Kahnawake Mohawk Nation Territory
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The Kahnawake
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...
Territory (french: Territoire Mohawk de Kahnawake, in the
Mohawk language Mohawk (; ''Kanienʼkéha'', " anguageof the Flint Place") is an Iroquoian language currently spoken by around 3,500 people of the Mohawk nation, located primarily in current or former Haudenosaunee territories, predominately Canada (southern O ...
, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in
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) is a
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke on the south shore of the
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in
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, Canada, across from
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. Established by
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in 1719 as a
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
, it has also been known as ''Seigneury Sault du St-Louis'', and ''Caughnawaga'' (after 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 . Its resident population numbers about 8,000, with a significant number living off
reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
. Its land base today is unevenly distributed due to the federal
Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...
, which governs individual land possession. It has rules that are different from those applying to Canadian non-reserve areas. Most ''Kahnawake'' residents originally spoke 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
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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 is ''Kanien’kehá:ka'' (the "People of the Flint"). Another meaning is "those who speak
he language He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
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 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
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across the Saint Lawrence River; and the
Six Nations of the Grand River Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, french: Réserve des Six Nations, see, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of w ...
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 the Montreal area, they named the new settlement after their former one. The proximity of the Lachine Rapids also influenced their naming decision.


Location

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 Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...
" (of the
Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
) (in French, it was originally called ''Sault du St-Louis'', also related to 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 A garrison (from 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 mil ...
there. The Jesuits founded a
mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
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.


Historical land claim

Kahnawake was created under what was known as the Seigneurie du Sault-Saint-Louis, a territory which the French Crown granted in 1680 to the Jesuits to "protect" and "nurture" those Mohawk newly
convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...
ed to Catholicism. When 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 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 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 . In the late 20th century, the Mohawk Nation was pursuing land claims with the Canadian government to regain lost land. The modern claim touches the municipalities of Saint-Constant, Sainte-Catherine,
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,
Delson Delson is an off-island suburb ( South shore) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is situated 8 mi/13 km SSE of Montreal within the regional county municipality of Roussillon in the administrative region of Montérégie. The population as ...
,
Candiac Candiac is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in the Canadian province of Quebec; it is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River opposite Montreal near La Prairie. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 21,047. History ...
and
Saint-Philippe Saint-Philippe () is a communes of France, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Réunion. It is located in southeastern Reunion. Geography Saint-Philippe is on the highest point on the ...
. Led by the
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...
and the reserve's Inter-governmental Relations Team, the community has filed claims with the government of Canada. It is seeking monetary compensation and symbolic recognition of its claim.


Multi-cultural community

Kahnawake was settled by a variety of historic indigenous peoples, although the Mohawk became by far the majority. They and other tribes had 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 a matrilineal kinship system, with children considered born into the
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
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 The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...
there (who formed liaisons with local women and had children by them). Shopkeepers also formed families, and through the 18th century, many marriages occurred between European men and Indian women.
Multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
children born to Mohawk mothers were readily assimilated into the mother's family, clan, and nation.Faribault-Beauregard, Marthe, 1993: ''Mariages de Saint-François-Xavier du Sault St-Louis, 1735-1972'', Montréal: Société généalogique canadienne-française During the 17th and early 18th centuries, the English and French were competing in North America and in Europe. Together with allied
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
or Native American tribes, they conducted raids along the undefined border between 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 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.
John Demos John Putnam Demos is an American author and historian. He has written two books that discuss witch hunts and has discovered that one of his ancestors was John Putnam Senior, a member of the Putnam family that was prominent in the Salem witch trials ...
, ''The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America'', New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994
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 Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...
,
Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capita ...
,
Cayuga Cayuga often refers to: * Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy * Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga Cayuga may also refer to: Places Canada * Cayuga, Ontario United States * Cayuga, Illinois ...
, Seneca, and Tuscarora; and/or French, English, Anglo-American, Scots and Irish. By 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 the Red River region in the west,
Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
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 The Mohawk nation, Mohawk Nation reserve of Kahnawake, south of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, includes residents with surnames of Mohawk nation, Mohawk, French people, French, Scottish people, Scots and English people, English ancestry, reflecting its m ...
, 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 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 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,
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
Nicolas Doucet 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.Matthieu Sossoyan: ''The Kahnawake Iroquois and the Lower-Canadian Rebellions, 1837-1838''
McGill University, Master's Thesis in Anthropology, 1999: p. 82-85
Abuse of alcohol was a continuing problem. In 1828, 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 The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
against the '' Patriotes'', largely over the issue of preserving their land and expressing their collective identity. Before and after 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 Claude-Nicolas-Guillaume de Lorimier (September 4, 1744 – June 7, 1825) was a businessman, officer in the British Indian Department, and political figure in Lower Canada. He was also known as Guillaume, Chevalier de Lorimier, Major de Lori ...
), 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 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 Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
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 the traditional, hereditary seven life chiefs selected from the seven clans.Gerald F. Reid, "It is Our Custom - The Persistence of Kahnawake’s Council of Chiefs in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries"
''Kahnawake Branch of the Mohawk Nation'', accessed 22 Feb 2010
The inequalities in landownership among Kahnawake residents led to resentment of the wealthy. For instance, in 1884, the
multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
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 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 Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
, were finally given permanent status at the reserve.Gerald F. Reid, 2004: ''Kahnawake: Factionalism, Traditionalism, And Nationalism In A Mohawk Community'', Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, p.? Because the Indian Department did not provide adequate support to the reserve, the community continued to struggle financially. At one point, the Kahnawake chiefs suggested selling the reserve to raise money for
annuities In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...
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 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 the 1920s, when the traditional seven-clan system became absorbed in the
Longhouse Movement 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 lumber, timber and o ...
, which was based on three clans. This was strong through the 1940s.


