Sawisera Gains Control III

One of the Christian Kenienke haka from Kahnawake rose and asked, “Who are you and where are you going?”

Hendrick answered, “I am a member of the Rotinonshonni, the greatest of all the onkwe honwe that live on Turtle Island.”

A Kahnawake Kenienke haka, replied, “We are from the Seven Nation confederacy, and we come with our Father, the King of France, to fight against the English; we have no quarrel with you. We therefore ask that you keep out of the way, lest we end up fighting one another.”44

Hendrick replied, “The Rotinonshonni have come to assist their brethren, the English, against the French who are encroaching on our lands in the Ohio. The Kahnawake should join us in this worthy cause against them or keep out of the way.”45

Just then, an over-exuberant Kenienke haka warrior from the valley fired at the Kahnawake Kenienke haka. In a few minutes, forty Kenienke haka from both sides fell dead, as they began to kill one another. They were fighting for the light-skinned beings in their own wars. The light-skinned being had divided them against one another and now the Kenienke haka were killing each another. The Kahnawake women, who were waiting in the bushes, caught Hendrick as he fled the battle, killed him, and then scalped him.46

Teharonhia: wako looked down from the Sky World. He knew that the Rotinonshonni were soon going to suffer in a way that had never happened before. He had sent his own emissary to bring a message of peace to the warring nations. Now, nations were even killing their own people in the wars brought to them by the Sawiskera islanders. The Great Peace was becoming more and more of a shell of what it had meant to represent. Sawiskera was truly at his worst, by influencing the onkwe honwe to kill one another in a war that wasn’t of their making.

After the English had won their war against the French, they began to abuse the nations who traded with the French in the west. These nations rose up and, with the help of the Sonontowa haka, defeated many of the English forts. This angered the Kenienke haka who were in favour of the English whose army was at the eastern door of the Rotinonshonni; the French army was at the western door. The Sonontowa haka did not want to fight a war against their cousins who lived in the north and west and who favoured the French. When the war was over, a great treaty was called that divided the land at the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. The English leaders had promised that no light-skinned person would ever move across the mountains and take the lands away from the Rotinonshonni and their cousins. This angered the English Christians, who believed that any land that they touched belonged to them automatically. They said that if their English leaders didn’t do something, they would revolt and take the lands by force anyway.

The Kenienke haka had a friend named William Johnson who had married into the Kenienke haka Turtle Clan. They had named him Ouirrakhiakeh, He Who Does Great Things. He was the representative of the great English leader who lived on Sawiskera’s island. Johnson had been influential in getting the Kenienke haka to fight with the English against the French. Johnson called for a council at his home named Johnson Hall. He wanted to meet all the royaner of the confederacy. When the onkwe honwe of the different nations arrived, there were no royaner, only war chiefs. Johnson asked, “Where are the royaner to represent you?”

A speaker for the Sonontowa haka stood up and answered: “The reason that you do not see many of our royaner here is because the weather and the roads are bad. They are not able to travel like we can. Therefore, negotiate with us, for it is we who are the leaders of consequence who manage the affairs of our people. Our royaner and Clan matrons are a parcel of old people, who say much but do little. It is we who have the power and ability to settle matters with you, and we are determined to answer you honestly from our hearts to the fullest.”47

By this time, the war chiefs were in complete control of the confederacy. Johnson knew that if he ever needed them they would be more easily manipulated than the wise royaner of the confederacy. With the French defeated, the English knew that the Kenienke haka were at their mercy. They asked Johnson for more land to live on; it was Kenienke haka lands as well as those of their southern neighbors that were wanted. Soon after, Johnson called for a large council to be held at Fort Stanwix, near the lands that were divided between the Oneota haka and the Kenienke haka nations.

At the council: were commissioners for the various English colonies, Christian religious leaders; as well as approximately 3,000 warriors from various native nations, such as the Delaware, Mingoes, Shawnees, and the Rotinonshonni representatives of the Six Nations.

Johnson opened the council by saying, “The Rotinonshonni are the masters of all the other Indians. They therefore have the right to sell any of your lands. You will be compensated for your losses with presents.”

He then said, “The Kenienke haka will also forfeit some of their lands to retain the peace.”

Soon after, the English delegation, along with their Christian spiritual leaders, began to argue about who would get which lands.

During the night, Johnson invited the war chiefs of the Rotinonshonni to a council. He said to them, “The English in the colonies want more land and are willing to fight you for it. If you give up your southern lands up to Woods Creek, as well as that of the Delaware and Shawnee in Pennsylvania, you will be left in peace.”

The Rotinonshonni war chiefs thought about it overnight. The next day, they said, “We accept the selling of our southern territories up to Woods Creek.”48

The leaders of the Delaware and Shawnee sat and listened in dismay. They left, feeling bitter that the Rotinonshonni had sold off their lands. They would remember this time in their stories and never support the Rotinonshonni again. It was not the first time that they had been humiliated by the Rotinonshonni. During the loss of the Delaware lands in Pennsylvania during the walking purchase, a war chief had said to the Delaware. “Along time ago, we put dresses on you and now you are our subjects.”49 He then sanctioned the selling of the Delaware lands. It was true that the Delaware were said to wear dresses. At the time, they were considered the grandfathers of all the Atirontok and therefore were the mediators of peace, the women’s role. Now the role of women was becoming so undermined that it was being used as justification for selling Delaware lands.

It was not long before the thirteen arrows decided to break away from their mother country England, situated just off Sawiskera’s island. They wanted the unrestricted use of Native people’s lands to the west. By this time, the war chiefs were almost in complete control of the Rotinonshonni. Some of them had been educated by the light-skinned beings. The royaner did not want to participate in the war; however, their voices as well as the Clan matrons had been silenced. Soon the great white wind would blow through the territory of the Longhouse of One Family as had been prophesied by the Peacemaker.

A young man named Joseph Brant, Tyendinaga, had been befriended by Johnson who had married Brant’s sister Molly. Brant hated the English of the thirteen arrows.

One day, a man named George Klock had gotten some Kenienke haka drunk and had them sign a deed for their land and their village of Canajoharie. He then tried to evict the Kenienke haka from their village. Brant knew that there would come a time when he would have to deal with men like Klock.50

Johnson had Brant educated by English missionaries so that he could read and write like the English. This put Brant in a powerful position as a negotiator between the Rotinonshonni and the English.

At Johnson Hall, the Rotinonshonni warriors had come to speak to Johnson. Johnson had made Johnson Hall the central fire of the warriors of the confederacy. There were few royaner who would ever visit it.

At the council, a Kenienke haka war chief asked, “Why are your people entering our lands in the Ohio from the south?”

Johnson replied, “We are doing everything to keep them out. Your only hope is to remain loyal to the English.”51

Suddenly Johnson fell down. He had suffered a heart attack and died. There was no one now to mediate between the English and the colonists who were breaking away.

The Shawnee were now being killed by the colonists of the thirteen arrows who were entering the Ohio region. They sent emissaries to the Rotinonshonni warriors asking for help.

When they arrived, they said, “At Fort Stanwix you took it upon yourselves to give the colonists our lands in Pennsylvania. If they are your lands, are you willing to stand by us and fight for them in the Ohio?”

The warriors knew that they didn’t have the power to save the Shawnee lands. They answered, “We cannot help you right now. You will have to fend for yourselves until we call a grand council.”

The war chiefs knew that they were humiliated and had made mistakes; things were now getting out of control. A grand council was held at Onontaka to turn over the decision process back to the traditional royaner. There the royaner chastised the war chiefs.

Tatotaho asked, “Are you ready to listen to us before it is too late and we lose everything?”

The war chiefs nodded their heads and one said, “We will promise that from now on any decisions that are made will first come back here to the grand council to be discussed by the royaner and the Clan matrons as had been done in the past.”52

William Johnson’s nephew took his uncle’s place after he died. He called for another council at Johnson’s Hall with the warriors. He knew that he had to solidify an alliance with them if they were to beat the colonists who now called themselves Americans.

He said, “My brothers, do not be afraid. The Great King in England will protect your lands from the colonists. You will have to remain loyal in order for him to do so. We ask that you remain at peace while we settle this matter between the colonies and the Great King.”

A Kenienke haka warrior brought a wampum belt forward and said, “Here is the covenant chain between us. Let us polish it so that it shines bright into the future.”

A Grand Council was held at Onontaka shortly after. Tatotaho brought up the resolution of remaining at peace. It went through all the nations.

Tekarihoken stood up and said, “The Kenienke haka wish to remain at peace.”

Skaniatar: io stood up and said, “The Sonontowa haka want to remain at peace.”

Takaenionk stood up and said, “The Kaokwa haka want to remain in peace.”

Ronwatsatonhon stood up and said, “The Oneota haka and Tuscarora want to remain at peace.”

Tatotaho then stood up and said, “Be it resolved; we will not interfere in the dispute between the thirteen arrows and the Great Father the King.”

While this was going on, the Christian leader Kirkland was trying to gain the Oneota haka’s support for the thirteen arrows. One of his most devout converts was the war chief Skanentor, the Deer.

The Oneota haka had made their intentions known through the words of a war chief. He told Kirkland and some other representatives of the thirteen arrows, “We are unwilling to join on either side of such a contest, for we love you both, old England and new. Should the great King of England ask us to go to war, we will not. If the Colonies ask us, we will refuse.”53

It was not long after that the Kenienke haka had become so discouraged over the losses of their lands that they appealed to the Oneota haka for land.

One of the Kenienke haka warriors asked the Oneota haka, “We have no home any longer. The colonists have taken everything away from us, including our villages.”54

Kirkland said, “The people of New York have done inexpressible hurt in the interest of religion among the lower tribes by taking away their lands and have made the other tribes angry.”55

The Kenienke haka’s only hope of keeping some lands was to maintain good relations with the King of England. Joseph Brant was the key to that relationship. The great white wind that had been predicted was already beginning to blow through the Kenienke haka lands. Kenienke haka were already responding by taking up their hatchets and sheltering themselves against the wind. This meant some of them choosing to fight the colonists from the thirteen arrows.

A council was held at Onakara Falls by the English. They had built a fort there to gain more support from the Rotinonshonni. The English would do anything to prevent the Rotinonshonni from being neutral. Their emissary Butler spoke on behalf of the English King:

“Your father, the Great King, has taken pity on you and is determined not to let the Americans deceive you any longer. Even though you were foolish to listen to them last year and believed their wicked stories. They mean to cheat you; if you should be so silly to take their advice and they conquer the King’s army, their intention is to take all your lands from you and destroy your people, for they are mad, foolish, crazy and full of deceit. They told you last fall at Pittsburgh that they took the tomahawk out of your hands, buried it deep, and transplanted the Tree of Peace over it. I now pluck up that tree, dig up the tomahawk, and replace it in your hands with the edge toward them that you may treat them as enemies.”56

“You have called us here to break the peace with our American brethren and to ask our help to fight them. We have lived in peace with them a long time, and we resolve to continue to do so as long as we can. When they hurt us, we will strike back. It is true that they have encroached on our lands, but of this we will speak to them. If you are so strong, Brother, and they so weak, why ask our assistance? It is true that I am tall and strong, but I reserve my strength to strike those who injure me. You have plenty of warriors, powder, lead and goods and they are so few. Be strong and make use of them. You say that their powder is rotten. We have found it to be good. You say they are mad and foolish, wicked, and deceitful. I say you are; they are wise, for you want us to destroy ourselves in your war; they advise us to live in peace. This advice we intend to follow.”57

At the same time, a number of Oneota haka warriors were becoming angry because of the way a Kenienke haka war party treated a delegation from the thirteen arrows who had gone to arrest John Johnson, William’s son.

Meanwhile, Joseph Brant, having previously married into Skenantor’s family, went on a mission to keep the Oneota haka in alliance with the Kenienke haka and the English. The commander of the colonists, in turn, opened a trading post for the Oneota haka who were in need of supplies to feed their families. So destitute had they become, that they were becoming beggars in their own land.

44. The Seven Nation Confederacy were Christianized Natives which included Iroquois from Kahnawake, Kanesetake, Akwesasne and Oswegatchie. In addition, it included the Abenaki from Odanak and Becancour, the Algonquins and Nipissings of Kanesetake and the Hurons of Lorrette.

48. I have based this section on the selling of lands by the Rotinonshonni on the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (Flexner 1979:328) as well as on the bitterness that the Lenni Lenape and other Native groups south of them felt about the treaty (Weslager 1991:252).

Next Chapter:
IV. The Great Peace Crumbles

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