Editing St. Regis Mohawk Reservation (section)

==History==
{{main|Akwesasne}}

The original settlement was known as [[Akwesasne]], called Saint Régis by French Jesuit missionaries, after [[John Francis Regis|Jean François Régis]], the priest canonized as a Catholic saint in 1737. He had expressed a desire to be a missionary to the Iroquois people.<ref name="Native">William C. Sturtevant, ''Handbook of North American Indians'', 1978, p473. Quote: "It was named Saint Regis in memory of Jean Francois Regis, a French ecclesiastic canonized in 1737 who before his death in 1640 at the age of 43 had wanted to become a missionary to the Iroquois (Hough 1853:113-114)."</ref> 

The settlement was founded about 1755 by several Catholic [[Iroquois]] families, primarily Mohawk, who moved upriver from the mission village of [[Kahnawake|Caughnawaga, Quebec]] (now known as Kahnawake), which was south of Montreal. They were seeking better lives for their families, as they were concerned about negative influences of traders at Caughnawaga, who plied the Mohawk with rum. The Mohawk families were accompanied by Jesuit missionaries from Caughnawaga.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-mFMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA347 |title=The New International Encyclopedia|volume= 15 |first1=Daniel |last1=Coit Gilman|first2= Harry |last2=Thurston Peck|first3= Frank |last3=Moore Colby, c. 1904. |year=1904|access-date= July 8, 2010}}</ref>

After the United States acquired this territory in settlement of its northern border, relations among the people and the varying jurisdictions became more complex. But according to the 1795 [[Jay Treaty]] settling the border, the Mohawk retained the right to travel freely across the border in either direction. Since the reservation was established, the Mohawk on both sides of the St. Lawrence River have lost land and been adversely affected by major infrastructure projects conducted by state and federal authorities. These include construction of the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]], what is now known as the [[Three Nations Crossing]] bridge, and dams on the rivers for hydroelectric power projects.

Since 1762, mills and dams were built by private, non-Native interests on the St. Regis River at what developed as the village of [[Hogansburg, New York|Hogansburg]]. It is now within the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. 

In 1929 Erie Boulevard Hydropower built an 11-foot-high dam at the site to generate hydroelectric power. It disrupted the annual [[salmon]] fish run from the St. Lawrence, depriving the citizens of the reservation of one of their staple foods. The dam adversely affected the populations of salmon and other migratory fish. By 2010 the dam had become uneconomical. It would have cost too much to upgrade, which would have included current requirements to provide for fish passage in efforts to preserve the species. The owner gave up its federal license.<ref name="dam"/>

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal government applied to the [[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]] to take over and dismantle the dam, which they did in 2016. Based on restoration of fisheries after such dam removals in other locations across the country, they are optimistic that salmon and other migratory fish, such as [[walleye]], will quickly return to the region. Thus 275 miles of the St. Regis River has been reopened to migratory fish that spend part of their lives in the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="dam">[http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/hogansburg-hydroelectric-dam-taken-down-by-native-american-tribe/article/481484 Karen Graham, "Hogansburg Hydroelectric Dam Taken Down by Native American Tribe"], ''Digital Journal'', 11 December 2016; accessed 20 January 2018</ref>

In 2013 the tribe received a $19 million settlement from "[[General Motors|GM]], [[Alcoa]], and [[Reynolds Metal|Reynolds]] for pollution of tribal fishing and hunting grounds along the St. Lawrence River".<ref name="dam"/> The companies have undertaken cleanup of the pollution. The tribe intends to use this money to redevelop the former dam site as "the focus of a cultural restoration program that will pair tribal elders with younger members of the tribe to restore the Mohawk language and pass on traditional practices such as fishing, hunting, basket weaving, horticulture and medicine, to name a few."<ref name="dam"/>