---
title: "Kanien'kahà:ka (Mohawk) — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide"
description: "The Kanien'kahà:ka (Mohawk), a Haudenosaunee nation, allied with Britain in the Revolution, splitting the Iroquois Confederacy. Key for APUSH Topic 3.5."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/kanienkaha-ka-mohawk"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP US History"
unit: "Unit 3"
---

# Kanien'kahà:ka (Mohawk) — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide

## Definition

The Kanien'kahà:ka (Mohawk) are a Native American nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy that allied with the British during the Revolutionary War, a choice that split the Confederacy and shows how Native nations made strategic decisions to protect their land and sovereignty.

## What It Is

The Kanien'kahà:ka, better known in English as the Mohawk, are one of the original five (later six) nations of the [Haudenosaunee](/apush/key-terms/haudenosaunee "fv-autolink"), the [confederacy](/apush/key-terms/confederacy "fv-autolink") your textbook probably calls the Iroquois. They were the easternmost nation of the Confederacy, living in what is now upstate New York, which put them right between the British colonies and the interior.

When the Revolution broke out, most Mohawk sided with the British. This wasn't blind loyalty. Mohawk leaders like Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) calculated that a British victory was the best chance of stopping land-hungry American settlers from pushing into their territory. The choice fractured the [Haudenosaunee Confederacy](/apush/key-terms/haudenosaunee-confederacy "fv-autolink"), since other member nations like the Oneida sided with the Patriots. So the Revolution wasn't just a war between Britain and its colonies. For Native nations, it was a war about land, and they picked sides accordingly.

## Why It Matters

This term lives in **Topic 3.5, The American Revolution ([Unit 3](/apush/unit-3 "fv-autolink"): Independence and Nation-Building, 1754-1800)** and supports learning objective **[APUSH](/apush "fv-autolink") 3.5.A**, which asks you to explain how various factors contributed to the American victory. The CED's essential knowledge mentions loyalist opposition to the Patriot cause, and Native alliances like the Mohawk-British partnership are part of that bigger picture of who fought against independence and why. The Mohawk also matter for the America in the World and Migration and Settlement themes, because their story is the clearest example of a pattern APUSH loves: Native nations weren't passive bystanders. They were diplomatic actors choosing allies based on which empire posed the smaller threat to their land. And the ending matters too. The 1783 Treaty of Paris ignored Britain's Native allies entirely, transferring their land to the new United States without their consent, which sets up the Native land conflicts that run through the rest of Unit 3 and beyond.

## Connections

### [American Revolutionary War (Unit 3)](/apush/key-terms/american-revolutionary-war)

The Mohawk-British alliance is your evidence that the Revolution was a multi-sided conflict, not a simple two-team war. Mohawk warriors fought alongside [loyalists](/apush/key-terms/loyalists "fv-autolink") in brutal frontier raids in New York, which is why the Continental Army launched the Sullivan Expedition in 1779 to destroy Haudenosaunee villages.

### Iroquois Confederacy before the Revolution (Units 1-2)

The Haudenosaunee show up early in APUSH as a powerful confederacy that played European empires against each other in the [fur trade](/apush/key-terms/fur-trade "fv-autolink") and colonial wars. The Revolution is where that balancing act collapses, because the Confederacy itself split over which side to back.

### [Battle of Saratoga (Unit 3)](/apush/key-terms/battle-of-saratoga)

Mohawk and other Native fighters supported the British campaign in upstate New York that ended at Saratoga in 1777. Saratoga's outcome cuts both ways here. It brought France into the war for the [Patriots](/apush/key-terms/patriots "fv-autolink") while the British-Native alliance in the region weakened.

### [Colonial Opposition (Unit 3)](/apush/key-terms/colonial-opposition)

Same coin, opposite side. While colonists framed their opposition to Britain as a fight for liberty, the Mohawk read Patriot victory as a threat, since independent Americans would have no imperial government restraining settlement on Native land.

## On the AP Exam

No released FRQ has used "Kanien'kahà:ka" verbatim, and you're more likely to see "Mohawk" or "Haudenosaunee/Iroquois" in exam sources. Multiple-choice stems typically give you a Native leader's speech or a map of the New York frontier and ask why Native nations allied with Britain. The answer they want is land protection, not loyalty to the king. For the long essay and DBQ, the Mohawk are high-value evidence in two situations. First, any prompt about why groups opposed the Patriot cause (pair them with loyalists under APUSH 3.5.A). Second, continuity-and-change prompts about Native sovereignty, where you can trace the Haudenosaunee from playing empires off each other in Period 2 to losing that leverage when the Treaty of Paris (1783) handed their land to the U.S. without consulting them. Using a Native nation's perspective is also a clean way to earn complexity on a Revolution DBQ.

## Kanien'kahà:ka (Mohawk) vs Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

The Kanien'kahà:ka (Mohawk) are one nation; the Haudenosaunee is the whole confederacy of six nations they belonged to. Don't write that "the Iroquois sided with the British," because the Confederacy split. The Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga largely backed Britain, while the Oneida and Tuscarora largely backed the Patriots. That internal split is itself a great exam point.

## Key Takeaways

- The Kanien'kahà:ka (Mohawk) are one of the six nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, located in present-day upstate New York.
- Most Mohawk allied with the British during the Revolution because a British victory seemed like the best protection against American settlers taking their land.
- The Revolution split the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, with the Mohawk backing Britain while the Oneida and Tuscarora supported the Patriots.
- Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) was the most prominent Mohawk leader, and he led raids alongside loyalists on the New York frontier.
- The 1783 Treaty of Paris ignored Britain's Native allies and transferred their lands to the United States, which is why many Mohawk relocated to Canada after the war.
- On the exam, the Mohawk are evidence that the Revolution was a multi-sided conflict and that Native nations chose allies strategically to defend their sovereignty.

## FAQs

### What did the Kanien'kahà:ka (Mohawk) do in the Revolutionary War?

Most Mohawk allied with the British and fought alongside loyalists in frontier campaigns in New York, led most famously by Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea). They calculated that British victory was the best way to stop American settlers from taking Haudenosaunee land.

### Did all the Iroquois side with the British in the Revolution?

No. The war split the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga largely sided with Britain, while the Oneida and Tuscarora largely sided with the Patriots. APUSH rewards you for knowing the Confederacy fractured rather than acting as one bloc.

### How are the Mohawk different from the Iroquois?

The Mohawk (Kanien'kahà:ka) are a single nation, while "Iroquois" refers to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy of six nations the Mohawk belonged to. Think of the Mohawk as one member state inside a larger alliance.

### Why did the Mohawk support the British instead of the Patriots?

Land, not loyalty. Britain had at least nominally restrained colonial settlement west of the Appalachians, while an independent United States meant unchecked expansion onto Native territory. Backing Britain was a strategic bet on the lesser threat.

### What happened to the Mohawk after the American Revolution?

Badly for them, despite their alliance. The 1783 Treaty of Paris ceded their lands to the United States without consulting them, and many Mohawk, including Joseph Brant's followers, relocated to British Canada. On the exam, this is strong evidence for arguments about the Revolution's costs to Native nations.

## Related Study Guides

- [3.5 The American Revolution](/apush/unit-3/american-revolution/study-guide/qmZACCrcWZjV1YajNd9d)

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