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Haudenosaunee Confederacy

"The Haudenosaunee are a sovereign people composed of five (and later six) Indigenous nations; often referred to as the Six Nation Iroquois Confederacy: 

Kanien'kehá:ka - The Mohawk Nation, Oneniote'á:ka - The Oneida Nation, Ononta'kehá:ka - The Onondaga Nation, Kaion'kehá:ka - The Cayuga Nation, Shotinontowane'á:ka - The Seneca Nation and Tehatiskaró:ros - The Tuscarora Nation.

The Haudenosaunee are a constitutional democracy that has existed since time immemorial and long before the colonial occupation of settler states such as Canada and the United States.  The Haudenosaunee are governed by an ancient constitution known as the Kaianere’kó:wa; the Great Law of Peace." (Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake, 2018) 

Resources:

Hall, L.K. (2023). The Mohawk Warrior Society: a handbook on sovereignty and survival. Toronto: Between the Lines. (print book)

Hill, S.M. (2017). The clay we are made of: Haudenosaunee land tenure on the Grand River. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. (print & ebook)

Simpson, A. (2014). Mohawk interruptus : political life across the borders of settler states. Duke Unviersity Press (print & ebook)

Williams, K.P. (2018). Kayanerenkó:wa : the Great Law of Peace. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. (ebook)

White, L. (2015). Free to be Mohawk: Indigenous Education at the Akwesasne Freedom School. University of Oklahoma Press.  (print)

Haudenosaunee communities

Kahnawake Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) Nation Longhouse - The Mohawk Nation Office serves as the Secretariat for the People of the Longhouse at Kahnawà:ke. It is designed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of activities enacted by the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawà:ke. Sections on government, history, culture and current projects.

Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawenna Raotitiohkwa Language and Culture Centre - Centre located in the Kanien’kehá:ka community of Kahnawake, south of Montreal.

Huadenosaunee County in Mohawk - The Decolonial Atlas 

Haudenosaunee Language Resources

Mohawk Language in the Workplace - Six Nations Polytechnic/Deyohahá:ge: Indigenous Knowledge Centre (PDF)

Kanien'kéha (Mohawk) [Eng] / Kanien'kéha (Mohawk) [FR]- First Voices Web-based Indigenous Language Archiving and Teaching Resource/First Peoples' Cultural Council 

Introduce yourself in Kanyen'keha! - Youtube video from Onkwawenna

Lessons from Mohawk Language Custodian Association - Kontinónhstats 

Haudenosaunee resources - video lectures & films

Six Nations Polytechnic videos: Conversations in Cultural Fluency lecture series

These online video resources are produced by Deyohaha:ge: Indigenous Knowledge Centre at Six Nations Polytechnic, in Brantford, Ontario. They include videos from the following series: Conversations in Cultural Fluency, which exposes learners to theoretical and practical applications of Haudenosaunee-Indigenous Knowledge.

1. Creation Story - Conversations in Cultural Fluency Lecture Series #1 (1 hour, 53 min, 42 sec)

Creation Story Companion (29 min, 40 sec)
 
 
 
 
 

4. Hodinohso:ni Governance & the Great Law of Peace - Conversations in Cultural Fluency #4 (1 hour, 54 min, 58 sec)

Hodinohson:ni Governance & the Great Law of Peace Companion (39 min, 39 sec)

5. Treaty Relations and Two Row Wampum - Conversations in Cultural Fluency #5 (2 hours, 13 min)

     Treaty Relations and the Two Row Companion  (36 min, 36 sec)      

Films

Acts of Defiance - 1992: Access to Concordia users through NFB Streaming (1 hour, 44 min)

This feature-length documentary recounts the events that surrounded and led to the so-called "Mohawk Crisis" of the summer of 1990. The film focuses on the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake, in Quebec, but also reflects on the relationship between Canada and its First Nations at a particular time in history.

Beans - 2020: Access  to Concordia users through Criterion On demand streaming (92 minutes)

Based on true events, Tracey Deer's debut feature chronicles the 78-day standoff between two Mohawk communities and government forces in 1990 in Quebec.La vie n'est pas simple pour Beans, jeune fille tiraillée entre la légèreté de l'enfance et les exigences de la vie d'adulte, qui l'amène à agir comme une véritable guerrière mohawk. Alors que la crise d'Oka éclate au Québec, durant l'été 1990, Beans aura des choix à faire et nous suivrons son périple sur 78 jours. Devenir adulte ne se fera certainement pas sans quelques aléas, mais le courage et la résilience de Beans prévaudront.

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance - 1993: Access to Concordia users through NFB Streaming and DVD (1 hour, 59 min)

In July 1990, a dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands in Oka, Quebec, set the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines and sear itself into the Canadian consciousness. Director Alanis Obomsawin—at times with a small crew, at times alone—spent 78 days behind Kanien’kéhaka lines filming the armed standoff between protestors, the Quebec police and the Canadian army. 

My Name is Kahentiiosta - 1995: Access to Concordia users through NFB Streaming and DVD (30 min) 

Arrested after the 78-day armed standoff during the 1990 Oka crisis, Kahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman proud of her centuries-old heritage, is detained four days longer than the other women. Her crime? The prosecutor representing the Quebec government will not accept her aboriginal name. From the perspective of Kahentiiosta, we witness the arrest and detention of those who withdrew to the Treatment Centre after the Canadian Army advanced, and we learn why Kahentiiosta was prepared to die to protect the land and trees sacred to the Mohawk people of Kanehsatake.

No Turning Back - 1996: Access to Concordia users through NFB Streaming (47 min)

This film follows the aftermath of the Oka crisis, which brought Indigenous rights into sharp focus. After the barricades came down, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was created, and travelled to more than 100 communities and heard from more than 1,000 representatives. For two-and-a-half years, teams of Indigenous filmmakers followed the Commission on its journey.

Rocks at Whiskey Trench - 2000: Access to Concordia users through NFB Streaming and DVD (1 hour, 45 min)

On August 28, 1990, a convoy of 75 cars left the Mohawk community of Kahnawake and crossed Montreal's Mercier Bridge - straight into an angry mob that pelted the vehicles with rocks. The targets of the violence were Mohawk women, children and elders leaving Kahnawake, in fear of a possible advance by the Canadian army. Fourth in filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin's series on the Mohawk rebellions of 1990 in Canada.

Six Miles Deep - 2009: Access to Concordia users through NFB Streaming and DVD (43 min)

On February 28, 2006, members of the Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the Haudenosaunee or People of the Longhouse) blockade a highway near Caledonia, Ontario to prevent a housing development on land that falls within their traditional territories. The ensuing confrontation makes national headlines for months. But less well known is the crucial role played by the clan mothers of the community – the traditional source of power in the Haudenosaunee Nation. With grace and honour, they rally the community on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve – with a population of 20,000, the largest reserve in Canada. It is the clan mothers who set the rules for conduct. And when the community's chiefs ask people to abandon the barricades, it is the clan mothers who over-rule them. Six Miles Deep is an inspiring and compelling portrait of a group of women whose actions have led a cultural reawakening in their traditionally matriarchal community.

 
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