View source for Mohawk people

{{short description|Indigenous First Nation of North America}}
{{About|the people from eastern North America|the people from western North America|Mohawk people (Oregon)|other uses|Mohawk (disambiguation)}}
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{{Cleanup|date=August 2024|reason=Diacritics aren't in unicode, italicization and spellings are inconsistent, needs general copyediting}}
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{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Mohawk
| native_name      = {{lang|moh|Kanienʼkehá꞉ka}}
| native_name_lang = moh
| flag             = 
| image            = File:Joseph Brant 2.jpg
| caption          = Painting of [[Thayendanegea]] or [[Joseph Brant]], by [[Gilbert Stuart]] (1786)
| population       = 
| region1          = Canada&nbsp;([[Quebec]], [[Ontario]])
| pop1             = 33,330<ref>{{cite web|title=Canada Census Profile 2021|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000011124&HEADERlist=31&SearchText=Canada|website=Census Profile, 2021 Census|date = 7 May 2021|publisher=Statistics Canada Statistique Canada|access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>
| ref1             = 
| region2          = United States&nbsp;([[New York (state)|New York]])
| pop2             = 5,632
| religions        = Karihwiio, Kanohʼhonʼio, Kahniʼkwiʼio, Christianity, [[Longhouse Religion|Longhouse]], [[Handsome Lake]], Other [[Native American Religions|Indigenous Religion]]
| languages        = [[English language|English]], [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]], [[French Language|French]], [[American Sign Language|ASL]], [[Quebec Sign Language|LSQ]],<br />''Formerly:'' [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Mohawk Dutch]], [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Hand Talk]]
| related          = [[Seneca Nation of New York]], [[Oneida Nation of Wisconsin]], [[Cayuga Nation of New York]], [[Onondaga Nation]], [[Tuscarora Nation]], other [[Iroquoian]] peoples
}}
{{Infobox ethnonym|root=kanien<br/><small>"[[chert|flint]]"</small>|people=[[Mohawk people|Kanienʼkehá:ka]]|language=[[Mohawk language|Kanienʼkéha]]|country=[[Ganienkeh|Kanièn:ke]]{{indent|5}}[[Iroquois Confederacy|Haudenosauneega]]}}
[[File:Hudsonmap.png|thumb|upright|Map of [[Mohawk River]]]]

The '''Mohawk''', also known by their own name, '''{{lang|moh|Kanien'kehá:ka|italic=no}}''' ({{lit|People of the Flint}}<ref>{{cite web |title=HAUDENOSAUNEE GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS |url=https://americanindian.si.edu/sites/1/files/pdf/education/HaudenosauneeGuide.pdf |publisher=[[National Museum of the American Indian]] |access-date=6 May 2024 |date=2009}}</ref>), are an [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous people]] of [[North America]] and the easternmost nation of the [[Haudenosaunee]], or [[Iroquois Confederacy]] (also known as the Five Nations or later the Six Nations).

Mohawk are an [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]]-speaking people with communities in southeastern [[Canada]] and northern [[New York (state)|New York State]], primarily around [[Lake Ontario]] and the [[St. Lawrence River]]. As one of the five original members of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Mohawk are known as the Keepers of the Eastern Door who are the guardians of the 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 the Grand River]], and [[Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe]], a [[federally recognized tribe]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://americanindian.si.edu/environment/akwesasne/People.cshtml |title=Meet the People |publisher=[[National Museum of the American Indian]] |access-date=16 May 2024}}</ref>

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 the [[Green Mountains]] of [[Vermont]]; and westward to the border with the Iroquoian [[Oneida Indian Nation|Oneida Nation]]'s traditional homeland territory.

