Mohawk ironworkers built the New York skyline. Now their story is on display

An exhibit at McGill University's McLennan Library celebrates the Mohawk ironworkers from the 1970s.

The black and white photographs at McGill University’s McLennan Library are a snapshot of a long-standing Mohawk tradition.

Perched on girders high above the ground, the images show ironworkers in New York City. They are part of an exhibit called “Sky High Trust,” showcasing the work of photographer David Grant Noble, taken in the 1960s and 70s.

“I loved the photographs because most of the guys I knew,” former ironworker Wahiakeron Gilbert, 76, told CTV. “At one time almost 75 per cent of the village of Kahnawake were ironworkers. They were everywhere.”

Gilbert was 17 when he started in the trade and quickly found himself in downtown Manhattan.

“It was like a challenge. For a Mohawk man, it was our rite of passage,” he said.

Jack Wayne Shawatis Tehare:rens Robertson, 44, worked primarily in Detroit but also on local projects like the Mercier Bridge.

“My dad, his dad, his dad and his dad were all in the structural part of it, erecting all the steel,” he said. “To carry on the name ‘Robertson’ — it’s a really well-known name for ironworkers.”

McGill University’s Michelle MacLeod said featuring a piece of local history and tradition was key for the collection.

“They’ve built almost every skyscraper in North America,” she said. “I thought it was fitting to have this connection to Montreal, our host nation of Kahnawake, to honour their work.”

Many of the photographs show workers without harnesses perched atop thin beams.

“There’s one photograph in particular where the ironworker is on his tippy toes, with his fingertips holding on,” said MacLeod. “It just gives you that whole sense of the reality of what they were doing.”

While fearlessness can be a job requirement, there were nerves in the beginning.

“At first I was terrified,” said Robertson. “My dad told me, ‘You’re going to realize after a little while it’ll be nothing more than walking on the sidewalk.’ And sure enough, that’s the way it was.”

Gilbert added, “If you’re crossing a beam and it’s windy and it hits you, you just take a knee and wait for the wind to pass. Get back up and go.”

The exhibit runs until June 1 and is open to the public on the first floor of the McLennan Library.

Gilbert says it’s another way to ensure the legacy of the ironworkers is remembered.

He recalled a colleague telling him that when he dies, he should “never get a headstone — the skyline of New York is your headstone.”