Is It Time to Change the Name of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe?

By Darren Bonaparte, Director of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe

The June 7th grand opening of the new headquarters of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe - Ionkwakiohkwaró:ron (Gathering Place of the People) - was an enormous success.  By one count, there were at least 500 people present to celebrate this historic event.  

The three-story monolith of stone, wood, metal and glass is a modern, architectural marvel that pays homage to the cultural landscape of the people working within.  Moreover, it is the physical embodiment of a major shift in attitude that has occurred in today’s Akwesasne. No longer are lines sharply drawn between “traditional” and “elected” as they may have been in the past. Today people from the Longhouse are chiefs, administrators, and staff members. 

Traditional culture was proudly on display at the event.  The glass cases in the lobby contained a Mohawk kastoweh by Jeff Whelan and other artifacts from the Akwesasne Museum and Native North American Travelling College, as well as the work of local artists Gail General and Natasha Smoke-Santiago.  The program began with the recital of Ohenton Karihwatehkwen (The Words Before All Else) in fluent Mohawk by Rasentonkwa Tarbell. There was also a traditional song by Akwesasne Ratirennahawi (The Men Who Carry the Songs) that resulted in the largest round dance many of us have ever seen.

Mohawk Bear Clan Mother Louise Herne took to the podium at the grand opening to make a call for even greater Akwesasne unity.  She was going out on a limb by doing so, because there are some who prefer to keep the elected and traditional systems separate.  The Standard-Freeholder quoted her as saying, “The children are watching us. Let’s not transfer our story onto the next generation. Let’s own it, apologize for it, and move on.”

While some may yearn for the overthrow of the elected systems, most people recognize the need for a secular, representational form of government.  Both elected councils came in under a cloud of controversy generations ago, but this has not deterred those who have spent the intervening years attempting to modernize them to meet our current needs. 

Prior to the grand opening of Ionkwakiohkwaró:ron, I gave a brief presentation of Akwesasne’s history at the May 2019 Monthly Tribal Meeting.  I shared information on events in colonial times that have had a lasting impact on our community. Part of that discussion included the origin of the name Saint Regis, with community members asking my thoughts on a name that is more representative of our whole community.

As it happens, I have given this a lot of thought for some time, and so have others. Columnist Doug George-Kanentiio addressed this in a recent opinion piece in Indian Time [Vol. 37 #24].  As he pointed out, the name of Saint Regis is a colonial artifact, a holdover from the old Mission of Saint Jean-François Régis.  Saint Régis was a French Jesuit priest who wanted to be a missionary to North America but died before he got the chance. The Mohawk name for the community was undoubtedly older than the name of the Saint Regis Mission, which was founded in 1755. The earliest mention of it in the historical record is found in the journal of British Captain John Knox, who called it “Hasquesashnagh” when he visited the community in 1760.

Today when people in Akwesasne hear the name Saint Regis, they usually think of the village where the mission is located. Today it is more formally known as Kana:takon, which means “the village” in Mohawk. In fact, the Canadian side of Akwesasne has abandoned the name of Saint Regis in favor of our indigenous name.  This was done without much fanfare in the 1980s.  The Iroquois of St. Regis Band Council is now the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne.  

With Akwesasne firmly established on the northern half of our community, it seems odd that the name Saint Regis continues to be applied to the southern half. A previous tribal council managed to have the name of the village of Hogansburg officially changed to Akwesasne, at least as far as the U.S. Postal Service was concerned, but the government and the reservation itself continue to go by Saint Regis Mohawk.

A previous council also brought the possibility of a name change before the community.  Akwesasne Mohawk Nation was proposed, but this was deemed inappropriate, due to the existence of the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs and their long association with the term “Mohawk Nation.” 

Now that the matter is once again under discussion, the simplest measure to take would be to switch the name “Saint Regis” wherever it occurs with “Akwesasne.” The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe would then become the Akwesasne Mohawk Tribe. The Saint Regis Mohawk Reservation would become the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation, or, if the community prefers, the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.  We might even consider changing it to just Akwesasne and abandon the use of additional qualifiers like “reservation” and “territory” altogether.

Members of council have noted that a change of this magnitude would require a community vote to properly determine the will of the people. The referendum process would engage the community in a discussion about our history and identity. Perhaps a better name configuration might emerge from these discussions.  

Changing the name, of course, would not alter the political reality. A name change more consistent with the Canadian side would not create a “super council” between the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the Akwesasne Mohawk Tribe. There would be no significant change in the administration of government services. Both councils would continue to operate as formerly.

In the future, the community may decide that it wants a greater sense of unity between the two councils, and perhaps some form of consolidation.  We might even create a new council, consisting of delegates from the MCA and the AMT, that would convene as needed on matters of common concern.  Another act of unity might be to revise the codes for both councils so that elections occur on the same day.  

Why change anything at all? Why fix it if it isn’t broken? My only answer to that is that I have travelled to many other native communities over the years and whenever I have been asked where I am from, and I tell them Akwesasne, they never then ask me which side I am from. There is only one Akwesasne. It is only our own elected governments - and their external counterparts - that act as though there are two. 

Ultimately, Saint Regis was somebody else’s name for us. We have always had our own. It was, is, and always will be Akwesasne.