== Mohawk communities==
[[File:Suscol Intertribal Council 2015 Pow-wow - Stierch 09.jpg|thumb|upright| Kanienʼkehá:ka dancer at a [[powwow]] in 2015]]
[[File:Wikimania 20170810-7495.jpg|thumb|Contemporary Quebec Kanienʼkehá꞉ka person performing a [[hoop dance]] at [[Wikimania 2017]]]]
<!--Note: place names in the following are formatted:  Kanienʼkehá:ka name (English name)-->Members of the Kanienʼkehá:ka people now live in settlements in northern New York State and southeastern Canada.
{{location map+ |USA Northeast (cropped) |width=300 |float=right |caption= Contemporary Mohawk communities
|places=
{{location map~ |USA Northeast (cropped) |lat=44.868954 |long=-73.669698 |mark=Red pog.svg |marksize=5 |label=[[Ganienkeh|Kanièn꞉ke]] |position=right}}
{{location map~ |USA Northeast (cropped) |lat=42.900221 |long=-74.490915 |mark=Red pog.svg |marksize=5 |label={{nowrap|[[Kanatsiohareke|Kanaʼtsioharè꞉ke]]}} |position=bottom}}
{{location map~ |USA Northeast (cropped) |lat=45.002973 |long=-74.647975 |mark=Red pog.svg |marksize=5 |label=[[Akwesasne|Ahkwesásne]] |position=left}}
{{location map~ |USA Northeast (cropped) |lat=45.414035 |long=-73.676459 |mark=Red pog.svg |marksize=5 |label=[[Kahnawake|Kahnawà꞉ke]] |position=right}}
{{location map~ |USA Northeast (cropped) |lat=45.483500 |long=-74.129800 |mark=Red pog.svg |marksize=5 |label=[[Kanesatake|Kaʼnehsatà꞉ke]] |position=left}}
{{location map~ |USA Northeast (cropped) |lat=46.15 |long=-74.12 |mark=Red pog.svg |marksize=5 |label={{nowrap|[[Doncaster, Quebec|Tioweró:ton]]}} |position=top}}
{{location map~ |USA Northeast (cropped) |lat=44.187212 |long=-77.143227 |mark=Red pog.svg |marksize=5 |label=[[Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory|Kenhtè꞉ke]] |position=below}}
{{location map~ |USA Northeast (cropped) |lat=44.995017 |long=-79.777548 |mark=Red pog.svg |marksize=5 |label=[[Wahta Mohawk Territory|Wáhta]] |position=bottom}}
{{location map~ |USA Northeast (cropped) |lat=43.070534 |long=-80.117508 |mark=Red pog.svg |marksize=5 |label=[[Ohsweken, Ontario|Ohswé꞉ken]]|position=bottom}}
}}

Many Kanienʼkehá:ka communities have two sets of chiefs, who are in some sense competing governmental rivals. One group are the hereditary chiefs ({{lang|moh|royaner}}), nominated by [[Haudenosaunee Clan Mother|Clan Mother]] [[matriarch]]s in 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.

* Northern New York:
**  [[Ganienkeh|Kanièn:ke]]  (Ganienkeh) "Place of the flint". Traditional governance.
**  [[Kanatsiohareke|Kanaʼtsioharè:ke]]  "Place of the washed pail". Traditional governance.
* Along the St Lawrence in Quebec:
**  [[Akwesasne|Ahkwesáhsne]]  (St. Regis, New York and Quebec/Ontario, Canada) "Where the partridge drums". Traditional governance, band/tribal elections.
**  [[Kahnawake|Kahnawà:ke]]  (south of Montréal) "On the rapids". Canada, traditional governance, band/tribal elections.
**  [[Kanesatake|Kanehsatà:ke]]  (''Oka'') "Where the snow crust is". Canada, traditional governance, band/tribal elections.
**  [[Doncaster, Quebec|Tioweró:ton]]  (Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides, Quebec). Canada, shared governance between Kahnawà꞉ke and Kanehsatà꞉ke.
* Southern Ontario:
**  [[Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory|Kenhtè꞉ke]]  (Tyendinaga) "On the bay". Traditional governance, band/tribal elections.
**  [[Wahta Mohawk Territory|Wáhta]]  (Gibson) "Maple tree". Traditional governance, band/tribal elections.
**  [[Ohsweken, Ontario|Ohswé:ken]]  "Six Nations of the Grand River". Traditional governance, band/tribal elections. Mohawks form the majority of the population of this Iroquois Six Nations reserve. There are also Mohawk [[Orange Lodges]] in Canada.

Given increased activism for land claims, 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.

== Language ==
The [[Mohawk language]], or its native name, [[Kanyen'kéha]], is a [[Northern Iroquoian language]]. Like many [[Indigenous languages of the Americas]], Mohawk is a [[polysynthetic]] language. Written in the Roman alphabet, its orthography was standardized in 1993 at the Mohawk Language Standardization Conference.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Green |first1=Jeremy |title=Kanyen'kéha: Mohawk Language |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kanyenkeha-mohawk-language |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref>

== Name ==
{{unreferenced section|date=September 2022}}
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 languages|Algonquian]]-speaking neighbors (and competitors), 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 people|French]] colonists adapted these latter terms as ''Aignier'' and ''Maqui'', respectively. They also referred to the people by the generic ''Iroquois'', a French derivation of the [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] term for the Five Nations, meaning "Big Snakes". The Algonquians and Iroquois were traditional competitors and enemies.

