Friday Reprise: Red Jacket of the Seneca, c 1750-1830

Dispute exists about where in New York Red Jacket was born.  It could have been at Old Seneca Castle near Geneva, NY, near Cayuga Lake, or even Keuke Lake.  His family did spend much time there when he was a boy, and his mother was buried there.  So the Keuke Lake location is the most probable.  As a boy and young man, his name was Otetiani.  He acquired the name Segoyawatha when he became a Sachem.  His more common name, Red Jacket, came from his favorite coat, a braided red jacket given to him by the British during the Revolution.

Like all Iroquois leaders, Segoyawatha was born into his mother's wolf clan and later became one of the 50 Iroquois Sachems in 1791.  As such, he often had to work with Joseph Brant, his counterpart for the Mohawk, during the American Revolution when both the Seneca and Mohawk chose to ally with the British.  They were not friends but could work together in council for the benefit of their people.  After the Revolution, Segoyawatha came into his own as a negotiator on behalf of his people with the United States government.  In 1792, he led a delegation to Philadelphia and met with George Washington.  There, he was presented with the unusually large peace medal which appears in his portraits.  He was also presented with a rifle with a silver-inlaid stock bearing his initials and the wolf clan emblem.  Both of these pieces survive.  The gun is in a private collection and the medal is in the possession of the Buffalo Historical Society.  Along with his cousins Cornplanter and Handsome Lake, he was a signatory of the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, which imposed punitive land cessions on the Seneca for having sided with the British during the Revolution, but did confirm other tracts of land for them in New York. 


At some point, Segoyawatha began drinking heavily.  He later on adopted the teachings of his cousin, Handsome Lake, and was able to stop consuming alcohol.  Though he had several children, he'd lost most of them to childhood diseases, which he believed was the Great spirit's punishment for his drinking and gave him the impetus to stay sober.  During the War of 1812, he worked to keep the Seneca neutral and out of harm's way, though he had to contend with the influence of Tecumseh and other leaders who wanted to pull his people into the wider conflicts going on around them.  He lived his later years in Buffalo, New York.  He was originally buried in an Indian Cemetery.  Years later, his grandson, General Ely S. Parker and others petitioned for his reburial in Forest Lawn Cemetery, where he rests today.  Like other Native leaders of the time, he sat for his portrait many times.  George Catlin painted him twice.  Other portraits were done by Henry Inman and Robert Weir.

Segoyawatha's most famous speech, "Religion for the White Man and the Red" began as a response to a Protestant missionary in 1805.  While the missionaries argued for one religion and one path to God, He believed that each person should have the right to pursue the religion which suited them best.  He politely, yet firmly, rejected the notion that the Iroquois were required to adopt Christianity.  Later, he was invited to give the speech before the United States Senate, an honor that few except visiting heads of state receive.  As well as discussing religion, Segoyawatha gives an apt summary of the history of the relationship between Natives and Settlers.  This is the text:

Friend and Brother: it was the will of the Great Spirit that we should meet together this day. He orders all things and has given us a fine day for our council. He has taken his garment from before the sun, and caused it to shine with brightness upon us. Our eyes are opened, that we see clearly; our ears are unstopped, that we have been able to hear distinctly the words you have spoken. For all these favors we thank the Great Spirit; and him only.Brother: this council fire was kindled by you. It was at your request that we came together at this time. We have listened with attention to what you have said. You requested us to speak our minds freely. This gives us great joy; for we now consider that we stand upright before you, and can speak what we think. All have heard your voice, and all speak to you now as one man. Our minds are agreed. Brother: you say you want an answer to your talk before you leave this place. It is right you should have one, as you are a great distance from home, and we do not wish to detain you. But we will first look back a little, and tell you what our fathers have told us, and what we have heard from the white people. Brother: listen to what we say. There was a time when our forefathers owned this great island. Their seats extended from the rising to the setting sun. The Great Spirit had made it for the use of Indians. He had created the buffalo, the deer, and other animals for food. He has made the bear and the beaver. Their skins served us for clothing. He had scattered them over the country, and taught us how to take them. He had caused the earth to produce corn for bread. All this He had done for his red children, because He loved them. If we had some disputes about our hunting ground, they were generally settled without the shedding of much blood. But an evil day came upon us. Your forefathers crossed the great water and landed on this island. Their numbers were small. They found friends and not enemies. They told us they had fled from their own country for fear of wicked men, and had come here to enjoy their religion. They asked for a small seat. We took pity on them; granted their request; and they sat down amongst us. We gave them corn and meat; they gave us poison in return. The white people, brother, had now found our country. Tidings were carried back, and more came amongst us. Yet we did not fear them. We took them to be friends. They called us brothers. We believed them, and gave them a larger seat. At length their numbers had greatly increased. They wanted more land; they wanted our country. Our eyes were opened, and our minds became uneasy. Wars took place. Indians were hired to fight against Indians, and many of our people were destroyed. They also brought strong liquor amongst us. It was strong and powerful, and has slain thousands.Brother: our seats were once large, and yours were small. You have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets. You have got our country, but are not satisfied; you want to force your religion upon us. Brother: continue to listen. You say that you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to his mind, and, if we do not take hold of the religion which you white people teach, we shall be unhappy hereafter. You say that you are right, and we are lost. How do we know this to be true? We understand that your religion is written in a book. If it was intended for us as well as you, why has not the Great Spirit given to us, and not only to us, but why did He not give to our forefathers, the knowledge of that book, with the means of understanding it rightly? We only know what you tell us about it. How shall we know when to believe, being so often deceived by the white people?Brother: you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the book? Brother: we do not understand these things. We are told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion, which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us, their children. We worship in that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive; to love each other, and to be united. We never quarrel about religion. Brother: the Great Spirit has made us all, but He has made a great difference between his white and red children. He has given us different complexions and different customs. To you He has given the arts. To these He has not opened our eyes. We know these things to be true. Since He has made so great a difference between us in other things, why may we not conclude that He has given us a different religion according to our understanding? The Great Spirit does right. He knows what is best for his children; we are satisfied. Brother: we do not wish to destroy your religion, or take it from you. We only want to enjoy our own. Brother: you say you have not come to get our land or our money, but to enlighten our minds. I will now tell you that I have been at your meetings, and saw you collect money from the meeting. I cannot tell what this money was intended for, but suppose that it was for your minister, and if we should conform to your way of thinking, perhaps you may want some from us. Brother: we are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this place. These people are our neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while, and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, makes them honest, and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again of what you have said.Brother: you have now heard our answer to your talk, and this is all we have to say at present. As we are going to part, we will come and take you by the hand, and hope the Great Spirit will protect you on your journey, and return you safe to your friends. (from the website Social Justice Net).