Effects of construction projects in/through community

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 Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
plants,
railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
, and vehicle highways and bridges. One of the first of such projects was the fledgling
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
'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 The Island of Montreal (french: Île de Montréal) is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main ...
. Kahnawake men worked as bridgemen and ironworkers hundreds of feet above 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 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.


Working in New York

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 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.Reaghan Tarbell, ''To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey'', National Film Board of Canada, Documentary, PBS, fall 2009, also on YouTube 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 a generation, many Kahnawake men participated in building the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
, 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 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 ''High Steel'' is a 1965 short National Film Board of Canada documentary film directed by Don Owen about Mohawk Ironworkers from Kahnawake building New York City skycrapers. Synopsis Featuring breathtaking sequences of workers walking along na ...
'', as seen through the story of Harold McComber.


Late 20th century to present

The elected Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) have generally established predominance in governing the reserve. this elected government is the only body with which the Canadian government will deal.


Membership and residency on the reserve

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 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 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 The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (french: Tribunal canadien des droits de la personne, link=no) is an administrative tribunal established in 1977 through the ''Canadian Human Rights Act''. It is directly funded by the Parliament of Canada and i ...
ruled that the Mohawk Kahnawake government may adopt policies it deems necessary to ensure 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 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 ''The Eastern Door'' is a community-based weekly newspaper established by Kenneth Deer (Mohawk) in 1992 to serve the community of Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. This First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke is located on the south shore ...
'', 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 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:
Ellen Gabriel Ellen Gabriel (born 1959), also known as Katsi'tsakwas, is a Mohawk activist and artist from Kanehsatà:ke Nation – Turtle Clan, known for her involvement as the official spokesperson, chosen by the People of the Longhouse, during the Oka Cris ...
, 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 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 the small community: In September 2014, the council revived 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.


Restorative justice

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 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 " e compensation and condolence, and a promise of agreement" between the parties. Many at Kahnawake and other First Nations communities believe their people are not being well served by the
Canadian justice system The legal system of Canada is pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past), and Indigenous la ...
. 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 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), the traditional justice system of the Iroquois. It wanted to create an
alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...
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 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, 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 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.


Gambling/gaming

The
Kahnawake Gaming Commission The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is a gaming regulatory body that licenses and regulates a large number of online casinos, online poker rooms and online sportsbook sites, as well as three land-based poker rooms that are situated within the Mohawk Ter ...
offers gambling licenses to Internet-based
poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
, casino, and sportsbook sites. It has established Kahnawake as a substantial player in that business. Mohawk Internet Technologies (MIT), 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.


Politics

Fifty men from Kahnawake volunteered to fight with the United States armed forces during the Vietnam War. While working to strengthen their culture and language, the people of Kahnawake have generally not had 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 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 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 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.


International use of Kahnawake flag

In 2007, two vessels operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society flew the Kahnawake Mohawk flag. The Kahnawake Mohawk nation is the only indigenous American sovereign nation to have deep-sea foreign-going vessels flying its flag. Since December 2007, the Sea Shepherd vessels have been registered in the Netherlands.


Historic sites

Kahnawake contains three
National Historic Sites of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...
: Fort St-Louis, the Jesuit Mission of St-François-Xavier, and the Caughnawaga Presbytery.


Representation in other media

*Reaghan Tarbell, a native of Kahnawake, wrote and directed a one-hour documentary, ''Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back'' (2008), about the families from Kahnawake who migrated to work in New York. It focused on the early 20th-century community created by the women where they settled in Brooklyn, while the men worked on steel skyscrapers and bridges. It was later released in the US as ''A Mohawk Journey: To Brooklyn and Back'' (2010). *In Tracey Deer’s drama film Beans, the 1990 Oka Crisis at Kanesatake is explored. Deer lived the crisis as a child and show it through the eyes of a preteen girl named Tekehentahkhwa (nicknamed "Beans"). Beans’ perspective on life is radically changed by these events.Norman Wilner
"VIFF review: Tracey Deer’s 'Beans' finds its hero coming of age during the Oka crisis"
'' The Georgia Straight'', September 16, 2020.