==History==
{{unreferenced section|date=September 2022}}

=== First contact with European settlers ===
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 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 [[Albany Pine Bush|Pine Bush]].

On June 28, 1609, a band of Hurons led [[Samuel De Champlain]] and his crew into Mohawk country, 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 [[Fort Ticonderoga|Ticonderoga]]; the Mohawks spotted them as well. De Champlain and his crew fell back, then advanced to 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 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]].

=== Beaver Wars ===
{{more citations needed section|date = September 2022}}
In the seventeenth century, the Mohawk encountered both the [[Dutch Empire|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 [[North American fur trade|fur trading]]. During this time the Mohawk fought with the Huron in the Beaver Wars for control of the fur trade with the Europeans. Their [[Jesuits|Jesuit]] [[Missionary|missionaries]] were active among [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] and Native Americans, seeking converts to [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]].

In 1614, [[Dutch people|the Dutch]] opened a [[trading post]] at [[Fort Nassau (North)|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 the Mohawk River,<ref name="intro">{{cite book|last1=Snow|first1=Dean R.|last2=Gehring|first2=Charles T.|last3=Starna|first3=William A.|title=In Mohawk Country|date=1996|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=0-8156-2723-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1tbXzVpHtMsC|access-date=2016-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231192859/https://books.google.com/books?id=1tbXzVpHtMsC|archive-date=2016-12-31|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|pp.xix–xx}} 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 the Mohawk in 1635; this reduced their population by 63%, from 7,740 to 2,830, as they had no [[Immunity (medical)|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 [[Auriesville, New York|Ossernenon]], [[Andagaron]], and [[Tionondogen|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 [[Archaeology|archeological]] studies of the areas. For instance, [[Johannes Megapolensis]], a Dutch minister, recorded the spelling of the same three villages as Asserué, Banagiro, and Thenondiogo.<ref name="intro"/> 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.<ref name="rumrill">{{cite journal |first=Donald A. |last=Rumrill |title=An Interpretation and Analysis of the Seventeenth Century Mohawk Nation: Its Chronology and Movements |journal=The Bulletin and Journal of Archaeology for New York State |year=1985 |volume=90 |pages=1–39}}</ref><ref name="snow">{{cite book |first=Dean R. |last=Snow |year=1995 |title=Mohawk Valley Archaeology: The Sites |publisher=University at Albany Institute for Archaeological Studies |edition=1st}} See also {{cite book |first=Dean R. |last=Snow |year=2016 |title=Mohawk Valley Archaeology: The Sites |series=Occasional Papers in Anthropology |volume=23 |publisher=Matson Museum of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University |edition=2nd }}</ref>

While the Dutch later established settlements in present-day [[Schenectady]] and [[Schoharie (town), New York|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 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 the Netherlands of that period.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dutch missionary John Megapolensis on the Mohawks (Iroquois), 1644|url=http://www.smithsoniansource.org/display/primarysource/viewdetails.aspx?TopicId=&PrimarySourceId=1174|website=Smithsonian Source|access-date=May 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611153046/http://www.smithsoniansource.org/display/primarysource/viewdetails.aspx?TopicId=&PrimarySourceId=1174|archive-date=June 11, 2016|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="short">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0Fv_6esE8cC&dq=Johannes+Megapolensis&pg=PA39 |chapter=A Short History of the Mohawk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624114331/https://books.google.com/books?id=n0Fv_6esE8cC&lpg=PA38&ots=fKiF6c2oPU&dq=Johannes%20Megapolensis&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q=Johannes%20Megapolensis&f=false |archive-date=2016-06-24 |title=In Mohawk Country: Early Narratives about a Native People |editor1-first=Dean R. |editor1-last=Snow |editor2-first=Charles T. |editor2-last=Gehring |editor3-first=William A. |editor3-last=Starna |publisher=Syracuse University Press |year=1996 |pages=38–46 |isbn=978-0-8156-0410-5 }}</ref>

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 [[Kingdom of France|French]], including the [[Ojibwe]], [[Huron-Wendat Nation|Huron-Wendat]], and [[Algonquin people|Algonquin]]. In 1645, the Mohawk made peace for a time with the French, who were trying to keep a piece of the fur trade.<ref>{{cite book |first1=William N. |last1=Fenton |first2=Francis |last2=Jennings |first3=Mary A. |last3=Druke |chapter=The Earliest Recorded Description. The Mohawk Treaty with New France at Three Rivers 1645 |editor-last=Jennings |editor-first=Francis |title=The History and Culture of Iroquois Diplomacy |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |year=1985 |pages=127–153}}</ref>

