Mohawk Indians
The Mohawk tribe were the most eastern tribe of the Iroquois federation.
Their land consisted of the Eastern part of New York State and their lifestyle was very much the same as other tribes that made up the Iroquois federation.
The mohawk had nine representatives in the federation or confederacy with three each from the Turtle ,Wolf ,and Bear clans.
Their earliest contact with Europeans probably goes back to the 15th century when they occupied villages on the St Lawrence river near modern day Montreal .
They were however driven south by other tribes to the north east New York state .
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries Jesuit missionaries established churches to try and covert the tribes to Christianity.
Also, during this time when Dutch , French and British fur traders came to Canada the Mohawk played a significant role of helping the colonialists in the Fur trade.
In return the Mohawks acquired firearms and muskets which gave them an advantage over their enemies.
They were then known for their fearless ferocity to any enemy.
They often had conflicts with other Algonquian speaking peoples .
However, after the American war of independence when the British relinquished the colonial lands on Turtle island most Mohawks moved into Canada leaving the rest in New York state .
As with other tribes across the continent disease such as Smallpox and measles ravaged the Mohawk people along with all the other Eastern tribes .
Today they are best known for the construction work on some of the tallest skyscrapers in New York and other large cities.
”The Empire state Building being one example “
Today there are around 30,000. Mohawks living in both Canada &and the U.S
The Saint Regis is one of their reservations in the U.S and is completely autonomous nation within the U.S .There are also two reserves in Canada Grand river reserve near Brantford Ontario and the other reserve is located on The Six nation Grand River near Akron Canada that covers around 7549acres of land .