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Synopsis
Mohawk homelands once covered much of northeastern New York and southern Quebec. Today, most Mohawks live on reserves in Canada and reservations in the northeastern United States, including one that straddles the international border at New York, Quebec, and Ontario. The Mohawks founded the six-nation Haudenosaunee Confederacy, ending years of war among several Native tribes, and were among the first Native groups to come in contact with Europeans. From the 1700s through the mid 1900s, however, the U.S. and Canadian governments denied the Mohawks their right as an independent nation to practice their traditional government, religious beliefs, and customs. This book explores how the Mohawks managed to keep their identity and customs and how they continue to fight for their rights as an independent nation.
Children's Literature
Children and adults will recognize longhouses, dwellings made of elm bark covering poles bent in an upside down "U" shape, as being associated with the Mohawk tribe that originated in northeastern New York and southern Quebec. People may not realize that the Mohawk people were responsible for ending years of war among many Native tribes by the formation of the six-nation Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The book is a highly informational, yet easy to read and understand text contained in four chapters (titled Origins, History, Traditional way of Life and Today). There are brown inset boxes detailing certain subjects, such as the Mohawk Language (complete with phonetic pronunciations), How Clan Mothers Choose Leaders and the Smoke Dance. Interesting photographs and illustrations fill out the pages and gray quotation boxes are scattered throughout. A heavy-duty time line that begins centuries before the Europeans and continues through 1999 and a glossary are located at the end of the book along with resources for further research (Web sites, videos and books). Another page near the end called "Things to do and Think About" suggests activities, such as discussing with a teacher the differences between government by consensus and government by majority rule, or downloading paper dolls from the Internet and covering them with traditional clothing. This is an original book that would work just as well at home, in the classroom or in the library. Part of the "Native American Peoples" series that also includes the titles Aztec, Navajo and Sioux. 2003, Gareth Stevens Publishing, Carolan