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 the English governor of Connecticut, [[John Winthrop the Younger|John Winthrop]], as proof of his death.<ref>{{cite book |title=General History of Duchess County, From 1609 to 1876, Inclusive |first=Philip H. |last=Smith |location=Pawling, New York |publisher=self-published |year=1877 |page=154 |url=https://archive.org/details/generalhistoryof00smituoft/generalhistoryof00smituoft/page/154/mode/1up}}</ref>

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 the [[Pequot War|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.{{Citation needed|reason=Jan 2010|date=January 2010}}

In 1666, the French attacked the Mohawk in the central [[New York (state)|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 [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] missionaries. Beginning in 1669, missionaries attempted to convert Mohawks to Christianity, operating a mission in Ossernenon 9 miles west<ref name="rumrill"/><ref name="snow"/> 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 14, Quebec|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 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 a Mohawk convert to Catholicism. She moved with relatives to Caughnawaga on the north side of the Mohawk river after her parents' deaths.<ref name="intro" /> She was known for her faith and a shrine was built to her in New York. In the late 20th century, she was [[Beatification|beatified]] and was [[canonization|canonized]] in October 2012 as the first Native American Catholic saint. She is also recognized by the Episcopal and Lutheran churches.

After 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 people|Wampanoag]] [[Pokanoket people|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.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

From the 1690s, Protestant missionaries sought to convert the Mohawk in the New York colony. Many were [[baptism|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 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]] forcibly 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 the more than 100 captives taken in the [[Deerfield Massacre|Deerfield raid]] in western Massachusetts. The minister of Deerfield was ransomed and returned to Massachusetts, but his daughter was forcibly adopted by a Mohawk family and ultimately assimilated and married a Mohawk man.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=John Putnam Demos |first=John |last=Demos |title=The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America |location=New York |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=1994}}</ref>

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 [[Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet|William Johnson]] in New York (for 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 [[Covenant Chain|diplomatic relationship]] between the British and the Mohawk, along with securing their cooperation and support in fighting the French,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Albany Congress|website=US History|url=http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/albcon.htm|access-date=2 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407072657/http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/albcon.htm|archive-date=7 April 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> in engagements in North America.

===American Revolutionary War===
{{more citations needed|date = September 2022}}

During 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 (village), New York|Canajoharie]]. A few lived at [[Schoharie (town), New York|Schoharie]], and the rest lived about 30 miles downstream at the Tionondorage Castle, also called [[Fort Hunter, New York|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 (admiral)|Peter Warren]]'s Warrensbush. Sir [[Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet|William Johnson]], 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 (city), New York|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 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Little Abraham Tyorhansera, Mohawk Indian, Wolf Clan Chief|url=https://nativeheritageproject.com/2012/08/16/little-abraham-tyorhansera-mohawk-indian-wolf-clan-chief/|website=Native Heritage Project|date=16 August 2012|access-date=May 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701111317/https://nativeheritageproject.com/2012/08/16/little-abraham-tyorhansera-mohawk-indian-wolf-clan-chief/|archive-date=July 1, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Joseph Louis Cook]] (Akiatonharónkwen), 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 people|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 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 Revolution===
[[File:Mather Brown - Portrait of Major John Norton as Mohawk Chief Teyoninhokarawen - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|Teyoninhokovrawen ([[John Norton (Mohawk chief)|John Norton]]) played a prominent role in the War of 1812, leading Iroquois warriors from [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]] into battle against Americans. Norton was part [[Cherokee]] and part [[Scottish people|Scottish]].]]

After the American victory, 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 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 (Ontario)|Grand River]] to the head of [[Lake Erie]] where it discharges.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stone|first=William|title=Life of Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea; including the Border Wars of the American Revolution|journal=American Monthly Magazine|date=September 1838|volume=12|pages=12, 273–284}}</ref> Another Mohawk war chief, [[John Deseronto]], led a group of Mohawk to the [[Bay of Quinte]]. Other Mohawks settled in 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 the [[War of 1812]].

===20th century to present===
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 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, 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 [[Government of Quebec|Quebec provincial]] and [[Government of Canada|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 the Town of [[Palatine, New York|Palatine]] in [[Montgomery County, New York]] which they named ''[[Kanatsiohareke]]''. It marked a return to their ancestral land.

