[6] Historians theorize that the stronger Mohawk from the South waged war against the St. Lawrence Iroquoians to get control of the fur trade and hunting along the river valley.

In addition, warriors and families became involved in raiding and the traffic in captives during Queen Anne's War in the early 1700s between France and England.

[7] Due to exhaustion of land at Kahnawake and problems with traders' rum at the village, in the mid-1750s about 30 families migrated upriver about 20 leagues to set up a new community.

They observed Mohawk customs, for instance, refusing to marry individuals who belonged to the same clan, as this was prohibited by kinship practices.

Under the Jay Treaty, the Iroquois retained rights to cross the newly established borders between Canada and the United States in order to maintain their trade and tribal ties.

The Battle of the Cedars (French: Les Cèdres) was a series of military confrontations, early in the American Revolutionary War, which involved limited combat.

[14] De Lorimier proposed recruiting some Indians to launch an attack from the west on Montreal, then held by the American Continental Army.

Benedict covered the resistance of many Mohawk to the system of elections imposed by the federal government on the "American" side of Akwesasne.

A supporter gave the newspaper Edward Curtis photographs, which editors combined with quotes from Native American authors for the popular poster series.

[19] In 1987, the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment was founded in response to environmental concerns, including extensive contamination by PCB ([Polychlorinated biphenyl]]) as a byproduct of industries located along the St. Lawrence River.

[21] The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA) is a government whose representatives are elected within the northern districts of the territory on the Canadian side of the border.

[23] The several islands of the St. Lawrence River within the jurisdiction of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne are generally counted as being a part of the nearest mainland.

The Ahkwesasne Mohawk Board of Education, established by the MCA two years prior, gained operations of those schools from the department in 1987.

Karennaon:we Radio is a positive resource for the children of the Mohawk community making available the language and culture 24 hours a day.

[34][non-primary source needed] In the winter of 1969, Cornwall City Police were confronted by a demonstration by Akwesasro꞉non at the North Channel Bridge of what is now called the Three Nations Crossing.

By blocking traffic on the bridge, Akwesasro꞉non sought to call attention to their grievance that they were prohibited by Canadian authorities from duty-free passage of personal purchases across the border.

Initiated in October 2000 by L. Fantoni and T. F. G. Casper on the heels of the anti-International Monetary Fund/World Bank protests in Prague, a collective soon formed and developed its own variation of the Tute Bianche tactic of the padded bloc.

The collective organized several actions and events highlighting the inadequacy of borders, in support of immigrant rights and against racism and racialist hate groups.

[42][43] The encampment, styled as a "unity rally", was branded as a campaign to bring awareness to complaints of alleged human rights abuses committed against Akwesasro꞉non by the CBSA border services officers.

The protest continued for several days but reached its peak at midnight of 1 June, when the new policy of arming border services officers with Beretta Px4 Storm sidearms went into effect.

Akwesasne was cut off from its major access point into Canada and from free travel within the territory until a temporary border post was erected on July 13, 2009.

Police, border patrol, state troopers, RCMP, and various government agents blocked the road leading to the homes on Cornwall Island, Ontario, from May 2009 until July 2009.

These issues have been a concern for Canadian authorities, as the area is alleged to be a large-scale, cigarette-smuggling route from the U.S.[45] There have been arrests and seizure of goods in the past.

It brought huge economic returns to casino owners and some benefits to the First Nation, but members also worried about how the enterprise would affect their culture.

[45] The political feuds have resulted in violence: two Mohawk men were killed at Akwesasne in 1990, and thousands of residents left their homes in that period because of attacks on houses and vehicles, and general unrest.

The Warrior Society, a self-appointed security force, used assault rifles and bats to break up anti-gambling roadblocks at the reservation entrances.

[46] According to police sources, the cross-border conduit in Akwesasne is being used by organized crime to smuggle marijuana back into the United States and harder drugs and firearms to Canada.

[47] According to a TVA News investigation, the weapons are purchased in the states of Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Florida to be transported north and stored in warehouses on the reserve.

[48] In June 2022, the Quebec government announced it will provide $6.2 million over 5 years to the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service (AMPS) to combat illegal firearm trafficking.

[49][50] Due to its geography and lack of resources from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), human smuggling has been an ongoing issue for the community.