The Mohawk , also known by their own name, Kanien'kehà:ka ( lit. ' People of the flint ' ), are an Indigenous people of North America and the easternmost nation of the Haudenosaunee , or Iroquois Confederacy.
121-765: The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory ( French : Territoire Mohawk de Kahnawake , pronounced [ɡahnaˈwaːɡe] in the Mohawk language , Kahnawáˀkye in Tuscarora ) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec , Canada, across from Montreal . Established by French Canadians in 1719 as a Jesuit mission , it has also been known as Seigneury Sault du St-Louis , and Caughnawaga (after
242-681: A Mohawk village in the Mohawk Valley of New York). There are 17 European spelling variations of the Mohawk Kahnawake . Kahnawake's territory totals an area of 48.05 km (18.55 sq mi). Its resident population numbers slightly above 8,000, with a significant number living off reserve . Its land base today is unevenly distributed due to the federal Indian Act , which governs individual land possession. It has rules that are different from those applying to Canadian non-reserve areas. Most Kahnawake residents originally spoke
363-489: A matrilineal kinship system, with children considered born into the clan of the mother and deriving their status from her family. There was some European settlement after the reserve land was "donated" by the French Crown in the mid-17th century. The French government stationed French colonial troops there (who formed liaisons with local women and had children by them). Shopkeepers also formed families, and through
484-622: A mission to administer to local Mohawk and other First Nations. This was also a base for those missionary priests who were sent to the west. Jesuit records give a settlement date of 1719. Kahnawake was created under what was known as the Seigneurie du Sault-Saint-Louis , a 40,320-acre (163.2 km) territory which the French Crown granted in 1680 to the Jesuits to "protect" and "nurture" those Mohawk newly converted to Catholicism. When
605-830: A French derivation of the Algonquian term for the Five Nations, meaning "Big Snakes". The Algonquians and Iroquois were traditional competitors and enemies. In the upper Hudson and Mohawk Valley regions, the Mohawks long had contact with the Algonquian-speaking Mohican people who occupied territory along the Hudson, as well as other Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples to the north around the Great Lakes . The Mohawks had extended their own influence into
726-568: A Mohawk convert to Catholicism. She moved with relatives to Caughnawaga on the north side of the river after her parents' deaths. She was known for her faith and a shrine was built to her in New York. In the late 20th century, she was beatified and was canonized in October 2012 as the first Native American Catholic saint. She is also recognized by the Episcopal and Lutheran churches. After
847-631: A generation, many Kahnawake men participated in building the Empire State Building , and other major skyscrapers in New York City, as well as many bridges. They brought their families with them, and most Mohawk from Kahnawake lived in Brooklyn. They called their neighbourhood "Little Caughnawaga" after their homeland. While the men worked on skyscrapers, the women created a strong community for their families. Many also worked outside
968-643: A kind. During their alliance, the Mohawks allowed Dutch Protestant missionary Johannes Megapolensis to come into their communities and teach the Christian message. He operated from the Fort Nassau area for about six years, writing a record in 1644 of his observations of the Mohawk, their language (which he learned), and their culture. While he noted their ritual of torture of captives, he recognized that their society had few other killings, especially compared to
1089-653: A large group of Iroquois out of New York to what became the reserve of the Six Nations of the Grand River , Ontario . Brant continued as a political leader of the Mohawks for the rest of his life. This land extended 100 miles from the head of the Grand River to the head of Lake Erie where it discharges. Another Mohawk war chief, John Deseronto , led a group of Mohawk to the Bay of Quinte . Other Mohawks settled in
1210-443: A local data centre located within the territory, hosts and manages many Internet gambling websites, and provides high-tech employment to its people. MIT is the closest and fastest source for "legally hosted" gambling websites for North American players. Established in 1998, MIT by 2006 had become a "remarkably profitable" enterprise. While working to strengthen their culture and language, the people of Kahnawake have generally not had
1331-516: A military base nearby. "Garrison towns" ( Arabic : أمصار , romanized : amsar ) were used during the Arab Islamic conquests of Middle Eastern lands by Arab - Muslim armies to increase their dominance over indigenous populations. In order to occupy non-Arab, non-Islamic areas, nomadic Arab tribesmen were taken from the desert by the ruling Arab elite, conscripted into Islamic armies, and settled into garrison towns as well as given
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#17327732453091452-666: A mission in Ossernenon 9 miles west of present-day Auriesville, New York until 1684, when the Mohawks destroyed it, killing several priests. Over time, some converted Mohawk relocated to Jesuit mission villages established south of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River in the early 1700s: Kahnawake (used to be spelled as Caughnawaga , named for the village of that name in the Mohawk Valley) and Kanesatake . These Mohawk were joined by members of other Indigenous peoples but dominated
1573-565: A non-Mohawk partner were sent eviction notices regardless of how long they had lived on the reserve. The only exemption was for those of such couples who had married before the 1981 moratorium. Although some concerned Mohawk citizens contested the racially exclusive membership policy, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled that the Mohawk Kahnawake government may adopt policies it deems necessary to ensure
1694-448: A practice of adopting captives into the tribe, often to replace people lost to illness or warfare. They generally chose to adopt young women and children taken in raids, as these were believed to be more amenable to assimilation. Individual families adopted such captives, and made them full members of their clan and tribe. The practice preceded European encounter, but later some European captives were also assimilated as Mohawk. The Mohawk had
1815-525: A profound knowledge of the river, from the time they were children through adulthood. One effect of the losses was to make the community determined not to suffer more encroachment. They drew together and became stronger. The Mohawk success on major high-rise construction projects inspired the legend that Native American men had no fear of working at heights. Numerous Kahnawake men continued as iron and steelworkers in Canada. Thirty-three Kahnawake (Mohawk) died in
