Mohawk
The Mohawk, known as the Kanyen'kehà:ka, are the easternmost Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy, primarily located in northern New York State and parts of Canada, including Ontario and Québec. Historically recognized as fierce warriors, the Mohawk played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Iroquois Confederacy, which aimed to reduce intertribal conflict among various Indigenous Nations in what is now New York State. Their societal structure is matrilineal, with tribal leaders chosen by women, reflecting the importance of female roles in Mohawk culture.
Traditionally, the Mohawk were deeply spiritual, celebrating agricultural successes with communal feasts and ceremonies like the Green Corn Dance. They have also been historically significant allies to European settlers, primarily the Dutch and English, and played a notable part in various conflicts, including the American Revolution. In contemporary society, the Mohawk people are recognized for their skills in high-rise construction, contributing notably to the building of landmarks such as the One World Trade Center. Although many Mohawk people now live in communities like Kahnawake, Akwesasne, and Kanesatake, they actively work to preserve their language and cultural heritage while navigating modern legal challenges to their traditions.
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Mohawk
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Iroquoian
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Northern New York State; Ontario, Québec
- POPULATION SIZE: 3,657 in the United States (St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, NY; 2018-2022 American Community Survey 5-Year); 33,330 in Canada (Canadian Encyclopedia, 2022)
The Mohawks, also known as the Kanyen'kehà:ka, the easternmost Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy, originally called themselves Kaniengehaga, the Flint people. Among the most warlike of the eastern Indigenous people, the Mohawk in prehistoric times often fought with the Iroquois and Algonquin people living to the east of them. According to legend, they were the source of the idea of the Iroquois Confederacy, also called the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. It vastly reduced the amount of intertribal warfare among the Iroquois of New York State, though not that with their non-Iroquois neighbors.
According to legend, two men of peace, Deganawida and Hiawatha (also spelled “Hayenwatha”), came to the Mohawk people and convinced them to spearhead a proposal of peace among the Indigenous Nations in what is now New York State. It took a considerable amount of persuasive argument, but eventually, the Seneca, Oneida, Cayuga, and (most reluctantly) Onondaga peoples agreed to join the Iroquois Confederacy. The Nations of the Confederacy retained total independence in internal affairs, but “foreign relations” were to be conducted by a council composed of the chiefs of all the Tribes. The Confederacy was probably founded between 1400 and 1600 and was eventually referred to as the Six Nations Confederacy. Between 1722 and 1723, the sixth nation, Tuscarora, joined.
Hiawatha, again according to legend, was also responsible for introducing Wampum to the Mohawk people and, through them, to other Nations of the Confederacy. Hiawatha persuaded the Mohawk people to use monetary compensation, to be paid in Wampum, instead of the blood feud to compensate the family of the victims of murder. This practice helped materially to reduce the murder rate among the Iroquois.
Iroquois society was matrilineal. The sachems, or Tribal leaders, were selected by otianders, the matriarchs of the Tribe. The organizational system of the Iroquois was the clan system (ken'tara'okòn:'a), each of which had a natural figurehead, such as a wolf or an eagle. The strength of the clans was maintained through the practice of adoption; that is, Indigenous people captured in war were adopted by the captor, becoming an integral member of the adopting clan.
The Mohawk were a very religious people, attributing success in the harvest or in warfare to the invisible spirits of nature. As agriculture spread among them, they began holding feasts to commemorate the harvest of the "three sisters"squash, beans, and corn. The Green Corn Dance celebrated the corn harvest.
The Mohawk were the “Keepers of the Eastern Door of the Lodge” of the Iroquois Confederacy. As such, they were the first to become involved with the European settlers. They were allied with the Dutch and the English and were, except for brief intervals (especially during the first half of the eighteenth century), at war with the French in Canada. They aided the British during the American Revolution.
Following the American Revolution, the new American government concluded the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) with the Mohawk people. This treaty eliminated almost all Mohawk land claims in New York State, and most Mohawk people retreated to Canada, where the British offered them a reservation on the Grand River. A few Mohawk remained in New York, many on the St. Regis Reservation along the shores of the St. Lawrence River.
In 1802, under pressure from the US government, the Mohawk people agreed to adopt a “democratic” system of government, with first three, later twelve, elected “trustees.” This system persists in the twenty-first century, but alongside it has grown a revival of the old system under which leaders are selected by the Nation's matriarchs. The Mohawk have become known for their skills in high-rise steel construction, and many are employed in building modern skyscrapers. A large number of the ironworkers who built the One World Trade Center (also known as Freedom Tower)—which opened in 2014 and was built on the site of the World Trade Center buildings that collapsed during the September 11 terrorist attacks—were Mohawk.
In Canada, modern Mohawk people are grouped into three communities, Kahnawake, Akwesasne, and Kanesatake. While many speak their native Mohawk language called Kanyen’kehà:ka, they have also increasingly adopted the French language. Mohawk people continue efforts to rebuild and preserve their heritage and culture in the twenty-first century. Over 30,000 Mohawk people living in the US and Canada have challenged oppressive laws that limit their cultural traditions. For example, after several members challenged the law of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (1981), which banned non-Indigenous spouses from living on the Nation’s land, the Québec Superior Court ruled the law unconstitutional in 2018.
Bibliography
Abler, Thomas S. "Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk). Canadian Encyclopedia, 21 Aug. 2019, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mohawk. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
"Akwesasne Mohawk - Meet the People." National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, americanindian.si.edu/environment/akwesasne/People.cshtml. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
Crompton, Samuel Willard. The Mohawk. 2nd ed., Facts On File, 2017.
"Culture and History." Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, www.srmt-nsn.gov/culture-and-history. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
Johnson, Michael. Iroquois: People of the Longhouse. Firefly Books, 2013.
"Mohawk (Kanien'kehà:ka)." Gouvernement du Québec, 8 Oct. 2024, www.quebec.ca/en/government/quebec-at-a-glance/first-nations-and-inuit/profile-of-the-nations/mohawks. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
Nagelhout, Ryan. The Mohawk People. Gareth Stevens, 2015.
Simpson, Audra. Mohawk Interruptus: Political Life across the Borders of Settler States. Duke UP, 2014.
Weitzman, David. Skywalkers: Mohawk Ironworkers Build the City. Roaring Brook Press, 2010.