics and the environmental movement to food and medicine, the roots of contemporary society can be traced back to this historic site right in Rochester's back yard.

Visit this site where thousands of Seneca lived 300 years ago, tour a full-size replica of a 17th-century Seneca Bark Longhouse, walk miles of self-guided trails, climb the mesa where a huge palisaded granary stored hundreds of thousands of bushels of corn, and learn about the destruction of Ganondagan, Town of Peace, in 1687.

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