1936-510: A rise in tribal revenues due to establishment of gaming on certain reserves or reservations, competing leadership, traditional government jurisdiction, issues of taxation, and the Canadian Indian Act , Mohawk communities have been dealing with considerable internal conflict since the late 20th century. The Mohawk language , or its native name, Kanyen'kéha , is a Northern Iroquoian language . Like many Indigenous languages of
2057-486: A share in the spoils of war . The primary utility of the Arab-Islamic garrisons was to control the indigenous non-Arab peoples of these conquered and occupied territories, and to serve as garrison bases to launch further Islamic military campaigns into yet-undominated lands. A secondary aspect of the Arab-Islamic garrisons was the uprooting of the aforementioned nomadic Arab tribesmen from their original home regions in
2178-657: A veteran of the French and Indian War and ally of the rebels, offered his services to the Americans, receiving an officer's commission from the Continental Congress . He led Oneida warriors against the British. During this war, Johannes Tekarihoga was the civil leader of the Mohawk. He died around 1780. Catherine Crogan , a clan mother and wife of Mohawk war chief Joseph Brant , named her brother Henry Crogan as
2299-739: Is Kanien’kehá:ka (the "People of the Flint"). Another meaning is "those who speak [the language] Kanien'kéha"). The Kanien’kehá:ka were historically the most easterly nation of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) and are known as the "Keepers of the Eastern Door". They controlled territory on both sides of the Mohawk River and west of the Hudson River in present-day New York, where they protected other parts of
2420-419: Is an important means of re-education into principles that offer an alternative to the current Canadian system, and helps build a future especially for the young people of the community. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission offers licenses to Internet-based gambling sites for poker, casino, and sportsbook . It has established Kahnawake as a substantial player in that business. Mohawk Internet Technologies (MIT),
2541-478: Is intended for use before any arrest of an affected party under the Canadian system. It has procedures to be used by the victim and offender, and their supporters. With assistance by trained facilitators to resolve issues, the process is intended to restore peace and harmony, rather than to be an adversarial process. In contrast to the Canadian system of adversarial justice it, would allow the parties to personalize
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#17327732453092662-653: The Arabian Peninsula in order to proactively avert these tribal peoples, and particularly their young men, from revolting against the Islamic state established in their midst. In the United Kingdom , "Garrison" also specifically refers to any of the major military stations such as Aldershot , Catterick , Colchester , Tidworth , Bulford , and London , which have more than one barracks or camp and their own military headquarters , usually commanded by
2783-569: The Dutch , who went up the Hudson River and established a trading post in 1614 at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers, and the French, who came south into their territory from New France (present-day Quebec). The Dutch were primarily merchants and the French also conducted fur trading . During this time the Mohawk fought with the Huron in the Beaver Wars for control of the fur trade with
2904-474: The French garnison , itself from the verb garnir , "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters . A garrison is usually in a city , town , fort , castle , ship , or similar site. "Garrison town" is a common expression for any town that has
3025-650: The Green Mountains of Vermont ; and westward to the border with the Iroquoian Oneida Nation 's traditional homeland territory. Members of the Kanienʼkehá:ka people now live in settlements in northern New York State and southeastern Canada. Many Kanienʼkehá:ka communities have two sets of chiefs, who are in some sense competing governmental rivals. One group are the hereditary chiefs ( royaner ), nominated by Clan Mother matriarchs in
3146-599: The Oka Crisis blockades in 1990 and the Caledonia Ontario, Douglas Creek occupation of a construction site in summer of 2006. On May 13, 1974, at 4:00 a.m, Mohawks from the Kahnawake and Akwesasne reservations repossessed traditional Mohawk land near Old Forge, New York, occupying Moss Lake, an abandoned girls camp. The New York state government attempted to shut the operation down, but after negotiation,
3267-493: The Red River region in the west, Métis descendants of European trappers and indigenous women, gradually developed what has become a separate, recognized ethnic group, based on a distinct hunting and trading culture. Kahnawake surnames , such as Beauvais, D'Ailleboust, de La Ronde Thibaudière, Delisle, de Lorimier, Giasson, Johnson, Mailloux, McComber, McGregor, Montour, Phillips, Rice, Stacey, Tarbell, and Williams, represent
3388-625: The St. Lawrence River Valley, which they maintained for hunting grounds. The Mohawk likely defeated the St. Lawrence Iroquoians in the 16th century, and kept control of their territory. In addition to hunting and fishing for centuries the Mohawks cultivated productive maize fields on the fertile floodplains along the Mohawk River, west of the Pine Bush . On June 28, 1609, a band of Hurons led Samuel De Champlain and his crew into Mohawk country,
3509-713: The St. Lawrence River . As one of the five original members of the Iroquois League , the Mohawk are known as the Keepers of the Eastern Door who are the guardians of the Iroquois Confederation against invasions from the east. Today, Mohawk people belong to the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne , Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation , Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke , Mohawks of Kanesatake , Six Nations of
3630-637: The United States District Court for the Western District of New York . The main structures of social organization are the clans ( ken'tara'okòn:'a ). The number of clans vary among the Haudenosaunee; the Mohawk have three: Bear ( Ohkwa:ri ), Turtle ( A'nó:wara ), and Wolf ( Okwaho ). Clans are nominally the descendants of a single female ancestor, with women possessing the leadership role. Each member of
3751-676: The War of 1812 . In 1971, the Mohawk Warrior Society , also Rotisken’rakéhte in the Mohawk language, was founded in Kahnawake . The duties of the Warrior Society are to use roadblocks, evictions, and occupations to gain rights for their people, and these tactics are also used among the warriors to protect the environment from pollution. The notable movements started by the Mohawk Warrior Society have been