===Mohawk ironworkers in New York===
{{See also|Mohawk skywalkers}}
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 [[ironworker]]s who helped build bridges and skyscrapers, and who were called skywalkers because of their seeming fearlessness.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sky Walking: Raising Steel, A Mohawk Ironworker Keeps Tradition Alive|website=WNYC|url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/192807-sky-walking-raising-steel-mohawk-ironworker-keeps-tradition-alive/|access-date=2016-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101044241/http://www.wnyc.org/story/192807-sky-walking-raising-steel-mohawk-ironworker-keeps-tradition-alive/|archive-date=2016-11-01|url-status=live}}</ref> They worked from 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.<ref>{{cite book |contributor-first=Joseph |contributor-last=Mitchell |contribution=The Mohawks in High Steel |first=Edmund |last=Wilson |title=Apologies to the Iroquois |location=New York |publisher=Vintage |year=1960 |pages=3–36}}</ref> About 10% of all ironworkers in the New York area are Mohawks,{{when?|date=July 2025}} down from about 15% earlier in the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nessen|first=Stephen |title=Sky Walking: Raising Steel, A Mohawk Ironworker Keeps Tradition Alive |website=WNYC |date=19 March 2012 |url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/192807-sky-walking-raising-steel-mohawk-ironworker-keeps-tradition-alive/ |access-date=2016-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101044241/http://www.wnyc.org/story/192807-sky-walking-raising-steel-mohawk-ironworker-keeps-tradition-alive/ |archive-date=1 November 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The work and home life of Mohawk ironworkers was documented in [[Don Owen (filmmaker)|Don Owen]]'s 1965 [[National Film Board of Canada]] documentary ''[[High Steel]]''.<ref name=Owen>{{cite AV media|last=Owen|first=Don|title=High Steel|url=http://www.nfb.ca/film/high_steel/|work=Online documentary|publisher=[[National Film Board of Canada]]|access-date=14 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228150845/http://www.nfb.ca/film/high_steel/|archive-date=28 December 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 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 summer. 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 [[Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House|former Custom House]] in [[Lower Manhattan]].<ref name="NFB">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/little_caughnawaga_to_brooklyn_and_back/|title=Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back|last=Tarbell|first=Reaghan |year=2008|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|access-date=August 31, 2009}}</ref>

Since the mid-20th century, Mohawks have also formed their own construction companies. Others returned to New York projects. Mohawk skywalkers had built the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2012/09/the-mohawks-who-built-manhattan-photos.html|title=The Mohawks Who Built Manhattan (Photos)|last=Wolf|first=White|website=White Wolf|language=en|access-date=2016-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022193619/http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2012/09/the-mohawks-who-built-manhattan-photos.html|archive-date=2017-10-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 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)|Time]]'' magazine in September 2012.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://lightbox.time.com/2012/09/11/the-mohawk-ironworkers-rebuilding-the-iconic-skyline-of-new-york/#1|title=The Mohawk Ironworkers: Rebuilding the Iconic Skyline of New York|magazine=Time|date=2012-09-11|last=Wallace |first=Vaughn|access-date=2012-09-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915094437/http://lightbox.time.com/2012/09/11/the-mohawk-ironworkers-rebuilding-the-iconic-skyline-of-new-york/#1|archive-date=2012-09-15|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Contemporary issues==
=== Gambling ===
{{update section|reason=Surely the two cases mentioned in the last paragraph have been resolved in the intervening 15 years|date=July 2025}}
Both the elected chiefs and the Warrior Society have encouraged gambling as a means of ensuring tribal self-sufficiency on 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, the elected chiefs have tended to be associated (though in a much looser and general way) with [[Democracy|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 (card game)|baccarat]], [[blackjack]], [[craps]] and [[roulette]], on the Akwesasne Reservation in [[Franklin County, New York|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 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 the compact absent legislative authorization and declared the compact void.<ref>{{cite court |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I03_0083.htm |vol=2003 |reporter=NY Int. |opinion=83 |litigants=Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce Inc., et al. v. George Pataki, as Governor of the State of New York, et al.|date=12 June 2003|court=[[Court of Appeals of New York]] |access-date=27 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024100314/https://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I03_0083.htm|archive-date=24 October 2017|url-status=live |postscript=&nbsp;– via Cornell University Law School.}}</ref> 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.<ref>C. 590 of the Laws of 2004</ref>

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 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indianz.com/docs/bia/mohawk010408.pdf |title=The Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior |location=Washington, D.C. |date=4 January 2008 |access-date=29 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327020034/http://www.indianz.com/docs/bia/mohawk010408.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/ogc/oneida/platkin.pdf |title=Former Website of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation |access-date=29 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206130302/http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/ogc/oneida/platkin.pdf |archive-date=6 February 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 the [[United States District Court for the Western District of New York]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upstate-citizens.org/Warren-v-United-States.htm |title=Warren v. United States of America, et al |access-date=29 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801002749/http://www.upstate-citizens.org/Warren-v-United-States.htm |archive-date=1 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Culture==

