Seven Nations of Canada
Encyclopedia
The Seven Nations of Canada were a historic confederation of Canadian
First Nations
living in and around the Saint Lawrence River
valley beginning in the eighteenth century. They were allied to New France
and often included substantial numbers of Roman Catholic converts. During the Seven Years War (1756-1763), they supported the French against the English
. Later, they formed the northern nucleus of the British
-led Aboriginal
alliance that fought the United States
in the American Revolutionary War
and the War of 1812
.
The Mohawk
historian Darren Bonaparte has summarized what is known. After a disastrous war in 1667 when the French attacked Mohawk villages in present-day New York, some Mohawk convert
ed to Christianity
and began to relocate to Kahnawake ("near the rapids") on the St. Lawrence River opposite the small village of Montreal. By its name and location by a rapids, Kahnawake recalled the village Caughnawaga (in a variant spelling) in the Mohawk homeland. The first village faded as most of its people moved north. The relation between the Mohawk who stayed in New York and those who migrated was, in Bonaparte's words, "as ambiguous as when they were together", in part because they became differentiated by religious practices.
A federation of First Nations bands formed in settlements in the St. Lawrence River valley. It included those Abenaki, Algonquin, and Huron who were more accepting of Catholicism. The Abenaki and Algonquin spoke in lanaguages of the major families of Algonquian
. The Mohawk and Onondaga were Iroquois, and the Huron spoke another Iroquoian language. The Mohawk of the federation continued to identify as Mohawk and as relatives of the Mohawk in traditional Iroquois territory.
One of the earliest written references to the Seven Nations was made in the mid-18th century. In 1755, Seven Nations fighters and their French allies had prepared an ambush for the British army on the portage
between Lake George
and the Hudson River
. One of the Mohawk from Kahnawake saw that Mohawk were marching with the British. He told them to identify themselves; they replied, they were "Mohawks and Five Nations
" (the traditional name for the Iroquois Confederacy). Questioned in turn, the Mohawk with the French said, "[W]e are the 7 confederate Indian Nations of Canada." This exchange was recorded in a memoranda book by Daniel Claus
, who was working as an Indian Agent for William Johnson
.
and Albany
.
In the 1783 Treaty of Paris
following the American Revolutionary War
, the British Crown ceded all its territories south of the Great Lakes
to the United States (US). As the treaty made no mention of England's Native American allies, the US had to negotiate separate peace agreements with each of the nations. The important issues to be settled included not only peace, but also the ownership of vast tracts of land which the United States considered to be under its control by the British cession. By 1789, US officials realized that, in the words of Secretary of War Henry Knox
, "the Indians are especially tenacious of their lands, and generally do not relinquish their right, excepting on the principle of a specific consideration, expressly given for the purchase of the same." After the United States and the Seven Nations signed a treaty in 1797, its legitimacy was challenged by other Native Americans on the grounds that the signatories were unauthorized to cede land.
The challenge has continued to this day. Federal courts in the United States have ruled that they will not go behind a treaty "to inquire whether or not an Indian tribe was properly represented by its head men, nor determine whether a treaty has been procured by duress or fraud, and declare it inoperative for that reason." The land claim and treaty issues remain controversial.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
living in and around the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
valley beginning in the eighteenth century. They were allied to New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
and often included substantial numbers of Roman Catholic converts. During the Seven Years War (1756-1763), they supported the French against the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Later, they formed the northern nucleus of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-led Aboriginal
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
alliance that fought the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
- MohawkMohawk nationMohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
of AkwesasneAkwesasneThe Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation territory that straddles the intersection of international and provincial borders on both banks of the Saint Lawrence River. Most of the land is in what is otherwise the United States... - MohawkMohawk nationMohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
of Kahnawake - MohawkMohawk nationMohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
and AnishinaabeAnishinaabeAnishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
g (Algonquin and NipissingOjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
) of KanesetakeOka, Quebec-References:... - Abenaki of OdanakOdanak, QuebecOdanak is an Indian reserve in the Centre-du-Québec region, Quebec, Canada. The mostly Abenaki population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 469. The territory is located near the mouth of the Saint-François River at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. It is partly within the limits of...
- Abenaki of BecancourWôlinak, QuebecWôlinak is an Abenaki Indian reserve in the Centre-du-Québec region, Quebec, Canada. An enclave within the city of Bécancour, it was one of the Seven Nations of Canada.-External links:**...
(now Wôlinak) - HuronHuron-Wendat NationThe Huron-Wendat Nation is a Huron-Wendat First Nation whose community and reserve is at Wendake, Quebec, a municipality now enclosed within Quebec City in Canada. In the French language, used by most members of the First Nation, they are known as the Nation Huronne-Wendat.In 2006, historical...
of Jeune-LoretteWendake, QuebecWendake is the current name for the Huron-Wendat reserve, an enclave within Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. One of the Seven Nations of Canada, this was formerly known as Village-des-Hurons , and also as -Lorette....
(now WendakeWendakeWendake may refer to:* the historical homeland of the Huron/Wendat/Wyandot nation, on the south shore of Georgian Bay in modern-day Simcoe and Grey counties in Ontario,...
