The St. Lawrence Iroquoians lived, until the late 16th century, along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and in New York State, United States. What little is known of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians is found in the writings of the French explorer Jacques Cartier, in archeological and linguistic studies of the late 20th century, and in the studies of the surviving oral accounts of the historical past from the current Native people.

Historical issues
Near 1000 C.E., with the introduction the maize culture in the North East region, many Iroquoian communities begin to switch from a nomadic life to more permanent establishments in the regions of the Great Lakes. The richness of the soil in the St. Lawrence valley, along with the abundance of the fisheries nearby and of the forests rich of game animals, provided a good place for the north eastern Iroquoian settlements. By approximately 1300, the settlement pattern began to resemble the large fortified villages for which the St. Lawrence Iroquoians would be noticed in the historical record.

Emigration into the St. Lawrence valley
The explorer Jacques Cartier observed in 1535 and 1536 several Iroquoian villages north of Île d'Orléans, including the village of Stadacona on the site of modern-day Quebec City, as well as the village of Hochelaga in the vicinity of modern-day Montreal. Archeologists have unearthed other similar villages further West, near the eastern end of Lake Ontario. St. Lawrence Iroquoians lived in villages which were usually located a few kilometres inland from the Saint-Lawrence River and were often enclosed by a wooden palisade. Up to 2000 persons lived in the larger villages. Although Jacques Cartier made mention of longhouses in Hochelaga, he left no description of Stadacona or the other villages nearby.