Tyendinaga Is My Neighbour

I live about a half drive away from a different world. Just to the west of Kingston Ontario is Tyendinaga, home to this region's United Empire Loyalist Mohawks. It’s nothing special, not much bigger or smaller then the other reserves that dot southern Ontario, but you can tell you’ve crossed a boundary the moment you get out of your car.

The Ganeagaono ("The Flint Based People," hence all the place names around here either begin with "Ga" as in Ganaoque or "Ka" which is pronounced "Ga") or Mohawks are part of The Six Nations, The Iroquois Confederacy (Iroquois is an Algonquin word meaning "enemy") or as they refer to themselves, The Hau-de-no-sau-nee ("people of the long house"). They were originally from upstate New York (Mohawk Valley) but stayed loyal to the British in the Revolutionary War of 1776. They, along with other Loyal subjects (hence the name Loyalist), were awarded land in Canada.

Although it was Captain John Deserontyon, a Mohawk serving in the British army, who led the original twenty families, the reserve was named for his more famous fellow officer, Joseph Brant. Tyendanegea (the actual spelling of Brant’s name) literally means "placing the wood together" and was chosen for the symbolic reference to gaining strength through unity.

The original deed of 1793 was for land the size of a township, approximately 92,000 acres. The actual size of the reserve now stands at 18,000 acres. The official Tyendinaga web site refers to land alienations and surrenders as being the cause of this reduction in size.

It was long thought by historians that Tyendinaga was the first Iroquois settlement in this area (they never seem to ask those who might know - the Indians themselves), but cartographic evidence and recently found remainders of long houses date villages back more then a hundred years prior to the Loyalists' arrival. If you want more history and info check out the
Tyendinaga Web Site.

Although at first glance it just looks like any other rural community, the differences are there if you look. The obvious ones are the faded warning signs that you are on Mohawk territory. Old, tattered, and with paint faded by the years, they still carry a certain authority, letting you know you’re in a different Canada now.

Then there’s the fact there is no town. No collection of houses gathered around a general store or congregation of people. The closest thing to a population centre are a couple of small housing developments consisting of rental units for people who want to move back to the reserve. Although, in theory, each band member is entitled to a tract of land, there just isn’t enough land left for that contract to be fulfilled.

Over the years, some families have lost their inheritance through one means or another, so when they move back there’s nothing for them in the way of housing. Others are children of people who gave up status back in the sixties to gain the right to vote. Recent changes in the Indian Act have allowed some families to reclaim their status. These people move back to take advantage of the favourable tax laws and cheaper rents to be found on the reserve and to be closer to their people in the hopes of reconnecting to their culture.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the forthcoming book What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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