===Social organization===
The main structures of social organization are the clans ({{lang|moh|ken'tara'okòn:'a}}). The number of clans vary among the Haudenosaunee; the Mohawk have three: Bear ({{lang|moh|Ohkwa:ri}}), Turtle ({{lang|moh|A'nó:wara}}), and Wolf ({{lang|moh|Okwaho}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=Mohawk Language Lessons 2017 Lesson 5 Clans |url=https://mbq-tmt.org/mohawk-culture/#:~:text=Mohawk%20Clan%20System |website=Kenhtè:ke nene kanyen’kehá:ka |access-date=May 10, 2023}}</ref> Clans are nominally the descendants of a single female ancestor, with women possessing the leadership role. Each member of the same clan, across all the Six Nations, is considered a relative. Traditionally, marriages between people of the same clan are forbidden.{{refn| group=note|"Within certain clans there may also be different types of one animal or bird. For example, the turtle clan has three different types of turtles, the wolf clan has three different types of wolves and the bear clan includes three different types of bears allowing for marriage within the clan as long as each belongs to a different species of the clan."<ref name=Clan />}} Children belong to their mother's clan.<ref name=Clan>{{cite web |title=Clan System |url=https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/clan-system/ |website=Haudenosaunee Confederacy |access-date=May 10, 2023}}</ref>

===Religion===
Traditional Mohawk religion is mostly [[Animist]]. "Much of the religion is based on a primordial conflict between good and evil."<ref>{{cite web|title=mohawk|url=http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/canada/mohawk|website=Cultural Survival|date=10 March 2010 |access-date=May 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528062909/http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/canada/mohawk|archive-date=May 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>  Many Mohawks continue to follow the [[Longhouse Religion]].

In 1632 a band of [[Jesuit]] missionaries now known as the [[Canadian Martyrs]] led by [[Isaac Jogues]] was captured by a party of Mohawks and brought to Ossernenon (now Auriesville, New York). Jogues and company attempted to convert the Mohawks to Catholicism, but the Mohawks took them captive, tortured, abused and killed them.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Death and Afterlife of the North American Martyrs|last = Anderson|first = Emma|publisher = Harvard University Press|year = 2013|location = Cambridge, Massachusetts|page = 25}}</ref> Following their martyrdom, new French Jesuit missionaries arrived and many Mohawks were baptized into the Catholic faith. Ten years after Jogues' death [[Kateri Tekakwitha]], the daughter of a Mohawk chief and Tagaskouita, a Roman Catholic Algonquin woman, was born in Ossernenon and later was [[canonized]] as the first Native American [[saint]]. Religion became a tool of conflict between the French and British in Mohawk country. The [[Dutch Reformed Church|Reformed]] clergyman [[Godfridius Dellius]] also preached among the Mohawks.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Corwin |first=Edward Tanjore |title=A Manual of the Reformed Church in America (formerly Reformed Protestant Dutch Church). 1628-1902|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idQQAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA408|pages=408–410|year=1902|publisher=Board of publication of the Reformed church in America |isbn=9780524060162 }}</ref>

===Traditional attire===
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2012}}
[[File:Iroquois Mohawk named Sychnecta from North America 1764.jpg|thumb|upright|Iroquois Mohawk named Sychnecta, 1764]]
Historically, the traditional [[Mohawk hairstyle|hairstyle of Mohawk men]], and many men of the other groups of the Iroquois Confederacy, was to remove most of the hair from the head by plucking (not shaving) tuft by tuft of hair until all that was left was a smaller section, that was worn in a variety of styles, which could vary by community. The women wore their hair long, often dressed with traditional [[Bear hunting#Fat|bear grease]], or tied back into a single braid.

In traditional dress women often went topless in summer and wore a skirt of deerskin. In colder seasons, women wore a deerskin dress. Men wore a [[breech cloth]] of deerskin in summer. In cooler weather, they added deerskin leggings, a deerskin shirt, arm and knee bands, and carried a quill and flint arrow hunting bag. Women and men wore puckered-seam, ankle-wrap moccasins with earrings and necklaces made of shells. Jewelry was also created using porcupine quills such as [[Wampum]] belts. For headwear, the men would use a piece of animal fur with attached porcupine quills and features. The women would occasionally wear tiaras of beaded cloth. Later, dress after European contact combined some cloth pieces such as wool trousers and skirts.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Inglish|first=Patty|date=February 27, 2020|title=Traditional Mohawk Nation Daily and Ceremonial Clothing|url=https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Traditional-Mohawk-Nation-Daily-and-Ceremonial-Clothing|access-date=2020-08-10|website=Owlcation|language=en}}</ref><ref>Johannes Megapolensis Jr., "A Short Account of the Mohawk Indians." ''Short Account of the Mohawk Indians'', August 2017, 168</ref>

