A history of forced assimilation, colonial education, and cultural and linguistic oppression has resulted in the loss and endangerment of hundreds of Native languages, including the Mohawk language of the northeastern U.S. and Canada. It is estimated that only 5% of the population on the Akwesasne reservation are Mohawk speakers. In 1979 a significant effort to revitalize the Mohawk language began with the establishment of the Akwesasne Freedom School (AFS), a grassroots community-based cultural and language immersion program. No prior research or historical documentation of these efforts has been conducted regarding the AFS. This dissertation documents how the school was founded, how it has maintained itself without federal or state funding, and examines how the school has positively impacted its alumni, students, teachers, parents and staff. Through individual interviews, participant observations, and archival research this dissertation reveals the community's investments in and overall effects of this innovative language program on the Akwesasne community. I present the Akwesasne Freedom School as a model of Indigenous holistic education that incorporates traditional teachings, experiential methods, and language immersion. Alumni, parents, and teachers report that the school has helped them feel a strong sense of Mohawk identity. Many respondents reported that their involvement with the AFS helped them to return to the Longhouse, the traditional meeting and ceremonial place. Knowledge of the Mohawk language is only one aspect of Mohawk identity and several Mohawk values were identified in this study: respect, kinship, responsibility, cooperation, leadership, and stewardship. Ultimately, this study identifies what it means to be fully Mohawk. The Akwesasne Freedom School provides an opportunity for negotiating language and identity in a space designed to transcend historical colonization. The AFS serves as an exemplary model for educational self-determination and as a reminder to the Canadian and U.S. governments of tribal authority and sovereignty over the education of their children. Most importantly, students at the Akwesasne Freedom School are "Free to be Kanien'kehaka (Mohawk)."

abstract: Museums reflect power relations in society. Centuries of tradition dictate that museum professionals through years of study have more knowledge about the past and culture than the communities they present and serve. As mausoleums of intellect, museums developed cultures that are resistant to relinquishing any authority to the public. The long history of museums as the authority over the past led to the alienation and exclusion of many groups from museums, particular indigenous communities. Since the 1970s, many Native groups across the United States established their own museums in response to the exclusion of their voices in mainstream institutions. As establishments preserving cultural material, tradition, and history, tribal museums are recreating the meaning of "museum," presenting a model of cooperation and inclusion of community members to the museum process unprecedented in other institutions. In a changing world, many scholars and professionals call for a sharing of authority in museum spaces in order to engage the pubic in new ways, yet many cultural institutions s struggle to find a way to negotiate the traditional model of a museum while working with communities. Conversely, the practice of power sharing present in Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) tradition shaped a museum culture capable of collaboration with their community. Focusing on the Akwesasne Museum as a case study, this dissertation argues that the ability for a museum to share authority of the past with its community is dependent on the history and framework of the culture of the institution, its recognition of the importance of place to informing the museum, and the use of cultural symbols to encourage collaboration. At its core, this dissertation concerns issues of authority, power, and ownership over the past in museum spaces. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. History 2013

Alliés aux Français dans le désir de repousser les Anglais, les Abénaquis ne se gênent pas pour harceler les colons anglais établis le long de la frontière de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. S'ils agissent ainsi, c'est qu'ils désirent repousser les Anglais hors de leurs territoires de chasse de la côte Atlantique. Au cours des divers conflits entre Français et Anglais, les Abénaquis se sont forgé une réputation de féroces guerriers. C'est d'ailleurs celle-ci que le major anglais Robert Rogers cherche à mettre à l'épreuve lors de la Guerre de Sept Ans. C'est donc accompagné de 200 de ses Rangers qu'il s'enfonce dans les bois avec comme seul but, venger les nombreuses familles victimes des attaques abénaquises. Au matin du 4 octobre 1759, Rogers met le village à feu et à sang, avant de s'en retourner péniblement vers le fort No.4 à Charlestown. Avec l'effondrement de leur mission et le départ des Français, les Abénaquis se retrouvent devant de nouvelles autorités coloniales, cette fois-ci britanniques. Maintenant gouvernés par l'ennemi, l'expédition de Rogers sur la mission abénaquise de Saint-François a déclenché un processus de repli et de crainte face aux nouveaux dirigeants. S'assurer de la docilité des Indiens constitue la meilleure façon de les contrôler et d'empêcher une révolte. Il en résulte une nouvelle relation, basée sur la crainte et la menace, facilitant l'adhésion des Abénaquis à la politique diplomatique des Britanniques. Durant les premières années du régime britannique, les autorités vont grandement se servir de cette crainte de représailles, dans le but de s'assurer de l'obéissance des Indiens envers la couronne britannique. Que ce soit pour mater la révolte qui se prépare dans les Grands Lacs avec Pontiac, durant la Guerre d'Indépendance américaine ou durant la Guerre de 1812-1814, les Indiens vont sans cesse appuyer la couronne. Cela n'est pas dénué de sens, puisque lorsque vient le temps d'effectuer des demandes auprès des autorités coloniales, ils ne se gênent pas pour rappeler la fidélité qu'ils ont maintenue à l'égard des Britanniques. Une fidélité auparavant dédiée aux Français, puis conquise par les armes et les traités, à la faveur de Sa Majesté britannique.

The purpose of this research is to identify models of Indigenous governance: that respects Indigenous women’s ability to govern, are grounded in a sacred relationship with the land and water, and engage language and culture to guide the process. Focusing on two distinct land-based resurgence movements, including the Áse Ti Tewá:ton Program in the Onkwenhonwe (Mohawk) community of Akwesasne; and the Hui Mālama ike Ala ‘Ūlili Program in the Kanaka community of Koholālele in Pa‘auilo (Hāmākua, Hawai‘i), it is the intention of this research to understand how these communities are consciously and critically engaging ways that restore their sacred relationship to the land and water; the manner in which they are developing sustainable practices that restore traditional food and educational systems; and methods of developing the critical skills needed to address a contemporary colonial reality. Research considers existing scholarship, community-based practice and Indigenous knowledge to create an understanding of the traditional/ancestral governance practices being generated through these land-based resurgence movements. Through a comparative analysis, this research reveals how each of these communities is using Indigenous language, culture and their relationship to the land as a foundation for restoring ancestral ways of thinking, being and doing, that underlie a traditional governance model. The teachings I have gained through doing this research have given me an understanding of community-based strategies that we can use to move away from an external, violent, dependency-creating style of governance that is consistent with western political approaches to a system of Indigenous governance that upholds Indigenous traditions of agency, leadership, decision-making and diplomacy. / Graduate / 2021-03-31