Akwesasne: A Special People in a Special Place
Young dancers enjoy a moment at the Akwesasne International Pow-Wow that is held at Akwesasne on the second weekend of September every year. The preservation of our culture is one of our greatest concerns today. The Akwesasne Pow-Wow allows us to join with other First Nations from across Canada and the United States to share in this great gathering and to allow visitors from many nations to share in this exciting cultural experience.
Akwesasne is a Mohawk community of good people who work hard every day to keep their distinct community character and their culture alive. This is not an easy task in contemporary times. Akwesasne’s daily struggles are further complicated by the location of the international border which goes right through the middle of this ancient community, and adds an extra dimension to almost every issue. A further complication is the interprovincial boundary which makes Akwesasne a neighbor to Canada, the United States of America and Quebec.
History speaks of Akwesasne being an important component of the history of all three of these great nations. Our history also speaks of times when Akwesasne has been a friend, ally and a humanitarian to each of these nations as they grew to nationhood.
Today, Akwesasne works diligently to keep good relationships with its neighboring communities and nations, amid the increasingly complicated jurisdictional issues that exist today. Akwesasne also faces problems and issues that are faced by most contemporary societies today such as: safety, security, health, education, tourism, economic survival, social and environmental issues. On top of this are issues of special concern such as land claims, border crossing, cultural survival, and language preservation, that are special concerns to our people now.
Akwesasne is a diverse community with a breadth of knowledge, skills and activity that keep this community vibrant and exciting. It is our hope that this paper begins to share a portrait of this dynamic community in its modern context.