===Marriage===
The Mohawk Nation people have a [[matrilineal]] kinship system, with descent and inheritance passed through the female line. Today, the marriage ceremony may follow that of the old tradition or incorporate newer elements, but is still used by many Mohawk Nation marrying couples. Some couples choose to marry in the European manner ''and'' the Longhouse manner, with the Longhouse ceremony usually held first.<ref>Anne Marie Shimony, "Conservatism among the Iroquois at Six Nations Reserve", 1961</ref>

== Longhouses ==
Replicas of 17th-century longhouses have been built at landmarks and tourist villages, such as [[Kanata Village]], [[Brantford, Ontario]], and [[Akwesasne]]'s "Tsiionhiakwatha" interpretation village. Other Mohawk Nation Longhouses are found on the Mohawk territory reserves that hold the Mohawk law recitations, ceremonial rites, and [[Longhouse Religion]] (or "Code of [[Handsome Lake]]"). These include:
* [[Ohsweken, Ontario|Ohswé꞉ken (Six Nations)]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sixnations.ca/|title=Six Nations Of The Grand River|access-date=2007-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128001422/http://www.sixnations.ca/|archive-date=2016-01-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> First Nation Territory, Ontario holds six Ceremonial Mohawk Community Longhouses.
* [[Wahta Mohawks|Wáhta]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wahta.ca/|title=Home Page|website=www.wahta.ca|access-date=2019-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327034057/https://www.wahta.ca/|archive-date=2019-03-27|url-status=live}}</ref> First Nation Territory, Ontario holds one Ceremonial Mohawk Community Longhouse.
* [[Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory|Kenhtè꞉ke (Tyendinaga)]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mbq-tmt.org/|title=Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte – Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory » Home|access-date=2007-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928193936/http://www.mbq-tmt.org/|archive-date=2007-09-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> First Nation Territory, Ontario holds one Ceremonial Mohawk Community Longhouse.
* [[Akwesasne|Ahkwesásne]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.akwesasne.ca/|title=She꞉kon/Greetings – Mohawk Council of Akwesasne|access-date=2007-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226173731/http://www.akwesasne.ca/|archive-date=2007-12-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> First Nation Territory, which straddles the borders of Quebec, Ontario and New York, holds two Mohawk Ceremonial Community Longhouses.
* [[Kanesatake, Quebec|Kaʼnehsatà꞉ke]] First Nation Territory, Quebec holds one Ceremonial Mohawk Community Longhouse.
* [[Kahnawà꞉ke]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kahnawake.com/|title=Mohawk Council of Kahnawá:ke|first=Mohawk Council of|last=Kahnawá:ke|website=www.kahnawake.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906230147/http://www.kahnawake.com/|archive-date=2013-09-06}}</ref> First Nation Territory, Quebec holds three Ceremonial Mohawk Community Longhouses.
* [[Ganienkeh|Kanièn꞉ke]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ganienkeh.com/|title=— ganienkeh.net-- Information from the People of Ganienkeh|access-date=2012-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603115108/http://ganienkeh.com/|archive-date=2013-06-03|url-status=live}}</ref> First Nation Territory, New York State holds one Ceremonial Mohawk Community Longhouse.
* [[Kanatsiohareke|Kanaʼtsioharà꞉ke]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mohawkcommunity.com/|title=Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community|access-date=2007-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018123856/http://mohawkcommunity.com/|archive-date=2007-10-18|url-status=live}}</ref> First Nation Territory, New York State holds one Ceremonial Mohawk Community Longhouse.

