The Seneca Nation was one of the original five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. They are known as "The Keepers of the Western Door"; This is derived from the original structure of the confederacy, there were five nations which streched from east to west, the Iroquois saw this as being like a longhouse with eastern and western doors and a fire in the center. The Seneca Nation owns the land on which the city of Salamanca is built, which makes them the only Native American tribe able to claim ownership of an American city. They live on the Alleganey, Cattaraugus, and Oil Springs Reservations. Salamanca is built on land leased from the Alleganey reservation.