Mohawk Indians
The Mohawk Indians are part of the Iroquois Indian confederation. They
referred to themselves as the Kaniengehaga, which means the people of the
flint. The Mohawk Indians are one of the indigenous tribes that inhabited
what is now the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York. The Tribes spread throughout
New York State and even up into Canada. The word Canada is actually a Mohawk
name in itself. Many people are familiar with the famous Mohawk Indian hairstyle,
but not many people realize that the Mohawk Indians shaved their heads like
this during times of war, in order to look fierce to their enemies.
The Mohawk
Indians were also known for their great battle skills and the organization
of their political groups. The Mohawks had their own laws and created their
own constitution that they wrote with patterns of beads. The Mohawks lived
in longhouses which would provide shelter for many families under one longhouse
roof. The Mohawk Indian men wore fur breech cloths leather moccasins, and
in addition to their Mohawk hairstyles they would also paint their faces during
times of war. In the Mohawk culture the women had equal shares of the work
loads, usually having the women fish and the men would go out and hunt.
Later in history the Mohawk Indians became allies of the Dutch settlers in
Fort Orange, which is now Albany, New York. The Dutch traders equipped the
Mohawks with weapons to fight against other Native American nations that were
allied with the French. Some of these tribes included the Ojibwes and the
Algonquins. After Fort Orange was conquered the Mohawk Indians became allied
to the English. As history went on the Mohawk tribes were forced out of their
territories and moved on to new territories in other parts of what is now
New York and they spread right up into Canada. There are many Mohawk reservations
and people that still live throughout the northeast of the United States.
Many of these reservations have their own laws and many also support themselves
through their very popular casinos. These reservations have their own elected
chiefs and their own police forces. They are very civilized in modern time
but still try to stick with many of their cultural traditions.
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