Mohawk Indians-Ironworkers/Skyscrapers

"A lot of people think Mohawks aren't afraid of heights; that's not true. We have as much fear as the next guy. The difference is that we deal with it better. We also have the experience of the old timers to follow and the responsibility to lead the younger guys. There's pride in 'walking iron.'" -quoted from a news release, Kyle Karonhiaktatie Beauvais (Mohawk, Kahnawake)

The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the George Washington Bridge, the World Trade Center, for more than 120 years, six generations of The Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) Indian ironworkers, known for their ability to work high steel, have helped shape New York City's skyline. Each week, hundreds of Mohawks have commuted to Manhattan from their reservation in Canada, framing the city's skyscrapers and bridges. The Iroquois people prefer to be known by their specific nation names, thus Mohawks should be referred to as Mohawks or Kanienkehake People of the Flint.

According to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal history page, the Mohawk are traditionally the keepers of the Eastern Door of the Iroquois Confederacy. Part of the Six Nations Confederacy or the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the original homeland is the north eastern region of New York State extending into southern Canada and Vermont. Mohawk settlements populated the Mohawk Valley of New York State. The St. Regis River site at the confluence of the St. Lawrence River Valley was part of the Mohawk fishing and hunting grounds. "Akwesasne" as it is known today, translates roughly to "Land where the partridge drums" has always been a prime location due to the confluence of several small rivers and the St. Lawrence River. The culture at Saint Regis stayed predominately Mohawk after the French-Indian Wars. In 1796 the Seven Nations of Canada, which included Christian Mohawks living in Saint Regis asserted rights to their lands and were eventually confined to a small parcel of land through a treaty signed by representatives of the Seven Nations of Canada and the State of New York. Today the Mohawk people of Akwesasne exercise guardianship over these lands through National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106 and Environmental Protection Act, territory outside the confines of the current boundaries of the reservation. Ironwork became the stuff of which Mohawk men were made.

According to the 2001 New York Times story, more than 1,000 men from Kahnawake are ironworkers or are drawing pensions from that work. More than 700 Indians once lived near the Local 361 union hall in Boerum Hill, as many as 700 families into Brooklyn. Most left after the New York City building boom ended in the 60's.

"Booming Out-Mohawk Iron Workers Build New York" was developed by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian's George Heye Center located at the Alexander Hamilton, U.S. Custom House, One Bowling Green, NYC, and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). The exhibition, its national tour and related programs are made possible by the AMB Foundation.

Each week, hundreds of Mohawks have commuted to Manhattan from their reservation in Canada, framing the city's skyscrapers and bridges. "Walking High Steel, Mohawk Ironworkers at the Twin Towers" gives you an opportunity to listen to sound and stories about the legacy of Mohawk ironworkers. As part of the Sonic Memorial Project, producer Jamie York visited the two Mohawk reservations to gather audio. In September 2001, after the fall of the Trade Center Towers, the descendents of these men returned to the site to dismantle what their elders built.