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3872-666: The World Trade Center buildings that were destroyed during the September 11 attacks , helped rescue people from the burning towers in 2001, and helped dismantle the remains of the building afterwards. Approximately 200 Mohawk ironworkers (out of 2,000 total ironworkers at the site) participated in rebuilding the One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. They typically drive the 360 miles from
3993-620: The conflict , trying to suppress the Native Americans in the region. The Mohawk also attacked other members of the Pequot confederacy, in a war that lasted until 1671. In 1666, the French attacked the Mohawk in the central New York area, burning the three Mohawk villages south of the river and their stored food supply. One of the conditions of the peace was that the Mohawk accept Jesuit missionaries. Beginning in 1669, missionaries attempted to convert Mohawks to Christianity, operating
4114-412: The 1790s and early 19th century, visitors often described the visible "great mixture of blood" at Kahnawake. They noted that many children who appeared to be of European ancestry were being brought up culturally as Mohawk. At times there has been more tension about the relations of full-blood and mixed-race members of the tribe, both in the late 19th and 20th centuries. In other areas of Canada, particularly
4235-541: The 1870s and 1880s, land and resource pressures renewed local concern about ethnic Europeans living at Kahnawake. In addition, the national government's passage of legislation, from enfranchisement to the Indian Advancement Act of 1884, which prohibited traditional chiefs and required Canadian-style elections, split the community and added to tensions. Some young Mohawk men wanted a chance to advance independently to being chiefs; other people wanted to keep
4356-596: The 18th century, many marriages occurred between European men and Indian women. Multiracial children born to Mohawk mothers were readily assimilated into the mother's family, clan, and nation. During the 17th and early 18th centuries, the English and French were competing in North America and in Europe. Together with allied First Nations or Native American tribes, they conducted raids along the undefined border between
4477-652: The 1920s, when the traditional seven-clan system became absorbed in the Longhouse Movement , which was based on three clans. This was strong through the 1940s. Historically, the federal and Quebec governments have often located large civil engineering projects benefiting the southern Quebec economy through Kahnawake land because of its proximity to the Saint Lawrence River. The reserve is criss-crossed by power lines from hydroelectric plants, railways , and vehicle highways and bridges. One of
4598-503: The 1930s to the 1970s on special labor contracts as specialists and participated in building the Empire State Building . The construction companies found that the Mohawk ironworkers did not fear heights or dangerous conditions. Their contracts offered lower than average wages to the First Nations people and limited labor union membership. About 10% of all ironworkers in the New York area are Mohawks, down from about 15% earlier in
4719-526: The 20th century. The work and home life of Mohawk ironworkers was documented in Don Owen 's 1965 National Film Board of Canada documentary High Steel . The Mohawk community that formed in a compact area of Brooklyn , which they called "Little Caughnawaga", after their homeland, is documented in Reaghan Tarbell's Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back , shown on PBS in 2008. This community
4840-766: The Akwesasne Reservation in Franklin County under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). According to the terms of the 1993 compact, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, the New York State Police and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Gaming Commission were vested with gaming oversight. Law enforcement responsibilities fell under the state police, with some law enforcement matters left to
4961-711: The Americas , Mohawk is a polysynthetic language. Written in the Roman alphabet, its orthography was standardized in 1993 at the Mohawk Language Standardization Conference. In the Mohawk language, the Mohawk people call themselves the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka ("people of the flint"). The Mohawk became wealthy traders as other nations in their confederacy needed their flint for tool making. Their Algonquian -speaking neighbors (and competitors),
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5082-414: The British Crown), Conrad Weiser (on behalf of the colony of Pennsylvania ), and Hendrick Theyanoguin (for the Mohawk). Johnson called the Albany Congress in June 1754, to discuss with the Iroquois chiefs repair of the damaged diplomatic relationship between the British and the Mohawk, along with securing their cooperation and support in fighting the French, in engagements in North America. During
5203-417: The British Indian Department reported that the community was growing frustrated by marriages in which white husbands acquired rights over the lives and properties of their Mohawk wives according to British Canadian laws. This was in opposition to Iroquois culture, which had a matrilineal kinship system, with descent and property invested in the maternal line. Abuse of alcohol was a continuing problem. In 1828,
5324-442: The British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, built his first house on the north bank of the Mohawk River almost opposite Warrensbush and established the settlement of Johnstown . The Mohawk were among the four Iroquois people that allied with the British during the American Revolutionary War . They had a long trading relationship with the British and hoped to gain support to prohibit colonists from encroaching into their territory in
5445-401: The British ceded their claim to land in the colonies, and the Americans forced their allies, the Mohawks and others, to give up their territories in New York. Most of the Mohawks migrated to Canada, where the Crown gave them some land in compensation. The Mohawks at the Upper Castle fled to Fort Niagara , while most of those at the Lower Castle went to villages near Montreal . Joseph Brant led
5566-436: The Canadian government to regain lost land. The modern claim touches the municipalities of Saint-Constant , Sainte-Catherine , Saint-Mathieu , Delson , Candiac and Saint-Philippe . Led by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake and the reserve's Inter-governmental Relations Team, the community has filed claims with the government of Canada. It is seeking monetary compensation NOTE: Kahnawake is not seeking financial compensation for
