Its main reserve is Kahnawake 14, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River opposite Montreal.

The members of Kahnawà:ke First Nation are Mohawk who split with the rest of their tribe in the 1660s and left the Iroquois Confederacy to live in French territory.

[3][4] The band of Kahnawà:ke lives primarily on a reserve, Kahnawake 14, located 8 km southwest of Montreal, Quebec.

[5] The band also shares an uninhabited reserve, Doncaster 17, located 16 km northeast of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts with the Mohawks of Kanesatake for hunting and fishing.

Members are elected to three-year terms according to a custom electoral system based on Section 11 of the Indian Act.