Caughnawaga Indian Village Site (also known as the Veeder site) is an
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
located just west of
Fonda in
Montgomery County, New York
Montgomery County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 49,532. The county seat is Fonda, New York, Fonda. The county was named ...
. It is the location of a 17th-century
Mohawk nation
The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern N ...
village. One of the original
Five Nations of the Iroquois League, or ''
Haudenosaunee
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
'', the Mohawk lived west of Albany and occupied much of the Mohawk Valley. Other Iroquois nations were located west of them and south of the Great Lakes.
The Mohawk had trading relationships with French colonists coming south from Quebec, with Dutch based in Albany, and with the later English who took over Dutch territory. Under pressure from the French in the late 17th century, some Mohawk moved to other areas. Some who had converted to Catholicism relocated to mission villages near Montreal and to the west along the St. Lawrence River.
Because most of the Mohawk in the New York and Pennsylvania areas were allied with Great Britain during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, they were mostly forced out of New York when Britain ceded its territory in the colonies to the new United States. The Crown provided some land in compensation at what became the
Six Nations Reserve of the Grand River,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
This former village site was discovered in 1950 by
Rev. Thomas Grassmann. It is the only
Mohawk village site in the country to have been completely excavated for archeological studies.
Description
The Mohawk village site has been marked with stakes to show the outlines of the 12
longhouse
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from timber and often re ...
s and
stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall.
Etymology
''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...
that existed there 300 years ago. The entire site is open to the public. People may walk around the former village and see the foundations of the Caughnawaga
longhouse
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from timber and often re ...
s and the layout. The site is on a hill. The archeological site was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1973.
Nearby are the Mohawk-Caughnawaga museum and the National Shrine of Blessed
Kateri Tekakwitha
Kateri Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk), given the name Tekakwitha, baptized as Catherine and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks (1656 – April 17, 1680), is a Catholic saint and virgin who was an Algonquin– Mohawk. Born in the Mohawk village ...
, who was canonized in the 20th century as the first Native American
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...
in the Roman Catholic Church.
The name Caughnawaga is derived from the
Mohawk word ''kahnawà:ke'', meaning "place of the rapids", referring to the nearby rapids of the
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk ...
.
The site is also known as Indian Castle, or ''Gandaouage;'' or ''Kachnawage'' in Mohawk, meaning "castle" or "fortified place." This village with its defensive palisade was the Native American form of a castle. The site is on the north side of the Mohawk River and is also close to a natural spring.
History
Caughnawaga was occupied by the Mohawk from at least 1666 to 1693. French
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
established a mission there, which operated for about 10 years ranging from 1668 to 1679. They taught some of the Mohawk to read and write in French, as well as teaching them about Christianity. Historians now believe that the village known as "Caughnawaga" was located upstream at the "Fox Farm site" until 1679, at which time it moved to this location.
Archeologist
Dean Snow estimates the village had a population of around 300 people. This was fewer than had lived at the Fox Farm site. By 1679 some Catholic Mohawk had migrated to a mission village,
Kahnawake
The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (french: Territoire Mohawk de Kahnawake, 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 Queb ...
, south of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
along the
St. Lawrence River.
[
] That village is now one of several Mohawk
reserves in Canada.
The Caughnawaga site in New York is now a center for recreation and culture.
Gallery
Image:Caughnawaga2.jpg, Interpretive sign for Caughnawaga site
See also
*
Caughnawaga, New York Caughnawaga is a former town in then Tryon County, later Montgomery County, New York, United States.
Caughnawaga is believed to be a Mohawk language word meaning "at the rapids", referring to the site along the Mohawk River. It was the name of a ...
References
External links
The National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York
Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
Iroquois populated places
Former Native American populated places in the United States
Mohawk tribe
Native American history of New York (state)
Buildings and structures in Montgomery County, New York
Tourist attractions in Montgomery County, New York
National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, New York