The Landing of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte
Background
The ancestral homeland of the Mohawk Nation is the Mohawk River Valley, which is in present day New York State. The Mohawks are considered the easternmost Nation within the Iroquois/Six Nation Confederacy and as such are referred to as the Keepers of Eastern Door. The original Five Nation Confederacy was made up of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca Nations. When the Tuscaroras were adopted into the Iroquois Confederacy around 1722, the Iroquois became known as the Six Nations Confederacy.
“Mohawks were military allies of the British Crown during the American Revolution”
Our ancestors were military allies of the British Crown during the American Revolution as well as many previous wars between England and France. Fighting as British allies in the American Revolution, some of the bloodiest battles took place in the Mohawk Valley. Although the official position at the onset of the revolutionary war was one of neutrality, our ancestors later assisted the British as the Mohawk Valley broke out in warfare. One of the many promises made to our ancestors in order to gain their support was that their homeland villages would be restored at the end of the war. However, when the war ended with the signing of the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Britain gave up the Mohawk homelands to the American rebel forces.
In recompense for the loss of the homelands and in recognition for their faithful military allegiance with the British Crown, the Six Nations were to select any of the unsettled lands in Upper Canada. As a result of this Crown promise, our ancestors selected lands on the north shore of Lake Ontario for settlement. These lands were not unknown to the Six Nations people as they were part of a vast northern territory controlled by Iroquois Confederacy prior to the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The Bay of Quinte is also the birthplace of Tekanawita, the Peacemaker that brought the original Five Nations Iroquois Confederacy under a constitution of peace in the 12th century.
After travelling by canoe from Lachine, Quebec, our ancestors arrived on the shores of the Bay of Quinte on May 22, 1784. About 20 families, approximately 100-125 people, were met by Mississaugas who were in the area. It is our tradition to mark the anniversary of the Landing with a re-enactment of landfall and a thanksgiving for the safe arrival of our ancestors.
In recompense for the loss of the homelands and in recognition for their faithful military alliance with the British Crown, the Six Nations were to select any of the unsettled lands in Upper Canada. As a result of this Crown promise, our ancestors selected lands on the north shore of Lake Ontario for settlement.
Our Treaty, Our Lands
Although the Crown had promised the lands to the Six Nations the year before, our ancestors found some of the lands had been occupied by Loyalist families. After nine years of reminding the Crown of promises made at the close of the war, the Six Nations were granted a tract of land although smaller than originally promised. The land came to be known as the Mohawk Tract, about the size of a township, approximately 92,700 acres on the Bay of Quinte. A deed to this land known as the Simcoe Deed or Treaty 3½ was executed on April 1, 1793 by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe.
Not long after the Mohawks made settlement, many United Empire Loyalists continued to come into the Bay of Quinte area. Within a span of 23 years (1820-1843) two-thirds of the treaty land base under the Simcoe Deed was lost as the government made provisions to accommodate settler families. Today, the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte have approximately 18,000 acres remaining of the original treaty land base and the current membership numbers over 8,000.
The Simcoe Deed or Treaty 3½
Copy
(signed) J. Graves Simcoe
George the Third by the Grace of God
of Great Britain, France and Ireland King,
Defender of the Faith and so forth.
Know Ye that Whereas the Attachment
and Fidelity of the Chief Warriors and People of
the Six Nations to Us and Our Government,
have been made manifest on divers occasions by
their spirited and Zealous exertions and by the
bravery of their Conduct And We being desirous
of shewing Our approbation of the same, and in
recompense of the losses they may have sustained,
of providing a convenient Tract of Land under
Our protection for a safe and comfortable retreat
for them and their posterity Have of Our special
Grace certain Knowledge and mere motion Given
and by these presents Do give and grant unto the
Chiefs Warriors Women and People of the said
Six Nations and their Heirs for ever all that
District or Territory of Land being parcel of a certain
District lately purchased by Us of the Mississague
Nation lying and being and limitted[sic] and bounded
as follows (that is to say) the Tract will then be
bounded in front by the Bay of Quinté between the
Mouths of the River Shannon and Bowens’ Creek
about Twelve Miles Westerly by a Line running
North Sixteen Degrees West from the West side of
the Mouth of the River Shannon, and Easterly
by a Line running North Sixteen Degrees West from
the Mouth of Bowens’ Creek, and Northerly by a
Line running East Sixteen Degrees North, and West
Sixteen Degrees South at the distance of about,
Thirteen Miles back from the Bay of Quinté,
measured on the Western Boundary aforesaid, to the
North East Angle of the Township of Thurlow. To
Have and to Hold the said District or Territory
of Land of Us Our Heirs and Successors to them
the Chiefs Warriors Women and People of the said
