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ProQuest Information and Leaming 300 North Zeeb Raad, Ann Arbor, MI 481Q6.1346 USA 800-521-0600 • Tbe Kabnawake Mohawks and the St. Lawrence Seaway Stephanie Phillips Depanment ofAnthropology McGili University. Montreal July 2000 A Thesis submined to the Faculty ofGraduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements ofthe degree of Master ofArts ©Stephanie Phillips 2000 Pennission for reproduction denied without consent ofauthor • 1+1 :=-....... ~ .. • MceI~ ...... gIDft ... _.ruewelil", a--CN K1AONiI a.-ON K1AGN4 CIMa c..dI The author bas granted a DOD­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence aIIoWÎDI the exclusive permettant à la Natioaal Library ofCanada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduœ. l~ distnbute or seO reproduire, prater, distribuer ou copies ofdUs tbesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electroDic Connats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownersbip ofthe L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in tbis thesis. Neithcr the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis Dor substantial extracts ftom it Ni la thèse Di des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de ceUe-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisatioD. 0-612-70618-4 Canadl • TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements , '" '" i AbstraetIRésumé '" " '" .. , ii Introduction ,, '" 1 ChapterOne Faction Studies~ Collective Memory, and the Importance ofPlace '" 6 ChapterTwo Too Many Voices: Factionalism in Kahnawake, 1954-1959 12 Chapter Three Remembrance ofPlaces Past: The People on the Rapids " 32 Conclusion '" '" ,, '" 45 ApJ'endix '" ,' , 0 ••49 Bibliography '" ,, 0000 •••• 0 ••••••••••••51 • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • my Moran~ [ would like to thank committee members Toby Carmen Lambert and Colin Scott for their help and guidance during the writing ofthis thesis. The thesis could not have been wrinen, ofcourse, without the assistance ofthe people who were generous enough to share their remembrances about the Seaway and about Kahnawake: Matthew Watio Bordeau, Marie Cross, A. Brian Deer, Andrew Delisle, Selma Delisle, Agnes Hemlock, Peter A. Jacobs, Dorris Montour, Frank Natawe (1927-2000), Eileen Patton, Glenn and Nan Phillips, Mike Kanentakeron Phillips (1930-1999), Stuart Phillips, Evelyn Watshenine Sawyer, Billy Two Rivers, and Lorraine Williams. [would also like to thank the Onkwawen:na Language Group, who permitted me to sit in on their meeting one night in February; Karonianonhnha School, for interview tapes; the Seigneury ofSault St. Louis Office and the Mohawk Council ofKahnawake, for access to their archives on the Seaway; the Kanien'kebaka Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center in Kahnawake.. the First Peoples' House at MeGill University, and the Indian Art Centre.. Department ofIndian Affairs and Northem Development, Hull.. for employment, assistance.. and flexible working hours; and the Kahnawake Survival School. [received invaluable help from Audra Simpson, Cori Simpson and Tracee Diabo.. who offered endless suggestions and support. Last but never le~ [would like to thank my family for their love, patience and encouragement. • ABSTRACT • The St. Lawrence Seaway, construeted between 1954 and 1959, had a significant impact on the Mohawk community ofKahnawake. Localed on the shores ofthe St. Lawrence River, Kahnawake was faced with the expropriation of 1~62 acres ofland for the construction ofa canal that etfectively eut offthe community's access to the river and reduced its land base. Regarded by its members as one ofthe most important events in Kahnawake's history, the Seaway has become part ofthe everyday discourse ofthe community. This thesis examines two recurring themes in the discourse about the Seaway - the factionalism in the community at the time ofthe constructio~ and memories about the river - and illustrates how this event informs the present political identity of Kahnawake. The Seaway bas become a metaphor for the intrusiveness ofthe Canadian govemment and the necessity ofresisting any encroachment on Kahnawake's autonomy, and as such has played an important part in the development ofnationalism in this community. RÉsuMÉ La