Notable residents

*
Tammy Beauvais Tammy Beauvais is an Indigenous fashion designer from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Quebec, Canada. She left Kahnawake in 1990 following the Oka Crisis. In 1999 Beauvais launched Tammy Beauvais Designs a North American Indigenous Fashion compan ...
- fashion designer *
John Kim Bell John Kim Bell (born October 8, 1952) is Canada’s first Indigenous symphony-orchestra conductor, the founder of the country’s precedent-setting National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (today known as Indspire) and the National Aboriginal Achi ...
(b. 1952) - conductor, first Aboriginal person to conduct a symphony orchestra *
A. Brian Deer Alec Brian Deer (1945 – January 12, 2019), ''Tionerahtoken'' (Mohawk), known as Brian Deer, was a librarian from Kahnawake known for the development of a high-level, original library classification system that expresses Indigenous knowledge str ...
- librarian, scholar * Tracey Deer, two-time
Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...
-winning filmmaker, for her documentary '' Club Native'' (2008). She also made the short ''
Mohawk Girls ''Mohawk Girls'' is a 2005 documentary film by Tracey Deer about the experiences of adolescent girls growing up on the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake, across the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal, Quebec. Deer, who was born and raised in Kahnawake, f ...
''. She was producer/director/writer to adapt it as a television series, ''
Mohawk Girls ''Mohawk Girls'' is a 2005 documentary film by Tracey Deer about the experiences of adolescent girls growing up on the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake, across the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal, Quebec. Deer, who was born and raised in Kahnawake, f ...
'', which ran on CBC for five seasons from 2014 to 2017. *
Don Eagle Carl Donald Bell (August 25, 1925 – March 17, 1966), better known by his ring name Chief Don Eagle, was a Mohawk boxer and professional wrestler during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally from Kahnawake, Quebec, he became Boston's AWA World Heavy ...
- 1950
American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...
champion as Chief Don Eagle. *Mary Two-Axe Earley (1911–1996), champion of Native Women's rights, she played a major role in having Indian Act#Loss of status prior to 1985 amendments, Bill C-31 implemented in Canada, and received major honours. * Babe and Carla Hemlock, visual artists *Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, actress *Waneek Horn-Miller - athlete, member of the Canadian women's water polo team, which won a Gold Medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg * Alwyn Morris, athlete, won a gold medal in canoe/kayak (K2) for Canada at the 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 Olympics * Alex Rice, actress featured in numerous TV and film roles, including two of the ''The Twilight Saga (film series), Twilight'' films. * Bobby Simpson (ice hockey), Robert (Bobby) Simpson - former professional ice hockey player who played for the Atlanta Flames * Brooke Stacey, ice hockey player *Dexter Stacey, NASCAR driver * Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680), born in a village in New York, but lived in Kahnawake later in life. She was canonized as the first Native American Roman Catholic saint on October 21, 2012. * Derek White (racing driver), Derek White, NASCAR driver


Media

Kahnawake has several media outlets: * CKKI-FM 89.9 FM known as 89.9 KiC Country Montreal * CKRK-FM 103.7 FM branded as K1037 Kahnawake *Mohawk Radio, an Internet-based radio station (Defunct) * ''Mohawk TV/Loud Spirit Productions'' * ''CKER The Seeker'' Kahnawake's first community channel (Defunct) *''Kwatokent TV'', a bi-weekly informational program produced by The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake *''Iorì:wase'', print and online newspaper of the Kanien’kéhá:ka Nation found at www.kahnawakenews.com *''
The Eastern Door ''The Eastern Door'' is a community-based weekly newspaper established by Kenneth Deer (Mohawk) in 1992 to serve the community of Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. This First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke is located on the south shore ...
'', a weekly newspaper founded in 1992 that publishes each Friday and is available online *''Mohawk TV'', Kahnawake's first community TV station, broadcasting on local cable in the community. *Mohawk Princess Pictures


Kahnawake pow wow

The pow wow is held every summer on the second weekend of July at the Kateri Tekakwitha Island. It is a social event open to everyone to share the Native American culture such as traditional foods, hand made crafts, singing and traditional dancing.


Schools

*Step By Step Child and Family Center, early learning/nursery *Kateri School, elementary school *Karonhianonhnha School, elementary school *Indian Way School, elementary school *Karihwanoron Mohawk Immersion School, elementary school with Mohawk-language immersion *Kahnawake Learning Center, general education centre, high school *Kahnawake Survival School, high school *FNRAEC (First Nations Adult Education Center), Adult Education


See also

* Kahnawake Iroquois and the Rebellions of 1837–38 * List of Indian reserves in Quebec * Pierre de Lauzon Jesuit missionary to the Kahnawake


References


External links

*
"The Revival of the Mohawk Language in Kahnawake"
Brandon University
The Kanawaki Golf Club
- A private club which leases land from the Mohawk Council
Reaghan Tarbell, ''Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back ''
documentary aired 2 November 2009, PBS, produced by National Film Board of Canada {{Authority control Mohawk reserves in Quebec Mohawk tribe Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River Greater Montreal Catholic missions of New France Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke