Mohawk language
Mohawk (Mohawk: Kanien’kéha [ɡa.njʌ̃ʔ.ˈɡe.ha] "[language] of the Flint Place") is an Iroquoian language currently spoken by around 3,000 people of the Mohawk nation in the United States (mainly western and northern New York) and Canada (southern Ontario and Quebec).
Name
The word "Mohawk" is an exonym. In the Mohawk language, the people say that they are from Kanien'kehá:ka or "Flint Stone Place". As such, the Mohawks were extremely wealthy traders as other nations in their confederacy needed their flint for tool making. Their Algonquian-speaking neighbors (and competitors), the People of "Muh-heck Heek Ing" (Food Area Place), a people whom the Dutch called "Mohicans" or "Mahicans", called the People of Ka-nee-en Ka "Maw Unk Lin" or "Bear People". The Dutch heard and wrote this as "Mohawks". This is why the People of Kan-ee-en Ka are often referred to as "Mohawks". The Dutch also referred to the Mohawk as "Egils" or "Maquas". The French adapted these terms as Aigniers, Maquis, or called them by the generic "Iroquois", which is a French derivation of the Algonquian term for the Five Nations: "Snake People"".