Caughnawaga

Kahnawà:ke (Quebec)
—  Indian Reserve  —
Kahnawà:ke
Historic photo of Kahnawake, ca. 1860
Location of Kahnawake, outside of Roussillon Regional County Municipality.
Coordinates: 45°24′40″N 73°40′32″W / 45.41111°N 73.67556°W / 45.41111; -73.67556
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
RCM	Roussillon Within RCM, but unassociated
Electoral Districts Federal	Châteauguay—Saint-Constant
Provincial	Châteauguay
Government [1][2][3]
- Type	Band council
- Grand Chief	Mike Delisle Jr.
- Federal MP(s)	Carole Freeman (BQ)
- Quebec MNA(s)	Pierre Moreau (PLQ)
Area [4]
- Land	50.41 km2 (19.5 sq mi)
Population (2006)[4]
- Total	~8,000
- Density	140.9/km2 (364.9/sq mi)
- Change (2001-06)	?
- Dwellings	?
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code(s)	J0L1B0
Area code(s)	450
Access Routes[5]	Route 132 Route 138 Route 207
Website	www.kahnawake.com

The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (pronounced [ɡahna'waːɡe] in Mohawk, Kahnawáˀkye^[6] in Tuscarora) is an Indian reserve on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, across from Montreal. It has also been known as Seigneury Sault St.Louis, Caughnawaga and 17 other European variations of Kahnawake. The only clue to the location of Indian Reserve # 14 on 1960s government maps of southern Quebec is its blank cartography. Kahnawake is natural territory totalling an area of 48.05 square kilometres. Its resident population numbers about 8,000 with a significant number off the territory. Its land base today is unevenly distributed due to archaic federal Indian Act law that oversees individual land possession unlike the Canadian norms that apply to the land around it. Kahnawake has used the English language keeping its Mohawk language intact while maintaining a life surrounded by 2 million French-speaking Quebecers. Culture and language have long memories and deep roots for both Mohawk and French-speaking Quebecers.

Although most individuals refer to residents of Kahnawake as "Mohawks," they call themselves Kanien’kehá:ka (the "People of the Flint"). Mohawk, which means "eaters of flesh" or "man-eaters" in the Algonquian languages, was popularized in the European languages by the Dutch, who first met them in the 17th Century. The Kanien’kehá:ka are the most easterly nation of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) and are also known as the Keepers of the Eastern Door.

Major construction projects

The federal and Quebec governments have historically located large civil engineering projects benefiting the southern Quebec economy through Kahnawake lands. Criss-crossed by power lines from hydroelectric plants, rail and vehicle highways and bridges, the decision to pass the Saint Lawrence Seaway canal cut through its village permanently separated it from its natural river shore.

One of the first of these projects was the fledgling Canadian Pacific Railway's Saint Lawrence 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 Montreal Island, and gave Kahnawake working men an opportunity to perform as fearless bridgemen and ironworkers. This was the result of a perception by construction companies that the Mohawk men had no fear of heights when given the chance to climb hundreds of feet above the water and ground. Here started the legendary stereotype that has now labelled all Native Americans as having no fear of heights.

33 Mohawks died in the collapse of the Quebec Bridge in 1907, one of the worst construction failures of all time.^[7]

Location

Kahnawake is ideally located at the narrowing southwest shore of the St. Lawrence River. The territory is described in its native language as "on, or by the rapids" (of the Saint Lawrence River), giving points of reference to its original depth and claim along the original natural rapids of the old and different river. The modern day location of Kahnawake did serve for a while the interests of the French colony in North America by forming a western defence for Ville-Marie (later Montreal), making the military garrison and its Jesuit mission both its early warning sentinel and religious launch site for canoes taking priests in a western direction. Jesuit records write a settlement date of 1719, while Mohawk oral tradition extends much further into the past claiming a Mohawk settlement date some 10,000 years earlier.

Gambling/gaming

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission offers gambling licenses to Internet-based poker, casino, and sportsbook sites and has established Kahnawake as a substantial player in that business. Many sites are hosted and managed by Mohawk Internet Technologies (MIT), a local data center located within the territory. MIT is the closest and fastest source for "legally hosted" gambling websites for their North American players.