voie maritime du St-Lauren~ construite entre 1954 et 1959, eut un impact considérable sur la communauté Mohawk de Kahnawake. Située sur les rives du St­ Laurent, Kahnawake fit face à l'expropriation de 1 262 acres de terre pour la construction d'un canal qui a coupé l'accès de la communauté à la rivière et a réduit sa base terrienne. Les membres de la communauté considèrent qu~i1 s'agit d'un des événements les plus importants de l'histoire de Kahnawake et c'est pourquoi le voie maritime fait panie du discours quotidien de la communauté. Ce mémoire examine deux thèmes récurrents dans le discours sur la construction et les souvenirs de la rivière, et illustre comment cet événement devenue une métaphore sur l'intrusion du gouvernement canadien et 1~ importance de résister à tout empiétement de l'autonomie de Kahnawake. Ainsi, la voie maritime du St-Laurent a joué une rôle imponant dans le développement du nationalisme • dans cette communauté. Il INTRODUCTION • There is a long tradition ofNative land being expropriated for non-Native needs. ln the sommer of 1954~ construction began on the St Lawrence Seaway~ a joint venture between Canada and the United States7 which was comprised ofa series oflocks and channels that stretched from the l'On ofMontreal to the Great Lakes. Completed in 1959, it was hailed as a great feat ofengineering7 one that would facilitate shipping and hamess the hydroelectric power ofthe river. The project cost over one billion dollars to build sixty-nine miles ofchannel and fony-five miles ofdikes. Twenty-two thousand people were employed to dig the channel~ mise bridges~ and construct lacks. Nine thousand individuals and six hundred and fifty families were relocated; one hundred square miles ofpropeny were condemned (Hauptman 1986: (33). One thousan~ two hundred and sixty-two acres ofthat land belonged to Kahnawake. Kahnawake (population 8,500) is a 12~OOO acre Mohawk reserve situated on the south shore ofthe St. Lawrence., fifteen minutes away trom downtown Montreal., Quebec. Originally 40,000 acres., the land base had been gradually depleted through land cessions by the Jesuits and subsequently the Depanment ofIndian AtTairs. The expropriation for the Seaway was the last such cession and the MOst wrenching for Kahnawake. Fifty years later., the Seaway continues to be pan ofthe everyday discourse ofthe community - it is spoken ofin conversation., in newspaper anicles~ al band council meetings, in schools. Recent history is divided into two periods, ·before the Seaway" and "after the Seaway'. This thesis aims to explain why this event has had such a dramatic impact. • Unlil recently there bas been linle written on this subject. Omar Z. Ghobashy's • The Caughnawaga lndians andthe St. Lawrence Seaway ( (961) is essentially a legal argument explaining why Kahnawake's land should Dot he expropriated. Laurence Hauptman's study ofthe [roquois in the twentieth century, The Iroquois Strugglefor Survival (1986) is excellent but mainly covers the experience ofthe Iroquois in the United States and only touches on Kahnawake's struggle with the Seaway. David Blanchard also discusses the impact ofthe Seaway, but his work is problematic, as 1 will show laler. However, other Kahnawake scholars do acknowledge the imponance ofthe Seaway in Kahnawake's history. Chris Jacks points out that once the Seaway had passed, Kahnawake's name seemed to lose its original meaning - Kahnawake was no longer ~·on the rapids'" (Jacks 1994:219). Gerald Alfred ( (995) places it within the context ofrising nationalist sentiment in the community. The Seaway represented the end ofKahnawake's trust in fairtreatment from Canada and the realization that self­ determination was now more important than ever. Audra Simpson declares -1he construction ofthe Seaway is the first interaction [with non-Natives] perceived to jeopardize Mohawk identity and culture. It posed a threat to Kahnawakero:non by tearing through the site ofMohawk economic and cultural activity - the Riverfront" (Simpson 1996:37). The St. Lawrence Seaway was a serious affront to Kahnawake's identity. Il should be noted, though, that Kahnawake was not the only reserve facing expropriation al the time. Akwesasne, Kahnawake's ·sister' community lacated near Cornwall, Ontario, lost • 2 130 acres to the Seawayas weill (Haupbnan