American Indian Culture and Research Journal

On May 31, 1796 a deputation from the Seven Nations of Canada signed a treaty with the United States of America, ceding all Mohawk claims to lands within the State of New York, excepting a six square mile tract at Akwesasne, a square mile on the Salmon River, a square mile on the Grass River, and a meadow along the Grass River. The "Seven Nations" also received payment ot £1,230 6s. 8d., plus an annuity of £213 6s. 8d. This payment and annuity were to be shared by the Akwesasne and Kahnawake settlements. The Seven Nations Treaty continues to provide a source of conflict and misunderstanding within the Mohawk settlements of Kahnawake and Akwesasne and between the Mohawk Nation and the State of New York. The most dramatic manifestation of this conflict was the 1974 reoccupation of some Adirondak land by a group of Mohawk from Kahnawake, Akwesasne, Deseronto and Kanesatake. This occupation resulted in a confrontation between the Mohawk and authorities from New York State and eventually in the establishment of the Ganienkeh settlement near Plattsburgh, New York (Akwesasne Notes 1975:17; 1976:32). The issue that remains at the heart of these misunderstandings is the legality and applicability of the Seven Nations of Canada Treaty to the Mohawk. In order to clarify the terms of this question, it is first necessary to identify the "Seven Nations of Canada" and to provide some cultural and historic context for understanding this alliance and the treaty of 1796. Such an understanding demands: (1) identifying the bounds of Mohawk territory; (2) locating the Mohawk settlements within this territory and defining their relationship to each other from the time of contact until the mid-nineteenth century; (3) examining the general Iroquois tendency towards expansion and alliance with "satellite nations," [sic] and (4) examining the details of the Seven Nations Treaty in light of these cultural and historic details.