Lesson 1.1 – Mohawk Loyalists and the Grand River

Lesson overview

Before we can talk about the Haldimand Proclamation or modern jurisdiction problems, we need to know:

• Who the Mohawk Loyalists were,

• Why they left their original homelands,

• How they came to the Grand River, and

• What they understood had been promised to them and their posterity.

This isn’t just background history. It explains why the Haldimand Tract exists at all and why talk of “Loyalists” and “posterity” is central to the whole framework.

Who were the Mohawk Loyalists?

When we say Mohawk Loyalists, we are talking about Mohawk people (and closely allied families) who:

• Sided with the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War,

• Fought and negotiated as allies, not as subjects begging for help,

• Suffered attacks, burnings, and displacement from their homelands (especially in what is now New York State).

Because they remained loyal to the Crown:

• They were targeted by the new American republic,

• They lost homes, fields, villages, and burial grounds,

• They looked to the Crown to make good on promises of protection and a secure place to live.

So when we talk about Mohawk Loyalists, we are talking about:

A people who staked their future on an alliance with the Crown and expected that alliance to be honoured for themselves and their descendants.

Why move to the Grand River?

After the American Revolutionary War:

• The British Empire had lost large areas of territory to the United States,

• Many Loyalists—both Indigenous and non-Indigenous—could no longer safely remain in their original homelands,

• The Crown needed to relocate and protect those who had remained loyal.

For Mohawk Loyalists, the Grand River region in what is now southern Ontario became:

• A proposed new homeland,

• A place to rebuild communities after war and dispossession,

• A territory where the Crown promised secure, ongoing rights.

Key reasons the Grand River mattered:

• It was a strategic river corridor for travel, trade, and defence,

• It allowed the Crown to place a Loyalist presence in the interior,

• It was far enough from immediate American control, while still under British protection.

This move was not a casual relocation. It was:

A forced migration under pressure of war, with the promise of a new base of life along the Grand River as compensation and protection.

What was understood to be promised?

Even before the formal Haldimand Proclamation of 1784, Crown officials:

• Recognized the alliance of the Mohawk and other Haudenosaunee nations,

• Discussed and pledged that land would be provided for resettlement,

• Framed this resettlement as repayment for loyalty and losses.

The future Haldimand Tract was understood as:

• Not just random land handed out,

• But a specific promise:

  • A secure homeland for Mohawk and allied Loyalists,

  • Located along the Grand River,

  • Intended for them and their posterity, not just the first generation.

You don’t need the exact legal wording yet. For this lesson, the key idea is:

Mohawk Loyalists came to the Grand River expecting a secure homeland for themselves and their descendants, based on promises made by the Crown.

The geography of the Grand River (big picture)

The Grand River:

• Flows from the interior highlands down to Lake Erie,

• Passes through or near places now known as Brantford, Six Nations, Caledonia, and other towns and cities,

• Has long been a travel and trade route.

The Haldimand Tract will later be described as land along this river, “six miles deep” on each side, from the source to the mouth.

For now, remember:

• The river itself is the spine of the promise,

• Mohawk settlement along the river was meant to be continuous,

• We are talking about a ribbon of territory along the Grand River, not just a small reserve.

Why this matters for the rest of the course

Understanding this lesson helps make sense of everything that follows:

• When you read “exclusive use and enjoyment,” you will know who that was meant for.

• When you see the word “posterity,” you will understand it refers to real families who moved and rebuilt their lives here.

• When we later talk about taxation, policing, or development, you will know this is not ordinary Crown land—it is promise land, born from alliance and sacrifice.

In short:

The Haldimand Tract is not a random patch of real estate.
It is the outcome of a political and military alliance, paid for with land, homes, and lives, and tied to the Grand River as a new homeland.

Self-check questions

You can reflect on these before moving to the next lesson:

1. Who were the Mohawk Loyalists, and how did their alliance with the Crown affect their homelands?

2. Why did the Grand River region become a focal point for Mohawk resettlement after the American Revolutionary War?

3. What kinds of things were understood to be promised to Mohawk Loyalists and their posterity in relation to the Grand River?

4. Why is it important to think about the Haldimand Tract as rooted in alliance and sacrifice, rather than as a simple land grant?