5687-406: The Dept. of Interior taking other land into trust for federally recognized 'tribes', which would establish the land as sovereign Native American territory, on which they might establish new gaming facilities. The other suit contends that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act violates the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution as it is applied in the State of New York. In 2010 it was pending in
5808-403: The Dutch later established settlements in present-day Schenectady and Schoharie , further west in the Mohawk Valley, merchants in Fort Nassau continued to control the fur trading. Schenectady was established essentially as a farming settlement, where the Dutch took over some of the former Mohawk maize fields in the floodplain along the river. Through trading, the Mohawk and Dutch became allies of
5929-414: The English governor of Connecticut, John Winthrop , as proof of his death. In the winter of 1651, the Mohawk attacked on the southeast and overwhelmed the Algonquian in the coastal areas. They took between 500 and 600 captives. In 1664, the Pequot of New England killed a Mohawk ambassador, starting a war that resulted in the destruction of the Pequot, as the English and their allies in New England entered
6050-405: The Europeans. Their Jesuit missionaries were active among First Nations and Native Americans, seeking converts to Catholicism . In 1614, the Dutch opened a trading post at Fort Nassau , New Netherland . The Dutch initially traded for furs with the local Mohican, who occupied the territory along the Hudson River. Following a raid in 1626 when the Mohawks resettled along the south side of
6171-402: The Giasson, Deblois, Meloche, Lafleur, Plante and de Lorimier families to leave, as all were of partial European ancestry. Some, like the de Lorimier brothers, gradually sold their properties and pursued their lives elsewhere. Others, such as Charles Gédéon Giasson , were finally given permanent status at the reserve. Because the Indian Department did not provide adequate support to the reserve,
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#17327732453096292-424: The Grand River , and Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe , a federally recognized tribe in the United States. At the time of European contact, Mohawk people were based in the valley of the Mohawk River in present-day upstate New York, west of the Hudson River . Their territory ranged north to the St. Lawrence River , southern Quebec and eastern Ontario ; south to greater New Jersey and into Pennsylvania; eastward to
6413-468: The Interior disapproved this action although the Mohawks gained Governor Eliot Spitzer 's concurrence, subject to the negotiation and approval of either an amendment to the current compact or a new compact. Interior rejected the Mohawks' application to take this land into trust. In the early 21st century, two legal cases were pending that related to Native American gambling and land claims in New York. The State of New York has expressed similar objections to
6534-410: The Kahnawake reserve on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec to work the week in lower Manhattan and then return on the weekend to be with their families. A selection of portraits of these Mohawk ironworkers were featured in an online photo essay for Time Magazine in September 2012. Both the elected chiefs and the Warrior Society have encouraged gambling as a means of ensuring tribal self-sufficiency on
6655-410: The MCK, caused an uproar within and beyond the community, attracting national press attention. Steve Bonspiel, publisher and editor of Kahnawake newspaper The Eastern Door , said that the issue dated back to 1973. At that time, when non-Native people with no ties in the community were asked to leave, they were harassed and even physically attacked. Bonspiel thought the council's 2010 threat to publish
6776-403: The Mississippi River in New France. The new British governor, Thomas Gage , ordered the reserve to be entirely and exclusively vested in the Mohawk, under the supervision of the Indian Department . Despite repeated complaints by the Mohawk, many government agents continued to allow non-Native encroachment, and mismanaged the lands and rents. Surveyors were found to have modified some old maps at
6897-399: The Mohawk River, in 1628, they mounted an attack against the Mohican, pushing them back to the area of present-day Connecticut . The Mohawks gained a near-monopoly in the fur trade with the Dutch by prohibiting the nearby Algonquian-speaking peoples to the north or east to trade with them but did not entirely control this. European contact resulted in a devastating smallpox epidemic among
7018-430: The Mohawk Valley. Joseph Brant acted as a war chief and successfully led raids against British and ethnic German colonists in the Mohawk Valley, who had been given land by the British administration near the rapids at present-day Little Falls, New York . A few prominent Mohawk, such as the sachem Little Abraham (Tyorhansera) at Fort Hunter, remained neutral throughout the war. Joseph Louis Cook (Akiatonharónkwen),
7139-411: The Mohawk barricade after landing on a beach. They met the Mohawks at the barricade; 200 warriors advanced behind four chiefs. They were equally astonished to see each other— De Champlain surprised at their stature, confidence, and dress; the Mohawks surprised by De Champlain's steel cuirass and helmet. One of the chiefs raised his bow at Champlain and the Indians. Champlain fired three shots that pierced
7260-411: The Mohawk chiefs' wooden armor, killing them instantly. The Mohawks stood in shock until they started flinging arrows at the crowd. A brawl began and the Mohawks fell back seeing the damage this new technology dealt on their chiefs and warriors. This was the first contact the Mohawks had with Europeans . This incident also sparked the Beaver Wars . In the seventeenth century, the Mohawk encountered both
7381-553: The Mohawk in 1635; this reduced their population by 63%, from 7,740 to 2,830, as they had no immunity to the new disease. By 1642 they had regrouped from four into three villages, recorded by Catholic missionary priest Isaac Jogues in 1642 as Ossernenon , Andagaron , and Tionontoguen , all along the south side of the Mohawk River from east to west. These were recorded by speakers of other languages with different spellings, and historians have struggled to reconcile various accounts, as well as to align them with archeological studies of
