Mohawk people
Kanienʼkehá꞉ka | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Total population | |
| 45,317 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Canada (Quebec, Ontario) | 39,685 |
| United States (New York) | 5,632 |
| Languages | |
| English, Mohawk, French, ASL, LSQ, Formerly: Dutch, Mohawk Dutch, Hand Talk | |
| Religion | |
| Longhouse/Karihwiio, Kanohʼhonʼio, Kahniʼkwiʼio, Christianity, other Indigenous Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Seneca people, Oneida people, Cayuga people, Onondaga people, Tuscarora people, all members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy; and other Iroquoian peoples | |
related. Replace with related_groups.caption. Replace with image_caption.| kanien "flint" | |
|---|---|
| People | Kanienʼkehá꞉ka |
| Language | Kanienʼkéha |
| Country | Kanièn꞉ke Haudenosauneega |
The Mohawk, also known by their own name, Kanien'keháka (lit. 'People of the Flint'), are an 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-speaking people with communities in southeastern Canada and northern New York State, primarily around Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. As one of the five original members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Mohawk are known as the Keepers of the Eastern Door. They were the guardians of the confederation against invasions from the east.
Today, Mohawk people belong to the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke, Mohawks of Kanesatake, and Six Nations of the Grand River, all in Canada; and Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, a federally recognized tribe in the United States whose members share history with Akwesasne.
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 Nation's traditional homeland territory.