Kahwatsi:re

Genealogy and historical society

Funding is provided by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Community Partnership Fund and Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Community Fund.

2026 Heritage Fair

Fire and Ice: Akwesasne in the late 19th Century

February 27, 2026

10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

SRMT Community Services Building

850 State Route 37, Meeting Rooms

Informational Tables

AKGHS Genealogical Research : Resources for Genealogy Research for Mohawk Ancestors - Ellison King, Researcher

AKGHS Research Projects: The 1902 Kansas Applications and Charles Cook Papers - Aimee Benedict

AKGHS Photo Scanning Project: Digitizing your family photos - Julie Jacobs

SRMT Tribal Historic Preservation Office - Protecting your Important Documents from Fire and Ice - Lillian Benedict-Barton

Bombay Historical Society 

Westville Historical Society

Cornwall Historical Society 

Ft. Covington Historical Society

10:00 a.m. Opening

10:15 a.m. Welcome by Tom Cook, President

10:30 a.m. Darren Bonaparte, Director, SRMT Tribal Historic Preservation Office

Newspaper Coverage of the 1899 Election Riot and the Shooting of John Ice

 Abstract:  Several newspapers sent reporters to Akwesasne to cover both the election riot of March 27 and the shooting of John Fire, also known as Jake Ice.  They came from Cornwall, Ottawa, and Montreal.  A paragraph about the shooting even appeared in the New York Times.  Many of the people who were involved in the events shared their perspective with reporters.  Although there is some variation from person to person, they paint a vivid and unforgettable picture of what took place.

11:30 a.m. Mike Mitchell

1:00 p.m. Nicole White

2:00 p.m. Phillip White-Cree

3:00 p.m. Closing

What we do

EXPLORE YOUR ROOTS

The Kahwatsi:re Akwesasne & Genealogy & Historical Society holds a family tree database with over 10,000 names with some families dating back to the 1500s.  We have access to search the St. Regis Catholic Church records, Kansas Applications from the early 1900s, published obituaries many other resources. 

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Our FAMILY FIRE

Akwesasne is a Mohawk word that means “place of partridges.”  Located on the St. Lawrence River at the 45th parallel, it is where the countries of Canada and the United States; the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and the state of New York come together.

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Native voices

The Native Voices series was aired in 1978 and 1979 with host Louie Cook and stories told by Ray Fadden on WSLU (St. Lawrence University) radio. Funding to digitize, edit and air segments was provided by Onaway Trust and Plenty International. 

Tune in to CKON 97.3 FM and Karennaon:we 87.9 FM Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m. and repeated on Tuesday evenings at 8:30 p.m.

Conservation as the Indian Saw It - 12/20/2021

Contemporary Iroquois Stories - 12/27/2021

Iroquois Hats and Bear Story - 01/03/2022

Migration of the Iroquois - 01/10/2022

Haudenosaunee History - 01/17/2022

Iroquois Lesson Stories - 01/24/2022

Native American Contributions to Society - 01/31/2022

You are on Indian Land - Part 1 (Contributions) - 02/07/2022

You are on Indian Land - Part 2 (Stereotypes) - 02/14/2022

You are on Indian Land - Part 3 (Songs and Dance) - 02/21/2022

Little People and Great Bear - (02/28/2022)

Insight into the history

Video series featuring Society Board Members discussing some of the history and projects being undertaken.

 
Aimee Benedict discusses the 1954 Iroquois Personal Names document authored by Charles Cooke containing over 6,000 traditional Iroquois names, their meanings...
Akwesasne Kahwatsi:re Genealogy and Historical Society provides information about what the Society offers presented by Tom Cook, President.
One of the founders, Bernice Lazore presents a history of the Society.