Kahnawake
A number of Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) and other Iroquois and their adopted kin left their villages in the heart of Iroquoia during the 1660s to reassert the northern boundary of their homeland on the south banks of the St. Lawrence River. The possibility of better trade opportunities with the French in Montreal and the influence of Jesuits, who persuaded a number of their converts to live in territory claimed by New France, also encouraged these Iroquois to relocate along the St. Lawrence. Although Kahnawake had a nationally diverse population in its early years, the community eventually took on a wholly Kanienkehaka character. Kahnawake means "by the rapids;" the rapids are presently a short distance down river.
See Also: Maps > The Northeast