) - OnondagaOnondaga (tribe)The Onondaga are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Their traditional homeland is in and around Onondaga County, New York...
of OswegatchieOswegatchieOswegatchie may refer to:In New York:*Oswegatchie, New York, a town in St. Lawrence County*Oswegatchie River, a tributary of the Saint Lawrence River*Oswegatchie , a native people of northern New York...
Origins
The Canadian historian Jean-Pierre Sawaya has argued that the federation has existed since the seventeenth century. He does specialized research in the history of Canada's First Nations and the background to their land claims. The Canadian historian John Alexander Dickinson argues that the federation was created during the Seven Years War, as the British closed in on the territories along the St Lawrence River. Dickinson is a specialist in the history of New France and its relations with the First Nations of the Northeast. There is little first hand evidence to support either view. Dickinson argues that the lack of evidence supports the case for a later date.The Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
historian Darren Bonaparte has summarized what is known. After a disastrous war in 1667 when the French attacked Mohawk villages in present-day New York, some Mohawk convert
Convert
The convert or try, in American football known as "point after", and Canadian football "Point after touchdown", is a one-scrimmage down played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking the ball through the uprights , or...
ed to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and began to relocate to Kahnawake ("near the rapids") on the St. Lawrence River opposite the small village of Montreal. By its name and location by a rapids, Kahnawake recalled the village Caughnawaga (in a variant spelling) in the Mohawk homeland. The first village faded as most of its people moved north. The relation between the Mohawk who stayed in New York and those who migrated was, in Bonaparte's words, "as ambiguous as when they were together", in part because they became differentiated by religious practices.
A federation of First Nations bands formed in settlements in the St. Lawrence River valley. It included those Abenaki, Algonquin, and Huron who were more accepting of Catholicism. The Abenaki and Algonquin spoke in lanaguages of the major families of Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
. The Mohawk and Onondaga were Iroquois, and the Huron spoke another Iroquoian language. The Mohawk of the federation continued to identify as Mohawk and as relatives of the Mohawk in traditional Iroquois territory.
One of the earliest written references to the Seven Nations was made in the mid-18th century. In 1755, Seven Nations fighters and their French allies had prepared an ambush for the British army on the portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
between Lake George
Lake George (New York)
Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake draining northwards into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River Drainage basin located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, U.S.A.. It lies within the upper region of the...
and the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. One of the Mohawk from Kahnawake saw that Mohawk were marching with the British. He told them to identify themselves; they replied, they were "Mohawks and Five Nations
Five Nations
Five Nations can refer to:* The original five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, a union of Native Americans* The Five Nations Championship in rugby union, now the Rugby Union Six Nations Championship...
" (the traditional name for the Iroquois Confederacy). Questioned in turn, the Mohawk with the French said, "[W]e are the 7 confederate Indian Nations of Canada." This exchange was recorded in a memoranda book by Daniel Claus
Daniel Claus
Christian Daniel Claus was a commissioner of Indian affairs and a prominent Loyalist during the American Revolution.He was born September 13, 1727 at Bönnigheim, Württemberg the son of Adam Frederic Claus and his wife Anna Dorothea. He arrived in America in 1749...
, who was working as an Indian Agent for William Johnson
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish official of the British Empire. As a young man, Johnson came to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Admiral Peter Warren, which was located amidst the Mohawk, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League...
.
Geography
This map shows the Seven Nations on the eve of the Seven Years War. Native and French communities formed a patchwork along the St. Lawrence River. The French communities were a single political entity. The Native American communities each had its own government, connected with the French by geography and by formal and informal agreements. The majority of the residents in the four western towns were closely related to the Iroquois of the Six Nations — mostly Mohawk (Kanesetake, Kahnawake, and Akwesasne) or Onondaga (Oswegatchie). There were also Anishinaabeg living at Kanesetake. The eastern towns were populated by the Abenaki (Odanak and Bécancour) and the Huron (Jeune-Lorette). A main unifying concern was the relentless encroachment of European-British settlement in New England and New York that had already driven many of them from their ancestral homes.Politics
When the Seven Nations saw that the French were going to be defeated by the British in the Seven Years War, they made a treaty of peace with the British, known as the Treaty of Kahnawake (1760). By this the Seven Nations negotiated free access between Canada and New York, to maintain their important trade between MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
.
In the 1783 Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris could refer to a number of treaties which have been negotiated and signed in Paris, France, including:*Treaty of Paris , ended the Albigensian Crusade*Treaty of Paris , between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France...
following the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, the British Crown ceded all its territories south of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
to the United States (US). As the treaty made no mention of England's Native American allies, the US had to negotiate separate peace agreements with each of the nations. The important issues to be settled included not only peace, but also the ownership of vast tracts of land which the United States considered to be under its control by the British cession. By 1789, US officials realized that, in the words of Secretary of War Henry Knox
Henry Knox
Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....
, "the Indians are especially tenacious of their lands, and generally do not relinquish their right, excepting on the principle of a specific consideration, expressly given for the purchase of the same." After the United States and the Seven Nations signed a treaty in 1797, its legitimacy was challenged by other Native Americans on the grounds that the signatories were unauthorized to cede land.
The challenge has continued to this day. Federal courts in the United States have ruled that they will not go behind a treaty "to inquire whether or not an Indian tribe was properly represented by its head men, nor determine whether a treaty has been procured by duress or fraud, and declare it inoperative for that reason." The land claim and treaty issues remain controversial.