Six Nations and to and for the sole use and behoof
of them and their Heirs for ever freely and clearly
of and from all and all manner of Rents, Fines
or Services whatsoever to be rendered by them the
said Chiefs Warriors Women and People of the said
Six Nations to Us or Our Successors for the same
And of and from all Conditions Stipulations and
Agreements whatever except as hereinafter by Us
Expressed and declared. Giving and Granting
and by these presents confirming to the said
Chiefs Warriors Women and People of the said
Six Nations and their Heirs the full and entire
possession Use benefit and advantage of the said
District or Territory of Land to be held and
enjoyed by them in the most free and ample
manner and according to the several Customs
and usages by them the said Chiefs, Warriors,
Women and People of the said Six Nations Pro-
-vided always and be it understood to be the true
intent and meaning of these Presents that for
the purpose of assuring the said Lands as aforesaid
to the said Chiefs Warriors Women and People
of the said Six Nations and their Heirs and of
securing to them the free and undisturbed possession
and enjoyment of the same. It is Our Royal
Will and Pleasure that no Transfer Alienation
Conveyance Sale Gift Exchange Lease Property
or Possession shall at any time be had made or
given of the said District or Territory or any part
or parcel thereof by any of the said Chiefs Warriors
Women and People of the said Six Nations to any
other Nation or Body of People Person or persons
whatsoever other than among themselves the said
Chiefs Warriors Women and People of the said
Six Nations but that any such Transfer Aliena-
-tion Conveyance Sale Gift Exchange Lease or
Possession shall be null and void and of no effect
whatever. And that no Person or Persons shall
possess or occupy the said District or Territory or
any part or parcel thereof by or under pretence
of any such Alienation or Conveyance as aforesaid
or by or under any pretence whatever under pain
of Our severe displeasure. And that in case
any Person or Persons other than the said Chiefs
Warriors Women and People of the said Six
Nations shall under pretence of any such Title
as aforesaid presume to possess or occupy the said
District or Territory or any part or parcel thereof
that it shall and may be lawful for Us our
Heirs and Successors at any time hereafter to enter
upon the Lands so occupied and possessed by any
other Person or Persons other than the said Chiefs
Warriors Women and People of the said Six Nations
and them the said Intruders thereof and therefrom
wholly to dispossess and evict and to resume the
same to Ourselves Our Heirs and Successors.
Provided always nevertheless that if at any time
the said Chiefs Warriors Women and People of
the said Six Nations should be inclined to dispose
of and Surrender their Use and Interest in the
said District or Territory, the same shall be
purchased only for Us in Our Name at some
Public Meeting or Assembly of the Chiefs Warriors
and People of the said Six Nations to be held for
that purpose by the Governor Lieutenant Governor
or Person Administering Our Government in Our
Province of Upper Canada. In Testimony whereof
We have caused these Our Letters to be made
Patent and the Great Seal of Our said Province
to be hereunto affixed. Witness His Excellency
John Graves Simcoe Esquire Lieutenant Governor
and Colonel commanding Our Forces in Our said
Province. Given at Our Government House at
Navy Hall this First Day of April in the Year
of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and
Ninety Three in the Thirty Third Year of Our Reign
(signed) Wm. Jarvis Secy (signed) JGS
(a true Copy, taken from the original
29th December 1809.)
John Small
C. E C
Source: LAC RG10 Volume 1840 IT 006 Indian Affairs ff. 1-3 Reel T-9938
Disclaimer: This is the text of the Simcoe Deed, the presentation has been slightly modified for ease of reading.
Interpretation of the Flag of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
The Colours:
WHITE: Emblem of something good, of peace and purity.
PURPLE: Emblem of more important affairs of a civic nature.
Because of his ability to see far, the Peacemaker placed him at the top of the Great Tree of Peace. If he sees in the distance any evil approaching or any danger threatening, he will at once warn the Haudenosaunee, the People of the Confederacy.
The Circle
Symbolizes the Great Peace and the Great Law (Kaianerekowa) that was established by the Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee.
It is provided thus: There are now the Five Nations League Chiefs standing with joined hands in a circle… be firm so that if a tree should fall upon your joined hands, it should not separate you or weaken your hold. So shall the strength of your union be preserved.
Christ Church
Her Majesty’s Royal Chapel of the Mohawks, built in 1843 is one of six Royal chapels outside of Great Britain and is of great historic significance to the Mohawk people and to the colonial history of Canada.
Christ Church recently underwent a major restoration project. Due to decades of natural aging, major restoration has taken place to all exterior components of the building. This undertaking was necessary to maintain this historic site. For more information on the Church, click here.
Doctor Oronhyatekha
A Mohawk of national historic significance, Doctor Oronhyatekha was born August 10, 1841 at Grand River. This is the territory of the Six Nations people, near what is now known as Brantford, Ontario. During his lifetime and years later, his efforts and successes had a profound effect on the social and economic policies of Canada at the time of it’s greatest changes and growth. Read more here about the life of Orohyatekha (Burning Sky).