==Notable historical Mohawk==
These are notable historical Mohawk people. Contemporary people can be found under their First Nation or tribe.
[[File:Tekahionwake ca 1895.jpg|thumb|upright|[[E. Pauline Johnson]], [[Tekahionwake]] (1861–1913), poet, author, and public speaker from the [[Six Nations Reserve of the Grand River]]]]
<!--Please maintain alphabetical order by surname. 20th and 21st-century people should be listed in the article for their specific nation -->
* [[Joseph Brant]] or [[Thayendanegea]] (1743–1771), Mohawk leader, British officer, brother of Molly Brant
* [[Molly Brant]] or [[Degonwadonti]] (c. 1736 – 1796), Mohawk leader, sister of Joseph Brant
* [[Chief Canaqueese|Canaqueese]] (17th century), Mohawk war chief and diplomat from the Ohio Valley
* [[Esther Louise Georgette Deer]] or Princess White Deer (1891–1992), Kahnawá:ke Mohawk dancer and singer
* [[John Deseronto]] (c. 1745 – 1811), Tyendinaga Mohawk chief
* [[Hiawatha]] (c. 12th century), precontact Mohawk chief and cofounder of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy
* [[David Hill (Mohawk)|Karonghyontye]] or Captain David Hill (1745–1790), Mohawk leader during the American Revolutionary War
* [[E. Pauline Johnson]] or [[Tekahionwake]] (1861–1913), poet, author, and public speaker from the Six Nations Reserve of the Grand River
* [[George Henry Martin Johnson]] or [[Onwanonsyshon]] (1816–1884), Mohawk chief and interpreter
* [[John Norton (Mohawk chief)|John Norton]] or [[John Norton (Mohawk chief)|Teyoninhokarawen]] (c. 1770 – c. 1827), Scottish born, adopted into the Mohawk First Nation and made an honorary "Pine Tree Chief"
* [[Oronhyatekha]] (1841–1907), physician, scholar from Six Nations of the Grand River
* [[Ots-Toch]] (1600 – c. 1640), wife of Dutch colonist Cornelius A. Van Slyck
* [[Hendrick Tejonihokarawa]] (c. 1660 – c. 1735), Mohawk chief of the Wolf clan; one of the four kings to visit England to see [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] to ask for help fighting the French
* St. [[Kateri Tekakwitha]] (Mohawk/Algonquin, 1656–1680), "Lily of the Mohawks", Roman Catholic saint
* [[Black Hawk (lacrosse)|Black Hawk]], lacrosse player

Late 20th and 21st-century Mohawk people are listed under their specific First Nation or tribe at:
* [[Akwesasne#Notable Akwesasne|Akwesasne]] (St. Regis)
* [[Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation#Notable Bay of Quinte Mohawk people|Bay of Quinte]]
* [[List of people from Six Nations|Grand River Six Nations]]
* [[Kahnawake#Notable Kahnawake people|Kahnawake]]
* [[Mohawks of Kanesatake#Notable Kanehsatà:ke Mohawk people|Kanehsatà:ke]]

==See also==
{{Portal|New York (state)|Hudson Valley}}
* [[Iroquois Confederacy]]
* [[Iroquoian languages]]
* [[Kahnawake surnames]]
* [[Mohawk language]]
* [[Native Americans in the United States]]
* [[Native American tribe]]
* [[Oka Crisis]]
* [[The Flying Head]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |title=The Iroquois |last=Snow |first=Dean R. |author-link=Dean R. Snow |year=1994 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |location=Boston |isbn=1-55786-938-3 |ref=snow1994 }}
* {{cite book |year=1996 |title=In Mohawk Country: Early Narratives about a Native People |editor1=Dean R. Snow |editor1-link=Dean R. Snow |editor2=William A. Starna |editor2-link=William A. Starna |editor3=Charles T. Gehring |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=9780815604105 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0Fv_6esE8cC&q=A+Short+Account+of+the+Mohawk+Indians |ref=snow1996}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mohawk tribe}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.mbq-tmt.org/community/culture Culture of the Haudenosaunee] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414200321/http://www.mbq-tmt.org/community/culture |date=2019-04-14 }} on the [[Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte]] website
* [http://www.akwesasne.ca/news-notices/ Akwesasne News] at the [[Akwesasne]] website
* [http://www.wampumchronicles.com The Wampum Chronicles: Mohawk Territory] articles on history and culture
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071023163801/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/3808/lostgeneration.html "Mohawk Institute", Geronimo Henry] archived site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080621021442/http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/booming/main.htm Mohawk skyscraper builders and construction workers in New York City]?
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8567 ''The Iroquois Book of Rites by Horatio Hale''], at [[Project Gutenberg]]

{{Iroquois Confederacy|state=open}}
{{Capital District}}
{{Hudson Valley navigation}}
{{Aboriginal peoples in Quebec}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohawk Nation}}
[[Category:Mohawk| 01]]
[[Category:First Nations in Ontario]]
[[Category:First Nations in Quebec]]
[[Category:Iroquoian peoples]]
[[Category:Iroquois]]
[[Category:Native American history of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Native American history of Vermont]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Vermont]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People from New Netherland]]
[[Category:Algonquian ethnonyms]]