Akwesasne

The community was founded in the mid-18th century by Mohawk families from Kahnawake (also known as Caughnawaga), a Catholic Mohawk village that developed south of Montreal along the St. Lawrence River. Today Akwesasne has a total of 12,000 residents, with the largest population and land area of any Kanien kehá ka community. From its development in the mid-eighteenth century, Akwesasne was considered one of the Seven Nations of Canada.

It is one of several Kanien keháka (Mohawk), meaning "people of the flint" in Mohawk, territories within present-day Canada; others are Kahnawake, Wahta, Tyendinaga, Kanesatake, and the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation (which includes several subdivisions of Mohawk, the other five nations of the Iroquois League, and some other Native American tribes), founded after the American Revolutionary War. With settlement of the border between Canada and the United States in the early 19th century, a larger portion of the territory was defined as being within the United States. The portion in New York state is known as the federally recognized St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. The portion in Ontario is referred to as Akwesasne Reserve No. 59 (Mohawk: Kawehnòke), and the portions in Quebec as Akwesasne Reserve No. 15. The name Akwesasne in Mohawk means "Land Where the Partridge Drums", referring to the rich wildlife in the area.