Akwesasne Mohawk Nation

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The territory on the Saint Lawrence River

The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne or Akwesasne Mohawk Nation is one of the First Nations living in both the United States and Canada . They belong to the Mohawk family who used to live mainly on US territory. Today's Akwesasne Territory lies on the Saint Lawrence River . The territory includes the mouths of the Raquette River and the St. Regis River , as well as the islands there. The two largest are Cornwall Island ( Ontario ) and the Île Saint-Régis ( Québec ). On the US side, Akwesasne is identical to “St. Regis Mohawk Reservation ”.

The Mohawk group has lived there since the mid-18th century and has around 12,000 members. This makes it the largest group of Iroquois. The name Akwesasne means "land where the partridge courted" in the Mohawk language.

history

In the 14th century at the latest, the Saint Lawrence Iroquois built villages. These included Stadacona and Hochelaga , which were described by Jacques Cartier in 1535/36 . By 1615, however, Mohawk dominated the area.

Akwesasne was founded by Kanien'kehá: ka or Onkwehonwe south of Montreal in the late 1750s . The Mohawk traded in fur . John and Zachariah Tarbell led about 30 families up the St. Lawrence. The French colonial power did everything possible to withdraw it from British influence. In 1755, Jesuits founded the Saint Régis Mission in Akwesasne. In 1795 the Mohawk replaced the wooden church with a stone church, which still exists today.

After the British victory over the French, the colonial rulers tried to maintain good relations with the Mohawk and left them with their Catholic denomination. The Mohawk and three other Mohawk nations remained allied with the British against the United States, so they fled to Canada after the British withdrew. Many of them settled in the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve, others went to Akwesasne.

Claude-Nicolas-Guillaume de Lorimier, an Indian agent from Montreal, recruited around 100 warriors for an attack on Montreal, which was occupied by 500 Americans on November 13, 1775. There was a battle, but it is doubtful whether Mohawk or Iroquois at all took part.

As a result of the Jay Treaty , the Mohawk were allowed to cross the state border at any time within their territory.

When a bridge on the Canadian Pacific Railway was being built across the river, Mohawks first worked on such a structure in the 1880s. Soon thousands of them were working on high-rise buildings in the major cities of the east. Many of them moved to Brooklyn , New York. Occasionally one spoke of "Downtown Caughnawaga", where in 1949 around 400 steel workers lived. Labor migration characterized the communities as well as a stagnation of the standard of living. At the same time, the rural population began to decline while that in the reserve grew.

Like all Indians in North America, the Mohawk were forced to send their children to reserve schools. The Kana: takon School, originally called the Saint Regis Village School, operated until the 1970s.

In the winter of 1969, police and protesters clashed on the North Channel Bridge. They wanted to get public attention for the fact that the Canadian authorities prohibited them from duty-free entry from the American to the Canadian part of their territory. In doing so, they invoked the Jay Treaty of 1794. They also wanted to protest against the fact that, in their opinion, the electoral chiefs were used by the government to enforce their political will. In April 2001 a group of opponents of globalization organized a crossing of the bridge that was the scene of the said conflict in 1969 and which is now called the Three Nations Crossing .

At the end of May 2009 Akwesasne protested against the arming of the Canadian border guards, but also against attacks on the Akwesasne-Cornwall post. The Canadian government withdrew its officials after the protests peaked on June 1. Since the American border guards also closed their posts, Akwesasne was cut off from the outside world until July 13th. As a symbol of resistance, a holy fire has been burning since June 2009.

On the Akwesasne side, internal conflicts exist between groups close to the traditional and those close to the elected chiefs. This dispute was exacerbated by the construction of the casino in 1989, because it not only brings money into the reservation, but also the opportunity to support its own clientele. The Warrior Society forcibly dissolved a demonstration against the construction of the casino. In 1990 there were two deaths in the wake of serious unrest. The New York Times reported that the New York governor refused to deploy the National Guard in order to avoid conflict with Canada. Instead, hundreds of members of the New York State Police and the corresponding police units from the participating Canadian provinces entered the reservation.

Current situation

Akwesasne represents a mixture of historically grown power structures. The Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs , the traditional government, then the elected Mohawk Council of Akwesasne in the north and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in the south. Akwesasne's advice, on the other hand, does not go back to Mohawk traditions, but is based on the Canadian Indian Act . The elections take place every three years. They produce 12 chiefs and a grand chief. Each district elects four chiefs, the districts jointly elect the grand chief.

Akwesasne runs five elementary schools. The Akwesasne Freedom School taught to Grade 8, teaches the Mohawksprache and culture, but also teaches adults. Children must leave Akwesasne to attend secondary schools.

The casino employs around 1000 people, 500 of whom are Mohawk members. In terms of tourism , cultural events such as the Akwesasne Annual International Pow-wow , the Strawberry Music Festival and the Akwesasne Winter Carnival are playing an increasing role .

literature

  • Louellyn White: Free to be Kanien'kehaka. A Case Study of Educational Self-Determination at the Akwesasne Freedom School , Ph.D. , The University of Arizona, 2009.

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