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#17327732453097502-460: The Mohawk in the New York colony. Many were baptized with English surnames, while others were given both first and surnames in English. During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Mohawk and Abenaki First Nations in New England were involved in raids conducted by the French and English against each other's settlements during Queen Anne's War and other conflicts. They conducted a growing trade in captives, holding them for ransom. Neither of
7623-439: The Mohawk language, and some learned French when trading with and allied with French colonists. Together with most of four Iroquois nations, including the Mohawk, they allied with the British government during the American Revolutionary War and the Lower Canada Rebellion . They have since become mostly English speaking. Although people of European descent traditionally refer to the residents of Kahnawake as Mohawk, their autonym
7744-469: The Mohawk made peace for a time with the French, who were trying to keep a piece of the fur trade. During the Pequot War (1634–1638), the Pequot and other Algonquian Indians of coastal New England sought an alliance with the Mohawks against English colonists of that region. Disrupted by their losses to smallpox, the Mohawks refused the alliance. They killed the Pequot sachem Sassacus who had come to them for refuge, and returned part of his remains to
7865-484: The Mohawks being completely unaware of this situation. De Champlain made it clear he wanted to strike the Mohawks down after their raids on the neighboring nations. On July 29, 1609, hundreds of Hurons and many of De Champlain's French crew fell back from the mission, daunted by what lay ahead. Sixty Huron Indians, De Champlain, and two Frenchmen saw some Mohawks in a lake near Ticonderoga ; the Mohawks spotted them as well. De Champlain and his crew fell back, then advanced to
7986-411: The Montreal side of the highway; many in the crowd threw rocks and chairs at the cars and yelled ethnic slurs. Many windows were broken and some Mohawk were hit by rocks and cut by glass. Thirteen people were arrested. Blame has fallen on the provincial government for letting the convoy pass; on the Sûreté du Québec for holding the cars for so long, and for mostly not stopping people from throwing rocks; on
8107-419: The Montréal area, they named the new settlement after their former one. The proximity of the Lachine Rapids also influenced their naming decision. Kahnawake is located on the southwest shore where the Saint Lawrence River narrows. The territory is described in the native language as "on, or by the rapids " (of the Saint Lawrence River) (in French, it was originally called Sault du St-Louis , also related to
8228-446: The Netherlands of that period. The trading relations between the Mohawk and Dutch helped them maintain peace even during the periods of Kieft's War and the Esopus Wars , when the Dutch fought localized battles with other native peoples. In addition, Dutch trade partners equipped the Mohawk with guns to fight against other First Nations who were allied with the French , including the Ojibwe , Huron-Wendat , and Algonquin . In 1645,
8349-447: The Rebellions, the community was fiercely divided regarding the rights of mixed-race residents, such as Antoine-George de Lorimier (the son of Claude-Nicolas-Guillaume de Lorimier ), and whether he should be evicted. Although his mother was Mohawk and native to Kahnawake, because of his father's and his own connections to the European community, George de Lorimier became a controversial figure in Kahnawake, even after his death in 1863. In
8470-463: The Saint Lawrence River; and the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario north of Lake Erie . In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the British considered Kahnawake one of the Seven Nations of Canada . The name is derived from the Mohawk word kahnawà:ke , meaning "place of the rapids", referring to their major village Caughnawaga near the rapids of the Mohawk River in what is today central New York. When converted Catholic Mohawk moved to
8591-489: The Town of Palatine in Montgomery County, New York which they named Kanatsiohareke . It marked a return to their ancestral land. Mohawks came from Kahnawake and other reserves to work in the construction industry in New York City in the early through the mid-20th century. They had also worked in construction in Quebec. The men were ironworkers who helped build bridges and skyscrapers, and who were called skywalkers because of their seeming fearlessness. They worked from
8712-590: The Walbank Survey, the national government surveyed and subdivided the land of the reserve, allotting some plots individually to each head of household eligible to live in Kahnawake. The violence stopped as the new form of privatisation of land was instituted, but antagonism toward some community members did not. The election of council chiefs began in 1889, but the influence of Kahnawake's shadow government of traditional clan chiefs persisted. This lasted into
8833-483: The areas. For instance, Johannes Megapolensis , a Dutch minister, recorded the spelling of the same three villages as Asserué, Banagiro, and Thenondiogo. Late 20th-century archeological studies have determined that Ossernenon was located about 9 miles west of the current city of Auriesville; the two were mistakenly conflated by a tradition that developed in the late 19th century in the Catholic Church. While
8954-497: The collapse of the Quebec Bridge in 1907, one of the worst construction failures of all time. The small community was devastated by the loss of so many men. They erected crosses of steel girders at both ends of the reserve to honour them. Many Kahnawake ironworkers went to New York City to work during the first half of the 20th century. Its building boom stimulated construction of notable skyscrapers and bridges. For more than
9075-473: The colonial governments generally negotiated for common captives, and it was up to local European communities to raise funds to ransom their residents. In some cases, French and Abenaki raiders transported captives from New England to Montreal and the Mohawk mission villages. The Mohawk at Kahnawake adopted numerous young women and children to add to their own members, having suffered losses to disease and warfare. For instance, among them were numerous survivors of
9196-450: The community continued to struggle financially. At one point, the Kahnawake chiefs suggested selling the reserve to raise money for annuities for the tribe. Social unrest increased, with young men attacking houses, barns and farm animals of people they resented. In May 1878 an arson fire killed Osias Meloche, the husband of Charlotte-Louise Giasson (daughter of Charles Gédéon Giasson, noted above), and their home and barn were destroyed. Under
9317-613: The community. As required by IGRA, the compact was approved by the United States Department of the Interior before it took effect. There were several extensions and amendments to this compact, but not all of them were approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior . On June 12, 2003, the New York Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts' rulings that Governor Cuomo exceeded his authority by entering into
