About the Mohawk Tribe:
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Food: The Mohawk Indians were farming people. Mohawk women planted crops of corn, beans, and squash and harvested wild berries and herbs. Mohawk men hunted for deer and elk and fished in the rivers. Traditional Mohawk foods included cornbread, soups, and stews, which they cooked on stone hearths.
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Trading / Arts: Porcupine quillwork are Mohawk crafts. The Mohawk also make wampum out of white and purple shell beads. Wampum beads were traded as a kind of currency, but they were more culturally important as an art material. The designs and pictures on wampum belts told a story or represented a person's family. The Mohawk also traded with their neighbors, exchanging corn and woodcrafts for furs and quahog shells.
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Wars: Before the Iroquois Confederacy the Mohawks fought with the other Iroquois tribes, but when the alliance was formed they were loyal to each other. The Mohawks were fierce warriors who fought wars with the other tribes, particularly the Wabanaki tribes, the Algonquin and Ojibway, and the Mohican bands. In 1650, the Mohawk had an estimated population of 5,000; for 10 years later, they were estimated at only 2,500. Their decline caused by their wars with the Mahican, Conestoga, and other tribes, and with the French. Other tribes were not the only people they fought with or against; the European settlers became a danger to the tribe and its confederacy.
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Settlers Disputes:
In 1646, the French had peace with only the Mohawk, who were their neighbors and who gave them the most trouble. During the Indian and French wars in 1677, their 7 villages of 1644 people were reduced to 5. In 1777, the Oneida kicked out the remainder of the Mohawk tribe and burned their villages. At the beginning of the Revolution, the Mohawk took the side of the British. At the war's end, the larger part of Mohawk moved to Canada, where they have lived on lands granted to them by the British government.
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