Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Andria Cooke noted an article in the April 27th Massena Observer about Croil’s Island. It talked about how the island is owned by the NYS Parks Commission. She suggested to Indian Time that maybe someone should write to the paper informing them that the St. Lawrence River islands are Mohawk land according to treaty. The Aboriginal Rights and Research Office put this piece together for our readers.

For hundreds if not thousands of years, our predecessors inhabited and used all the islands along the Kaniatarowanenneh. Archaeological finds throughout the St. Lawrence River Valley, dating back 8,000 years ago, show our ancestors presence and use of the lands and islands. For years, the Mohawks returned to these islands and rapids, while using other natural resources in the area. Over time, the establishment of permanent settlements started to take shape.

From our people’s first encounters with Europeans in the mid-1500s to today, Akwesasronon maintain the stewardship for the islands for future generations. This stewardship is inherent in our Mohawk Culture.

Our ancestors welcomed new visitors to this area, and offered to co-exist in peace and friendship. Early treaties were made between the Haudenosaunee, Mohawk and the governments that developed around them that ensured lands, hunting, fishing and gathering rights. With many of these treaties came guarantees, alliances and friendships. As these new relationships developed, Akwesasne lands were leased to the settlers. The Akwesasne leadership of the time felt it was good to trade and barter, as was customary in our culture, and so early lease terms often consisted of exchanging goods or services for permission to inhabit lands. Some leases were paid in full for short periods of time, some were abandoned, and more still were forgotten over time, leaving rents unpaid and lands assumed by the current tenants.

The traditional territory of Akwesasne is much larger than is commonly recognized. Not limited to what is now known as the community of Akwesasne, it includes lands on the Northern and Southern shores of the St. Lawrence River – Kaniataiowanenneh, or Big River - and a series of islands located in the St. Lawrence River between Lake St. Francis in Quebec, to Johnstown, Ontario. Mohawk oral history identifies the traditional territory of Akwesasne as stretching from a location near Valleyfield, Quebec known as ‘The Cedars,’ to the Ganonoque River in Ontario. The islands of Akwesasne - stretching from approximately the Raisin River in Ontario to Cardinal, Ontario - were never ceded or released to any one individual, group or entity outside of the Akwesasne community.

Traditionally, many Akwesasne Islands were often named according to their principle use or purpose. Similar to the European tradition, some Akwesasne islands were identified by an individual’s name. Many Akwesasne islands have changed names throughout history - one example is the Akwesasne Island known today as Croil. This Island was historically known as Baxter Island and is located upstream from Akwesasne, above today’s Moses-Saunders Power Project.

Historically the islands directly west of our main settlement, Kanatakon (St. Regis Village) were in a ideal location for fish harvesting and stop-overs from traversing ‘Karo:wi,’ the Long Sault Rapids. The mile-long drop in elevation, from the head of Sheek Island to Massena Point, created an optimum habitat for all species of fish. These Islands also played a critical role and staging area for ‘shooting the rapids’ and descending the river west to east. Portaging, pulling and poling a water vessel, was another common activity to ascend the rapids traveling upstream. The larger Akwesasne Islands were inhabited year-round and agriculture was practiced extensively to support its populations. These activities were common to Akwesasronon up to the 1950’s, pre-Seaway.

After the War of 1812 between American and British forces concluded, the Treaty of Ghent called for the establishment of a joint Boundary Commission, which in turn laid the final boundary line in June of 1822. In attempts to keep with the previous boundary line, which ran ‘down the center of the river’, the 1822 line was adjusted around certain islands, and Akwesasne islands were some of the islands that fell on either sides of the new border.

Cornwall (Kawehnoke), Pilon, St. Regis, Yellow and Colquhoun are some of the major Islands located in the Western waters of the present-day community of Akwesasne. Sugarbush, Clark, Renshaw, Hamilton, Stanley, Thompson, Plum, Christatie, Butternut and Ross are a few examples of Eastern islands in Akwesasne community waters. Some of the Akwesasne Islands located above the Moses-Saunders Power Project are also known as the Long Sault Islands, including Sheek, Long Sault, Croil/Baxter and Barnhart. Further west, and adjacent to the town of Cardinal, Ontario are Presqu’ile, Toussaint and Adams Islands.

The development of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the creation of Lake St. Lawrence impacted the islands of Akwesasne. Flooding occurred after the development of the Beauharnois Dam in 1842, and during the construction of the Seaway, creating an area known as the Lake St. Lawrence. It was during the creation of this area that some Akwesasne islands were flooded and eroded - Cat, Delnay, Wagner and Grassy Islands. With the flooding & the development of the artificial Seaway that were created after the Beauharnois & Seaway projects, the rich glacial till deposits that formed the islands for thousands of years practically disappeared in about a decade’s time. The Power Project itself created a major obstacle for our people to access the lands in our western territory.

These circumstances are the basis of the present day lands claims - the unpaid leases, invalid land transactions, and assumed title of the islands that originally made up the territory of the Mohawks of Akwesasne are yet to be resolved.