Borderline
Borderlines Stories
The First
Long before Europeans came to North America, the Mohawks lived and thrived on the land that now forms the border between northern New York and Canada. That border now splits the Mohawk Nation territory of Akwesasne in two.
The northern border significantly complicates life by creating multiple layers of government in what should be a unified, sovereign homeland for the Mohawks.
Some Mohawk parents prefer to send their children to the U.S. or Canada for secondary school, while others advocate for a high school at Akwesasne.
The success story of the Mohawk Casino Resort, now one of the jewels of the Akwesasne community, was built on the backbone of failures.
A foot in two worlds
Darryl Lazare Jr. values the freedom of growing up on the Mohawk Nation territory of Akwesasne and loves his family here. But he wants to get out.
Post 1479 fights to honor those who served
The American Legion Post in the heart of the Mohawk Nation territory of Akwesasne serves as more than just a place for veterans.
Veterans, families at the Akwesasne American Legion find community and share their stories.
Border Crossing
While the Southern border has made headlines, the border to the north is nearly as active, with millions of crossings a year, smuggling, trade disputes and asylum seekers heading both north into Canada and south into the United States in search of a better life.
Asylum-seekers, many French-speaking U.S. immigrants, have steadily been traveling to a rural road north of Plattsburgh, New York, in search of a safe haven in Canada.
Niagara Falls at the crossroads of two nations
The picturesque tourist destination that straddles the U.S.-Canada border has its share of home-grown and imported social problems. Churches are stepping up to try to address those problems.
The border by the numbers
Hundreds of thousands of people cross the U.S.-Canada border each year. We explore some of these data points in a series of visualizations about America's long and busy northern border.
Migrants thrive at Buffalo’s West Side Bazaar
The Buffalo Bazaar brings together a melting pot of people from all over the world to New York's western edge.
Religious tolerance in jeopardy in Quebec
Quebec's new law makes it illegal for anyone working in the public sphere to wear religious symbols or clothing.
Working Life
Canada and the United States seem similar at first glance, so is life in the two countries really that much different? For dairy farmers, maple syrup producers and marijuana entrepreneurs, the answer is most certainly “yes.”
The positive early returns from Ontario's first 10 pot shops encapsulate the optimism many people have for the future of the industry.
Dairy is a nearly $2 billion industry in New York state alone. It faces challenges both international and domestic.
Canada started taxing American maple syrup in response to US tariffs. But producers on both sides of the border view each other as neighbors.
A border, not a barrier
Love took a Canadian woman to the U.S., and an American women to Canada. They both deftly manage their lives on both sides of the border to succeed as business owners in New York.
Bernadette Clément, the first black, female mayor of Cornwall, Ontario, has seen her city’s growth stagnate. Now, the mayor is looking at immigration as a possible solution.
Living Past
Border residents reflect on how the past continues to shape their hometowns, from the urban renewal that seeks to revive tourism in the Niagara Falls region to the “river rats” who smuggled alcohol across the Saint Lawrence during prohibition.
Prohibition ended in 1933, but it still shapes the region along the Saint Lawrence River, which is dotted with distilleries, museums and other nods to its past.
Tourists have flocked to Niagara Falls for decades for entertainment and beauty of its landscape. Yet the area struggles to recapture its former glory.
The unforgotten memory of a lost village
Canadians reflect on losing their childhood homes during the expansion of a seaway designed to give cargo ships access to the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean
The historic and abandoned buildings throughout western New York are telling of where this region has been and what it could be in future years.
Miles Apart
Borders can be surprisingly fluid and can exist within a country as they do in Canada at the intersection of English speaking Ontario and French Quebec. These stories explore how that fluidity can create both tension and opportunity.
Crossing the border for health care
Americans face steep prices for medical procedures. Canadians can face lengthy wait times. That has some Americans headed north for health care, while Canadians head south.
In a country that is institutionally bilingual but where most people only speak one language, Gatineau is a true bilingual community.
A family-operated business for more than 200 years, this ferry crosses the Saint Lawrence daily during the summer tourist season.
Up the river
Explore the lives of those who live along the Saint Lawrence River on both sides of the United States and Canada border.
About Borderlines
Dozens of Newhouse School students deployed to New York’s border with Canada to report stories about the people, cultures, businesses and landscapes at the edge of two nations.