Politics

It has not known the political turmoil that has affected the nearby Kanesatake Mohawk reserve; however, people from Kahnawake blocked the Honoré Mercier Bridge to Montreal during the Oka Crisis in 1990, because they were denied access to Kanesatake through Montreal by the Sûreté du Québec. Both the Canadian and Quebec governments dispute the legality of Kahnawake's gambling operations, but have not risked taking further action due to the harsh international repercussions that followed the Oka Crisis. The websites hosted within Kahnawake are the only privately owned gambling sites that have operated in continental North America without legal action being taken against them.^{[citation needed]}

Fifty men from Kahnawake volunteered to fight with the United States armed forces in Vietnam. ^[8]

International use of flag

In 2007, two vessels operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society flew the Kahnawake Mohawk flag ^[9], which made the Kahnawake Mohawk nation the only indigenous American sovereign nation to have deep-sea foreign-going vessels flying their flag. However, since December 2007 the Sea Shepherd vessels have been registered in the Netherlands.^[10]

Notable residents

• Alwyn Morris Won a gold medal for Canada at the 1984 Olympics in Canoe/Kayak (K2)
• Dwayne Zacharie Current Chief of Police, and former member of the Canadian National Freestyle Wrestling team, winning several FILA world championship medals
• Waneek Horn-Miller Was the Co-Captain of the Canadian National Womens Water Polo team at the 2000 Olympics
• Chief Don Eagle - Former AWA World Wrestling champion, gaining the title in 1950
• Billy Two Rivers- Former pro wrestler and Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Councillor.
• Mary Two Axe Early-1911-1996. Champion of Native Women's rights, she played a major role in having Bill C-31 implemented in Canada. Honorary Doctorate, Order of Canada, Order of Quebec, Aboriginal Achievement Award, Governor General's Award.
• Kateri Tekakwitha 1656-1680-Beatified on June 22, 1980 by Pope John Paul II.
• Louis Jackson - 1843-?. Author of "Our Caughnawaga's in Egypt: A Narrative of what was seen and accomplished by the contingent of North American Indian voyageurs who led the British boat expedition for the relief of Khartoum up the cataracts of the Nile" (1885).
• Peter Blue Cloud (Aroniawenrate) Noted Mohawk poet [1]. American Book Award winner. 1981.
• Alex Rice Actress featured in numerous TV and film roles.
• Joseph Tokwiro Norton Former Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Chief and owner of Tokwiro Enterprises, the parent company of Absolute Poker and UltimateBet.
• Mike Kanentakeron Phillips Actor featured is numerous TV and film roles. Most notedly in The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film) starring Daniel Day Lewis.
• Tracey Deer, filmmaker and co-publisher of the Eastern Door

Media

Kahnawake has several media outlets in the community:

• The Eastern Door, an award winning newspaper that publishes each Friday
• K103 Radio, a radio station serving the community for over 25 years -
• Mohawk TV/Loud Spirit Productions, a television company that features weekly programing as well as a reality show.
• Mohawk Radio, an Internet based radio station, which received an award for its junior hockey broadcasts.
• The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Communications Department, produces "Kwatokent TV," a bi-weekly informational program
• Iorì:wase News, an online newspaper from the Kanien’kéhá:ka Nation
• CKRK-FM Mohawk Radio

Schools

• Kahnawake Survival School; high school.
• Kateri School; elementary school.
• Karonhianonhnha School; elementary school.
• Indian Way School; elementary school.
• Karihwanoron Mohawk Immersion School; elementary school.
• Step By Step Child and Family Centre; early learning/nursery.
• Kahnawake Learning Centre.

See also

• The Kahnawake Iroquois and the Rebellions of 1837-38

References

External links

• Mohawk Council of Kahnawake
• Mohawk Internet Technologies
• The Revival of the Mohawk Language in Kahnawake
• The Kanawaki Golf Club - A prestigious private club which leases land from the Mohawk Council

		Lac-Saint-Louis
	Châteauguay		Sainte-Catherine Saint-Constant
		Kahnawake
		Saint-Isidore

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Coordinates: 45°25′N 73°41′W / 45.417°N 73.683°W / 45.417; -73.683