Mohawk Ironworkers from the Kahnawake reserve in Quebec building skyscrapers in NYC in 1965. | Old Canada Series

Mohawk ironworkers, often called “Skywalkers,” played a huge role in building Manhattan’s skyline from the early twentieth century on. Many came from the Kahnawà:ke Mohawk community in Canada and were renowned for their calm balance and fearlessness working hundreds of feet above the street. They helped raise the steel for landmarks like the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and countless Midtown towers. Generations followed one another into the trade, turning high steel work into a fam