The Mohawk Nation, then known as Kanien'kehake
(people of the flint) was one of the five founding Nations of the Iroquois
League (or confederacy). The name Mohawk was given to the tribe
by the Algonquin
and was later adopted by the Europeans who had difficulty pronouncing
Kanien'kehake. The other
Nations in the Confederacy were the Cayuga,
the Seneca,
the Oneida, and the Onondaga. The sixth Nation to join were the
Tuscarora.
At the time of the formation of the Iroquois League, the five tribes
occupied territory from the East to the West, the Mohawk being the
"keepers of the eastern door". People of Iroquoian linguistic
stock were sedentary tribes who were accustomed to life in the harsher
climates of the North-East.
They were sometimes referred to as the Haudenosaunee, which meant
"People of the Longhouse" because of their long, rectangular communal
dwellings. In addition to hunting, the Mohawk practiced agriculture,
cultivating corn, squash and beans (the three sisters). They were also
excellent trappers; when the European settlers came, the Mohawk
exchanged furs for rifles, and arrangement which kept the colonists
warm, and the conquering Mohawk strong.
WHERE ARE THE
MOHAWK?
Although they once occupied a large area of New York state, Quebec and
Ontario, the Mohawk now mainly live on the following reservations:
|
Mohawk name
(Formerly known as)
|
Kanien'kehake
spelling |
|
Akwesasne (Saint-Régis) |
Ahkwesáhsne |
|
Kahnawake (Caughnawaga) |
Kahnawà:ke |
|
Kanesatake (Oka) |
Kanehstà:ke |
