The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) (Mohawk: Kenhtè:ke Kanyen'kehà:ka ) are a Mohawk First Nation within Hastings County, Ontario. They control the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, which is a Mohawk Indian reserve on the Bay of Quinte in southeastern Ontario, Canada, east of Belleville and immediately to the west of Deseronto. They also share Glebe Farm 40B and the Six Nations of the Grand River reserves with other First Nations. The community takes its name from a variant spelling of Mohawk leader Joseph Brant's traditional Mohawk name, Thayendanegea (standardized spelling Thayentiné:ken), which means 'two pieces of fire wood beside each other'. Officially in the Mohawk language, the community is called Kenhtè:ke, which means "on the bay" (from Mohawk kénhte "bay", which is also the origin of the word "Quinte"). The Cayuga name is Tayęda:ne:gęˀ or Detgayę:da:negęˀ, 'land of two logs'. The nation's band number is 164. Overview The territory of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ), represent one of the largest First Nations territories in Ontario. Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory has ties to the birthplace of the Great Peacemaker—Dekanahwideh—who was instrumental in the bringing together the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca into the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, according to Kayanesenh Paul Williams, a Six Nations lawyer and author. The traditional land of the MBQ, which was much more vast that the current territory, was based on a variation of the traditional Mohawk name of Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea —which means "two pieces of fire wood beside each other". In the Cayuga language the name is Tayęda:ne:gęˀ or Detgayę:da:negęˀ—"land of two logs". The geographical feature, the bay is kénhte in the Mohawk language and the community's official Mohawk name is Kenhtè:ke —"on the bay". It was anglicized to "Quinte". The Mohawk nation reserve covers in Hastings County on the Bay of Quinte in southeastern Ontario, Canada, east of Belleville and immediately to the west of the township of Deseronto. History Following the American Revolution, the Mohawk, who were allies of the British Crown, lost their traditional homelands in the Mohawk Valley of what became New York state, when they were forced to cede their lands following the defeat of the British. As compensation for their allegiance, the Crown offered them unsettled land in Upper Canada. A group of Mohawk led by John Deseronto selected the Bay of Quinte because it was said to be the birthplace of Tekanawita, one of the founders