9438-463: The commute of many locals throughout the summer, leading to rioting and the burning of effigies, and to the "Whiskey Trench" episode. On August 28, 1990, a convoy of 50 to 75 cars, bearing mostly women, children and elders, left Kahnawake in fear of a possible advance by the Canadian Army . While the Mohawks' cars were being searched by the provincial police force, a crowd of hundreds gathered on
9559-628: The compact absent legislative authorization and declared the compact void On October 19, 2004, Governor George Pataki signed a bill passed by the State Legislature that ratified the compact as being nunc pro tunc , with some additional minor changes. In 2008 the Mohawk Nation was working to obtain approval to own and operate a casino in Sullivan County, New York , at Monticello Raceway . The U.S. Department of
9680-486: The confederacy to the west against invasion by tribes from present-day New England and the coastal areas. Kahnawake is one of several self-governing Kanien’kehá:ka territories of the Mohawk Nation within the borders of Canada, including Kanesatake on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River northwest of Montreal; Tyendinaga in Ontario; Akwesasne , which straddles the borders of Quebec, Ontario and New York across
9801-604: The council for interfering in the private lives of persons who had chosen non-Native partners. She noted the Mohawk had long been successful at integrating people within their communities, and have still preserved their language and culture over the centuries. Some residents who received eviction notices agreed to leave; others proved they spend only limited time in the community, so were permitted as visitors. The council said it would send second notices to people who did not respond, and then would publish their names. The governing band council defended its right to ask non-Natives to leave
9922-420: The council. Clan mothers as well as chiefs had roles in this system. The goal was to quickly restore peace to the community and control behaviour that threatened it. The system was based on the four principles of reason, persuasion, satisfaction and compensation, with both wrongdoer and victim as part of the process. It was intended to achieve "[d]ue compensation and condolence, and a promise of agreement" between
10043-688: The decisions or not, these are decisions made by First Nations people on their own land (...) It is not for me to make those decisions, or the Government, and we are not going to be making those decisions. Ellen Gabriel , the head of the Quebec Native Women's Association and a Mohawk resident at Kanesatake , criticized the MCK. She said their actions did not represent the traditional inclusiveness of Mohawk communities, which had historically assimilated adoptees and marriage partners. She criticized
10164-559: The elected chiefs have tended to be associated (though in a much looser and general way) with democratic , legislative and Canadian governmental values. On October 15, 1993, Governor Mario Cuomo entered into the "Tribal-State Compact Between the St. Regis Mohawk First Nation and the State of New York". The compact allowed the Indigenous people to conduct gambling, including games such as baccarat , blackjack , craps and roulette , on
10285-556: The evidence of tribal members' adoption of and intermarriage with non-Natives. Tarbell ancestors, for instance, were John and Zachary, brothers captured as young children from Groton, Massachusetts in 1707 during Queen Anne's War and taken to Canada. Adopted by Mohawk families in Kahnawake, the boys became assimilated: they were baptized as Catholic and renamed, learned the Mohawk ways and were also given Mohawk names, married women who were daughters of chiefs, reared children with them, and became chiefs themselves. Historic sources document
10406-401: The expense of the Kahnawake people. From the late 1880s until the 1950s, the Mohawk were required by the government to make numerous land cessions to enable construction of railway, hydro-electric, and telephone company industrial projects along the river. As a result, Kahnawake today has only 13,000 acres (5,300 ha). In the late 20th century, the Mohawk Nation was pursuing land claims with
10527-428: The fall of New Netherland to England in 1664, the Mohawk in New York traded with the English and sometimes acted as their allies. During King Philip's War , Metacom , sachem of the warring Wampanoag Pokanoket , decided to winter with his warriors near Albany in 1675. Encouraged by the English, the Mohawk attacked and killed all but 40 of the 400 Pokanoket. From the 1690s, Protestant missionaries sought to convert
10648-539: The first of such projects was the fledgling Canadian Pacific Railway 's Saint-Laurent Railway Bridge . The masonry work was done by Reid & Fleming, and the steel superstructure was built by the Dominion Bridge Company . In 1886 and 1887, the new bridge was built across the broad river from Kahnawake to the Island of Montreal . Kahnawake men worked as bridgemen and ironworkers hundreds of feet above
10769-496: The home. In the summers, the families would return to Kahnawake to stay with relatives and renew connections. Some of the people who grew up in Brooklyn as children still have the local New York accent, although they have long lived in Kahnawake. Kahnawake high steel workers in New York were the subject of the 1966 documentary High Steel , as seen through the story of Harold McComber. The elected Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) have generally established predominance in governing
10890-515: The issue of non-Native residents, announcing community meetings for discussion and plans to issue a new regulation. It barred non-Kahnawake residents from the meeting. Before European contact, the Iroquois Confederacy ( Haudenosaunee ) had a long tradition of justice administered within the clan and council system. The clan would govern the behaviour of clan members, and conflict between members of clans would be settled by consensus of
11011-632: The lack of police or army or riot squad; and on local radio stations that broadcast the location of the convoy. After some time, Kahnawake negotiated separately with the armed forces to remove the blockade to the bridge. Fifty men from Kahnawake volunteered to fight with the United States armed forces during the Vietnam War . Mohawk people Mohawk are an Iroquoian -speaking people with communities in southeastern Canada and northern New York State , primarily around Lake Ontario and
