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Lake Ontario's
First Loyalists
| Commemorating
the Mohawk Landing
Each year, on the Sunday closest
to May 22, the historic arrival
of the Bay of Quinte Mohawks
to the north shore of Lake Ontario
is celebrated on Tyendinaga
Mohawk Territory, just east
of the city of Belleville. Centered
on the historic cairn which
marks the site of the landing,
the celebration includes a re-enactment
of the Mohawk arrival, traditional
teachings at the local community
centre, and traditional Iroquoian
dress and food.
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In the aftermath of the American Revolution,
as white Loyalists and harried British administrators
squabbled over the details of land grants
and resettlement strategies along the eastern
end of Lake Ontario, a small group of Mohawks
quietly took possession of several thousand
hectares near the mouth of the Salmon River
on the Bay of Quinte.
The 20 families who came ashore on May
22, 1784, had already spent almost 5 years
of exile in Lachine, Quebec, following the
loss of their Fort Hunter home in the Mohawk
Valley. Originally neutral in the revolutionary
conflict, they had gradually become allied
with the British crown and had taken an
active part in the war under the leadership
of Daniel Claus, John Deserontyn, Isaac
Hill and Aaron Hill.
The Bay of Quinte Mohawks strayed from
the path of most members of the Six Nations
Confederacy, who followed Captain Joseph
Brant to the principal Mohawk Loyalist settlement
on the banks of western Ontario's Grand
River. Although both Brant and Captain Deserontyon
had been present when lands between the
Gananoque and Trent Rivers had been surveyed,
Brant elected to head west, closer to the
Iroquois who remained on the American side
of the new border. The Fort Hunter Mohawks
resisted pressure from Sir Frederick Haldimand,
Governor of Canada, to join the Grand River
group, accepting land on Lake Ontario purchased
from the Mississauga tribe. The original
area of the Mohawk Tract was approximately
38,000 hectares, the standard size of a
Loyalist township.
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Saga
of the Silver
In 1711, as early converts to
Christianity, Mohawk emissaries
to England were presented with
an 8-piece silver communion
set for use in their Mohawk
Valley chapel. With the outbreak
of war during the American Revolution,
the treasured silver was buried
on the farm Boyd Hunter. When
it was retrieved, one chalice
was missing. Under the direction
of Reverend John Stuart, chaplain
to the Mohawks, 4 pieces of
the set were sent to the Six
Nations Mohawks near Brantford,
and 3 were retained in the first
wooden church of the Bay of
Quinte. On a royal visit to
the Tyendinaga Territory in
1984, Queen Elizabeth II presented
the Bay of Quinte Mohawks with
a replacement for the chalice
that had gone missing 2 centuries
before.
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The Mohawk landing on the shores of the
Bay of Quinte preceded the arrival of the
first white United Empire Loyalists at Adolphustown
by a full month. A Mohawk School, established
in 1792, became one of the first schools
in Upper Canada.
The Mohawks have remained loyal to the
British crown throughout their history,
fighting in defense of Canada during the
War of 1812, and serving valiantly in the
First and Second World Wars.
Tyendinaga Today:
Over the years, the size of the original
Mohawk land grant has been reduced to about
7,000 hectares. Contemporary Tyendinaga
Mohawk Territory is located approximately
13 kilometres east of Belleville and 80
kilometres west of Kingston. Bay of Quinte
Mohawks number about 6,000, with about 2,200
residing within the Territory. The annual
Tyendinaga Traditional Pow Wow, held on
the 2nd weekend of August, celebrates native
dancing, dress, foods and arts and crafts.
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