Jessica Crabtree

January 30, 1830: Death of Seneca chief and orator Red Jacket (Sagoyewatha)

Read more: Red Jacket’s 1805 Speech – complete text and bio

Above: Charles Bird King’s beautiful portrait of Red Jacket, c. 1828. He is shown wearing a silver peace medal George Washington presented to him in 1792, which was passed down to his descendant Ely Parker.

Wikipedia: Red Jacket

Click on the “Red Jacket” tag below for related posts.

Indian Country Today: Thanksgiving symbolizes Native generosity and kindness

A great story about how the Oneida Nation is participating in community outreach and advocacy programs to fight hunger and homelessness.

“Integral to this agreement is a commitment by both parties to rediscover the origin and spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, which dates back to Native people providing this country’s first newcomers with food and shelter,” says a statement issued by the coalition.

It seems this is a real-life extension of the values expressed in the Oneida’s symbolic display in the Thanksgiving Day parade. (For those of you who missed it, the float entitled “The True Spirit of Thanksgiving” depicts images from Iroquois cosmology embodying unity and gratitude.)

“The greatest gift may be that peace was considered by the Iroquois people to be one of the greatest gifts to mankind. Peace. And it was peace that was understood and achieved by the Iroquois during a time of great stress. It was a gift from the Creator, a gift that mankind doesn’t always achieve, but that doesn’t mean we stop believing it or stop striving for it, and it comes from the culture of our people.

Sometimes we become overwhelmed with negativity – that’s easy to do as Indian people, but we must not forget our culture. That same culture still exists and there’s still something to be done in America by its people sharing and understanding what American Indians not only have given but continue to give to America, and that’s the true spirit of Thanksgiving.”

– Ray Halbritter, official spokesperson of the Oneida Nation, on the Iroquois concept of “the good mind”

The recent story about the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team having to forfeit the championship games in the UK ends on a higher note.

Some of the world’s best lacrosse players shared the field in Hawaii’s Invitational Tournament. But the best part was the cultural exchange the trip offered.

“This is a symbolic visit, our nation to their nation. We have many shared experiences, like oppression, and a common heart and spirit,” Percy Abrams, the team’s executive director, told a Hawaiian reporter.

Indian Country Today: Iroquois Nationals Share Lacrosse, Cultural Experience in Hawaii Tournament

The Iroquois Nationals team members hold an outreach clinic in a Hawaiian school, sponsored by Nike. (Photos by Jill Zanger)

Indian Country Today: Jake Swamp dies at 68 – Mohawk leader leaves great legacy of peace

Mohawk sub-chief Jake Swamp served as an international spokesperson for the Mohawk nation as part of a life-long legacy of campaigning for global indigenous rights. He was instrumental in preserving his nation’s language and traditional culture through outreach and education.

His passing will be mourned by thousands all over the world.

This video essay from the Syracuse Post-Standard is part five in a series about how the people of the modern-day Onondaga Nation combine today’s lifestyle with ancient traditions to live with the seasons. This episode focuses on the harvest season of autumn.

This series is one of my favorites; highly recommended and enjoyable – take a moment to watch it.

Syracuse Post-Standard: People of the Hills – Part 5

Feeding the community buffalo herd

The Three Sisters – corn, beans, and squash

Enjoying the Upstate weather

Ely Parker, or Ha-sa-no-an-da (“Leading Name”), was born in the Seneca Nation in 1828. Through his mother he was descended from prominent Iroquois leaders such as Red Jacket and Handsome Lake. He showed promising aptitude for learning and attended American boarding schools, later graduating from college with a degree in engineering. He distinguished himself early in life by strong administrative and diplomatic skills, and already he had begun to forge important associations with individuals who would later play crucial roles in his career.

-Career

After graduating, Parker worked at a law office, but was refused admission to the bar because he was not a legal citizen (Indians were not granted US citizenship until 1924). Later he used his college training to obtain work as a civil engineer; his resume included major construction projects in the Great Lakes region and maintenance of the Erie Canal.

At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in the Union army as an engineer, but was refused because of his race. He brought his case before a friend – future general U.S. Grant – who interceded on his behalf. Parker was later appointed Grant’s adjutant, served as his personal secretary under the rank of lieutenant colonel, and was eventually promoted to Brigadier General. He was the highest-ranking Native American in the Union Army.

It was Parker who wrote the final draft of the Confederate terms of surrender that were served at the Appomattox courthouse. (It is also interesting to note that on the opposing side, it was another Native American – Cherokee chief Stand Watie – who was the last Confederate general to surrender.) At the surrender at Appomattox, General Lee is said to have remarked, “I am glad to see one real American here” – to which Parker replied, “We are all Americans, sir.” It was this kind of open-minded and forward-thinking mentality that marked Parker’s entire career.

-Indian Affairs

As one of the ten chiefs of the Seneca nation (a post which he had held since 1851), Parker served as a cultural liaison between the US and his Seneca people. After the Civil War he continued to distinguish himself through his efforts as a diplomat and translator, becoming an attaché for the Office of Indian Affairs.

He was a powerful proponent of Indian’s rights in a time when few people were willing to speak on their behalf. He used his unique influence in politics to address the pressing issues arising with the white migration and settlement of the Plains. In his Report on Indian Affairs released in 1867, he opened with this bleak and forthright assessment:

“…as the hardy pioneer and adventurous miner advanced into the inhospitable regions occupied by the Indians, in search of the precious metals, they found no rights possessed by the Indians that they were bound to respect. The faith of treaties solemnly entered into were totally disregarded, and Indian territory wantonly violated. If any tribe remonstrated against the violation of their natural and treaty rights, members of the tribe were inhumanely shot down and the whole treated as mere dogs. Retaliation generally followed, and bloody Indian wars have been the consequence, costing many lives…”

In 1869 he was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs – the first Native American to hold the post (and the first Native American to hold any cabinet-level government office). Despite his efforts for reform, his advice went largely unheeded, and after two years he resigned from the post. He became increasingly disillusioned and even disgusted with American policies towards Native Americans. (continue reading…)

Indian Country Today: Uneasy in US, Iroquois believe survival’s at stake
By Samantha Gross, Associated Press Writer

This is an extensive and thorough news story by a writer for the Associated Press, detailing the history behind the recent passport scuffle for the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team, and the sovereignty issues facing the Haudenosaunee. Highly recommended reading.

Here’s a story for love of irony…
The Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team has been denied the opportunity to participate in the World Lacrosse Games in Great Britain – the sport’s equivalent of the world cup – after the US government refused to recognize their national return passports.

The scuffle over passport jurisdiction is not new, since the territory of the Six Nations straddles both the US and Canada, resulting in a slew of on-going border disputes. But although these documents had been recognized in the past, when the Iroquois team participated in previous matches, recent regulation changes and international travel red tape have left the passports issued by the Iroquois Confederacy considered “sub-standard.”

Indian Country Today: Iroquois Nationals Forfeits First Game

New York Times: Bid for Trophy Becomes a Test of Iroquois Identity

Onondaga Nation: The Iroquois and Lacrosse

The irony of this is so obvious that it’s hard to swallow; in the first place, since the Iroquois invented the game of lacrosse, and it is one of their most important sacred traditions; in the second place, because it’s a slap in the face to the very sovereignty of the Iroquois Nations (yes, I said sovereignty, because they exist legally as a distinct nation within the United States). We’re talking about the very same government that helped to give us our sovereignty.

This issue seems to illustrate the way the world’s major powers exercise their own arbitrary judgment over the rights and self-determination of indigenous peoples in general – and even sovereign states – who have the misfortune of being too small to matter. It’s a sorry picture, but that’s the way it is.

House Resolution 331: Recognizing the sovereignty of the Iroquois Confederation and acknowledging its particular contribution to the foundation of the United States (PDF)

See also:

The Founding Sachems: Indian Traditions of Democracy

A Few Thoughts on the Fourth: The Native American Face of Independence Day