11132-418: The mismanagement of the land. Kahnawake recognizes the full extent of the 'seigneury" to be Kahnawake Mohawk Territory and is moving to reacquire its land along with financial compensation for infrastructure criscrossing the territory. and symbolic recognition of its claim. Kahnawake was settled by a variety of historic indigenous peoples, although the Mohawk became by far the majority. They and other tribes had
11253-562: The more than 100 captives taken in the Deerfield raid in western Massachusetts. The minister of Deerfield was ransomed and returned to Massachusetts, but his daughter was adopted by a Mohawk family and ultimately assimilated and married a Mohawk man. During the era of the French and Indian War (also known as the Seven Years' War ), Anglo-Mohawk partnership relations were maintained by men such as Sir William Johnson in New York (for
11374-504: The names of people ineligible to live on the reserve was inappropriate as a means to use public pressure and potentially physical threat against them. Coverage of this issue by the Eastern Door that year resulted in the council reversing their decision. The Federal Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said there was nothing illegal about the band's eviction of non-members: It is important for people to realize that whether I like
11495-402: The nation lose the right to live in the homeland. The MCK said that its policy was to preserve the people's cultural identity. In the 21st century, they did not want non-Natives living at the reserve, even if a person had adopted the Mohawk language or culture. The policy is based on a 1981 community moratorium on non-Native residency, which Kahnawake enacted into law in 1984. All couples who had
11616-473: The new Tekarihoga. In retaliation for Brant's raids in the valley, the rebel colonists organized Sullivan's Expedition . It conducted extensive raids against other Iroquois settlements in central and western New York, destroying 40 villages, crops, and winter stores. Many Mohawk and other Iroquois migrated to Canada for refuge near Fort Niagara , struggling to survive the winter. After the American victory,
11737-533: The parties. Many at Kahnawake and other First Nations communities believe their people are not being well served by the Canadian justice system . First Nations people are over-represented in it and in prisons. They believe this is in part due to the imposition of the Canadian justice system on traditional ways, by which the government has tried to assimilate the First Nations into European-based culture. The Canadian government has gradually favoured "indigenization" of
11858-469: The people of Muh-heck Haeek Ing ("food area place"), the Mohicans , referred to the people of Ka-nee-en Ka as Maw Unk Lin , meaning "bear people". The Dutch heard and wrote this term as Mohawk , and also referred to the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka as Egil or Maqua . The French colonists adapted these latter terms as Aignier and Maqui , respectively. They also referred to the people by the generic Iroquois ,
11979-540: The political turmoil of the nearby, smaller Kanesatake reserve. In support of Kanesatake during its Oka Crisis in 1990, people from Kahnawake blocked the Honoré Mercier Bridge to Montreal, which had an access road through their reserve. The Kanesatake reserve had been blockaded and isolated by the Sûreté du Québec in a conflict over use of lands the Mohawk considered sacred. The bridge blockade affected
12100-438: The process of addressing wrongdoing and in so doing provides the parties with a "new and different choice" to resolve disputes based on traditional principles that the parties can initiate on their own without the involvement of the criminal justice system. The initiative has challenges, for instance, gaining the support of Peacekeepers and community members who may not be familiar with these traditional cultural principles. But, it
12221-519: The rapids). This term refers to their village being located along the natural rapids of the St. Lawrence. But in the mid-20th century, the path of the river was changed with construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway canal and the people lost access to the river. The French colony of New France used Kahnawake as part of a southwestern defence for Ville-Marie (later Montreal) and placed a military garrison there. The Jesuits founded
12342-496: The reserve. This elected government is the only body with which the Canadian government will deal. With continuing late 20th-century conflicts over who could reside at the reserve, the elected chiefs of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) passed laws regulating membership or eligibility for residence at Kahnawake. In 1981 they passed a law that non-natives could not reside in the community; those Mohawk who marry outside of
12463-544: The same clan, across all the Six Nations, is considered a relative. Traditionally, marriages between people of the same clan are forbidden. Children belong to their mother's clan. Traditional Mohawk religion is mostly Animist . "Much of the religion is based on a primordial conflict between good and evil." Many Mohawks continue to follow the Longhouse Religion . Garrison A garrison (from
12584-718: The second and third quarters of the 18th century, most of the Mohawks in the Province of New York lived along the Mohawk River at Canajoharie . A few lived at Schoharie , and the rest lived about 30 miles downstream at the Tionondorage Castle, also called Fort Hunter . These two major settlements were traditionally called the Upper Castle and the Lower Castle. The Lower Castle was almost contiguous with Sir Peter Warren 's Warrensbush. Sir William Johnson ,
12705-458: The seigneury was granted, the government intended the territory to be closed to European settlement. But the Jesuits assumed rights as seigneurs of the Sault, and permitted French and other European colonists to settle there and collected their rents. The Jesuits managed the seigneury until April 1762, after the British defeated France in the Seven Years' War and took over their territory east of
12826-421: The settlements by number. Many converted to Roman Catholicism. In the 1740s, Mohawk and French set up another village upriver, which is known as Akwesasne . Today a Mohawk reserve, it spans the St. Lawrence River and present-day international boundaries to New York, United States, where it is known as the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation . Kateri Tekakwitha , born at Ossernenon in the late 1650s, has become noted as
12947-399: The small community: While the media has had a field day with this story and some have used the word 'racist,' we will, once again, state the issue isn't about anyone's feelings towards non-natives, it is simply an issue of residency and our right to determine who can and cannot live on the 13,000 acres we call home," said Mohawk Chief Michael Delisle Jr. In September 2014, the council revived
