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The “Loyalist Mohawks” were the refugees from the Mohawk Valley who lost land and were promised new land by John Johnson’s father, Sir William Johnson. The Akwesasne Nation is comprised of various clans who came together over the centuries. There are the people who have “always been here” using this area as a northern frontier to hunt and fish; the people who came with Père Gordon who “founded” the St Regis Mission in 1755 as an offshoot of the village of Kahnawake near Montreal; and the “Loyalist Mohawks” who arrived in 1784 and were the last group to join the Mohawk people living at the mouth of the Akswesasne River.

Colonial meddling like this – deciding which Chiefs deserved annual lease money – did great damage to the cohesion and functioning of the Akwesasne Nation.

Robert’s Pen also kept notes on rent collected from the Nutfield Tract. This is the Rent Roll for 1814 collected by Robert. Rent was paid in both in cash (Pounds, Shilling, Pense) and wheat.

I know Robert worked as the local Indian Agent. I wonder if the Akwesasne Chiefs trusted him.

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