By 1730, this confederacy was made up of six Iroquoian-speaking nations who were based mostly east and south of the Great Lakes, in present-day New York along the Mohawk River west of the Hudson, and in Pennsylvania.

Some Mohawk moved closer for trade with French colonists in what became Quebec, Canada, or settled in nearby mission villages.

In the mid-nineteenth century, after Great Britain had taken over former French territory east of the Mississippi River following its defeat of France in the Seven Years' War, its colonial government formally recognized the people of Kanehsatà:ke as one of the Seven Nations of Canada.

The reserves include Kahnawake and Akwesasne along the St. Lawrence River, both formed during the French colonial period; the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, a reserve organized after the American Revolutionary War by the Crown to provide the Iroquois with land in compensation for what they lost of their former territories in the Thirteen Colonies; and Tyendinaga, where the Mohawk constitute the majority of residents.

The Kanienkehaka (Mohawk), based in other Iroquoian territories, used the valley for hunting grounds and routes for war parties.

Historians are continuing to examine the St. Lawrence Iroquoian culture, but theorize that the stronger Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) waged war against this people to get control of the fur trade and hunting along the valley downriver from Tadoussac.

[citation needed] As noted above, by 1600, the Mohawk of the Iroquois Confederacy, based largely in present-day New York and Pennsylvania south of the Great Lakes, used the St. Lawrence Valley for hunting grounds.

Some Mohawk moved near or in Montreal for trading and protection at mission villages, located south of the St. Lawrence River.

The settlement of Kanesatake was formally founded as a Catholic mission, a seigneury under the supervision of the Sulpician Order for 300 Christian Mohawk, about 100 Algonquin, and approximately 250 Nipissing peoples in their care.

Over time the Sulpicians claimed total control of the land, gaining a deed that gave them legal title.

[6][7] The Sulpician mission village of Lake of Two Mountains (Lac des Deux Montagnes), west of Montreal, became known both by its Algonquin name Oka (meaning "pickerel"), and the Mohawk language Kanehsatà:ke ("sandy place"); however, the Algonquin also called the village Ganashtaageng after the Mohawk-language name.

In 1787 Chief Aughneeta complained by letter to Sir John Johnson, the British superintendent general of Indian Affairs, that the Mohawk had moved to Kanesatake only after being promised a deed to the land by the King of France.

He began to urge moderation and acceptance of a Sulpician offer to buy land for the Mohawk away from Oka and to pay for their move.

Kanesatake has been defined by the federal government as an 'interim land base', unlike the reserves, which are a creation of the Indian Act.

Clan mothers made the selection and could remove their support from a chief whose actions displeased them, causing him to step down.

Like the other Iroquois nations and many other Native American tribes, the Mohawk had a matrilineal kinship system, with inheritance and property passed through the maternal line.

[citation needed] It was the first community to accept kaianera'kó:wa (the 'great law of peace'), and is mentioned in the condolence ceremony (hi hi) of a chief and clan mother.

The town of Oka developed along the Lake of Two Mountains through the fraudulent sale of land of the Mohawk community of Kanehsatà:ke by the Sulpician order.

[citation needed] In 1990, the town of Oka unilaterally approved plans to expand their 9-hole golf course to an 18-hole course and related buildings.

The sister community of Kahnawake erected a barricade on the Mercier Bridge at the South Shore of Montreal, in support of the Mohawk at Kahnesatake.

[7] Those who remained at the treatment center were immediately arrested, with the men and the women separated and sent to the Farnham army base.

Following the Oka Crisis, the Mohawk of Kanehsatà:ke altered their method of governance, under provisions of the Indian Act.

Chiefs previously had traditional hereditary claims to positions through their clans under the matrilineal kinship system, in which inheritance and property were passed through the maternal lines.

[16] In 2004 and 2005, disputes over the governance practices of Grand Chief James Gabriel, who had been elected three times in succession, resulted in violence and political disruption in Kanehsatà:ke.

In January 2004, in concert with Quebec provincial police, Gabriel brought in more than 60 officers from other reserves and forces for a drug raid.

[15][16] Following his departure, "A long criminal trial resulted in multiple convictions of Kanesatake residents for arson, rioting and other offences.

[citation needed] Political communication lines were opened up with the Quebec government to prevent another crisis like the one in 1990 at Oka.

Harding and Pearl Bonspille were both replaced as chiefs on the council when six Gabriel allies were elected to the open posts.