The Four Mohawk Kings

This Native delegation to the Court of Queen Anne in 1710 illustrates much of what Whites in general and government officials in particular did not know about Native culture.  To begin with, the "Kings" were actually Sachems, one an Algonquian-speaking Mohican and the other three members of the Iroquois Confederacy.  Their names and titles are also confused, but I'll try to untangle the confusion as best I can.

In the famous grouping of their portraits, from left to right were Mohican leader Etoh-oh-kam of the Turtle Clan, who was mistakenly believed to be Emperor of the Six Nations, although he was not Iroquois and there were no six nations until 1722, years later, when the Tuscarora joined the Confederacy.  The three others were Mohawks.  The man with the remarkable tattoos, called Sa-ga-yeath-qua-pieth-tow of the Bear Clan, or by his baptismal name Peter Brant.  He was known as the King of Maguas, Maguas being one of the Iroquoian towns with Peter as a headman, but not a king.  He is also referred to as Joseph Brant's grandfather.  Actually, he was a step-grandfather to Joseph, through Joseph's mother's second marriage to a Bear Clan sachem.  Next in line, was Ho-nee-yeath-taw-no-row, called King of Canajoharie or John of Canajoharie.  Canajoharie was one of the main Mohawk towns, if not their principal town, which made John a high-ranking sachem, but not a king.  Finally, the distinctive man in black was Tee-yee-ho-ga-row, known as Hendrick Tejoninhokawara or King Hendrick.  He is also confused with another Hendrick who was another relative of Brant.  More on the two Hendricks in a later post, but if the name Teyoninhokarawa sounds familiar, refer back to John Norton, who was given that same title years later.  Thus, the Native names of these men were more likely their official titles and not personal names.

The embassy of the four Native leaders was the brainchild of Albany mayor Pieter Schuyler (of the Schuyler family).  What was in it for him?  Then as now, Mayors are always interested in creative ways of promoting their city.  To fund the visit of four distinguished Native leaders, looked upon as Kings by British society even if they weren't, reflected well on Albany, New York and its mayor.  The visitors were treated as diplomats, parading through the city in horse-drawn carriages, and seeing the usual sites of the Tower of London and St. Paul's Cathedral before receiving their formal audience with Queen Anne in St. James Palace.  St. James Palace is the official seat of the Royal Court, which is often called the Court of St. James, and even today, new ambassadors formally present their credentials to the sovereign at an audience at this palace.  The sachems then had their portraits painted by a leading painter of the time, Jan Verelst, also part of the diplomatic round. 

While Londoners reveled at the sight of these "Kings", the leaders themselves had serious concerns to lay before the Queen.  They requested military protection against the French, and they wished Anglican missionaries to be sent to their people to counteract the influence of the Catholic Jesuit missionaries.  More on a possible reason why later.  Queen Anne promised both, and passed the religious request on to her Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent missionaries to the Mohawk village known as Lower Castle, near Fort Hunter.  She also sent a silver communion service, which was later kept at the Mohawk Chapel in Ontario, Canada.  The paintings of the four leaders remained in Kensington Palace until Queen Elizabeth ordered them sent to the National Archives in Canada and unveiled them in 1977 in Ottawa.