Kanehsatake is a Mohawk settlement on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains at the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, near Montreal. The Doncaster 17 Indian Reserve also belongs to the Mohawks of Kanehsatake. The population of the community is approximately 1700. The community was formally founded under supervision of the Sulpician Order, a Catholic religious order, in the early 18th century. Mohawk had used the territory as a hunting ground since the late 16th century.

To encourage the Mohawk to move southwest of Montreal, historians believe that in 1717 the French colonial governor gave them a grant for nearly nine square miles at the Lake of Two Mountains. The Sulpician Order, which had established a mission with the Mohawk, received a smaller grant for land next to them. The religious order had the deeds changed so that all the land was granted to them. Believing the Order supervised land in trust for them, the Mohawk  did not discover the deception until the late 19th century. They lost a land claim case in the late 20th century on technical issues.

In 2003 the Mohawks of Kanehsatake started selling tax free tobacco to non-Natives. Expanding from the original two fishing shacks to more than 30 stores in 2009, the reserve has has benefited economically from the business. Factories  in Akwesasne, and Kahnawake have been providing Kanehsatake with their product since the business began. Revenues from tobacco sales have allowed the residents of Kanehsatake develop land and create other businesses, such as a restaurant, clothing store, and gas station.