13068-797: The sometimes strained relations between Mohawk and ethnic Europeans at Kahnawake, usually over property and competition for limited resources. In 1722, community residents objected to the garrison of French soldiers because they feared it would cause "horrible discord" and showed the French did not trust the locals. In the mid-1720s, the community evicted the Desaulnier sisters, traders who were garnering profits formerly earned by members of Kahnawake. In 1771, twenty-two Mohawk pressed British officials to help them prevent two local families from bringing French families to settle "on lands reserved for their common use". In 1812, many were opposed to specific types of "mixed" marriages. In 1822, Nicolas Doucet, an agent of
13189-555: The state offered the Mohawk some land in Miner Lake, where they have since settled. The Mohawks have organized for more sovereignty at their reserves in Canada, pressing for authority over their people and lands. Tensions with the Quebec Provincial and national governments have been strained during certain protests, such as the Oka Crisis in 1990. In 1993, a group of Akwesasne Mohawks purchased 322 acres of land in
13310-573: The survival of its people. In February 2010, the issue was renewed when the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake elected to evict 35 non-Natives from the reserve. While the action was legal according to the membership laws, critics believed the council was acting specifically against some individuals. These persons had lived on the reserve for 10 years or more and contributed to the community. The council said they were responding to complaints from residents about limited housing and land being occupied by non-Natives. The eviction resolution, endorsed by all 12 chiefs of
13431-719: The system. Kahnawake used section 107 of the Indian Act to nominate community members as justices of the peace , and in 1974 Justice Sharron was appointed as the first justice of the peace at the reserve. Many of the cases have dealt with traffic and parking violations, but her scope is wider, as the JP has jurisdiction over Criminal Code offences related to the following four areas: cruelty to animals, common assault, breaking and entering, and vagrancy. The Kanien’kehá:ka wanted further improvements. Since 2000, Kahnawake has started to reintroduce Skenn:en A'onsonton (to become peaceful again),
13552-435: The territories of New France and New England. Captives were sometimes held for ransom, and European families and communities worked to buy them back. In some cases, families of the indigenous communities kept captives for adoption. For instance, more than 100 captives were taken during the 1704 Raid on Deerfield ; they were forced overland to Montreal and Kahnawake. The minister of Deerfield was ransomed, but his teenage daughter
13673-411: The traditional Mohawk fashion. Mohawks of most of the reserves have established constitutions with elected chiefs and councilors, with whom the Canadian and U.S. governments usually prefer to deal exclusively. The self-governing communities are listed below, grouped by broad geographical cluster, with notes on the character of community governance found in each. Given increased activism for land claims,
13794-580: The traditional justice system of the Iroquois. It wanted to create an alternative dispute resolution process, as developed by the First Nation, or "reintroduced" according to its principles. The Justice Committee of the MCK and representatives of the Longhouse jointly presented the initiative to the community. Based on wrongdoing that has taken place within the geographic area of Kahnawke, the system
13915-465: The traditional, hereditary seven life chiefs selected from the seven clans. The inequalities in landownership among Kahnawake residents led to resentment of the wealthy. For instance, in 1884, the multiracial sons of the late George de Lorimier were the largest and wealthiest landowners in the community. Some Kahnawake residents questioned whether people who were not full-blood Mohawk should be allowed to own so much land. The Mohawk Council asked members of
14036-431: The various reserves or Indian reservations. Traditional chiefs have tended to oppose gaming on moral grounds and out of fear of corruption and organized crime. Such disputes have also been associated with religious divisions: the traditional chiefs are often associated with the Longhouse tradition, practicing consensus-democratic values, while the Warrior Society has attacked that religion and asserted independence. Meanwhile,
14157-453: The vicinity of Montreal and upriver, joining the established communities (now reserves) at Kahnawake , Kanesatake , and Akwesasne . On November 11, 1794, representatives of the Mohawk (along with the other Iroquois nations) signed the Treaty of Canandaigua with the United States, which allowed them to own land there. The Mohawks fought as allies of the British against the United States in
14278-567: The village expelled white traders who were "poisoning" the Iroquois "with rum and spirituous liquors". Tensions rose at the time of the 1837-38 Lower Canada Rebellion. The Mohawk had suffered incursions on their land, including non-Natives' taking valuable firewood. The Kahnawake cooperated with the British Crown against the Patriotes , largely over the issue of preserving their land and expressing their collective identity. Before and after
14399-553: The water and ground. When the national government decided to pass the Saint Lawrence Seaway canal cut through the village, the people and buildings of Kahnawake were permanently separated from the natural river shore. The loss of land and access to the river, the demolition of houses, and the change in the community's relationship to the river have had profound effects on Kahnawake. The people had been sited there for hundreds of years, and their identities were related to
14520-506: Was kept by a Mohawk family. She ultimately married a Mohawk man and had a family with him, choosing to stay with her new family rather than return to Deerfield. As a result of this history, many Kahnawake people have been of mixed ancestry but identify as Mohawk. Backgrounds may include ancestry of other Iroquois tribes, such as the Oneida , Onondaga , Cayuga , Seneca , and Tuscarora; and/or French, English, Anglo-American, Scots and Irish. By
14641-802: Was most active from the 1920s to the 1960s. The families accompanied the men, who were mostly from Kahnawake ; together they would return to Kahnawake during the summers. Tarbell is from Kahnawake and was working as a film curator at the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian , located in the former Custom House in Lower Manhattan . Since the mid-20th century, Mohawks have also formed their own construction companies. Others returned to New York projects. Mohawk skywalkers had built
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