The fourth part of an ongoing series that looks at the plight of the Native American people. The Revolutionary War left North America being ravaged by two juggernauts: the newly formed Continental Army and the redcoats of Great Britain. Anyone else left in their path was quickly scooped up and used as pawns, allies, or in most cases, as cannon fodder. Throughout the years of war, Native American tribes had to elect the loyalist or patriot cause, or in some way uphold a middle-of-the-road position. But the Native Americans had idiosyncratic concerns all their own in attempting to hold a grip on to their land of birth as well as sustain admittance to trade and provisions as war overwhelmed their lands.
With so much at stake, the obvious answer was to abstain from combat all together. The tribes like the Iroquois did not come to an understanding on which side to back during the Revolutionary War. At a council neighboring Albany in 1775, the leaders of the Iroquois first agree the war concerning the British and the colonists was between the two parties, and they should attempt to stay impartial. In the days before of the American Revolution initialized the Iroquois were perhaps the most daunting armed group in New York, and it is no surprise that both the British and the Colonists vigorously pursued their backing. Whoever gained their loyalty was guaranteed the control of New York.[1] To encourage natives, the British delivered to Indians capital and armaments to assault American garrisons. Some Indians attempted to stay nonaligned, seeing little worth in signing up for a European skirmish and dreading retaliations from either side they faced. However siding with the British seemed like the most rational course of action. Most Native Americans rejected requests that they persist as unbiased and reinforced the British Crown, both since their trading affiliations and its labors to disallow colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. Those tribes that were more tangled up in colonial trade inclined to align with the rebels. With the aid of some of the more vocal leaders, natives were lead in the direction of war. The Iroquois Confederacy divided. Joseph Brant, a cultured Mohawk led his tribe away from a plan of impartiality and into a pact with the British. Brant, whose Iroquois name was Thayendanega, was irritated at the Continentals for stealing Iroquois acreage. He believed the Iroquois would lose even more if the American colonies became autonomous. He persuaded the Mohawks, Senecas, and Cayugas that they must side with England. Mohicans, conversely, merged with their Massachusetts Continentals, offering up themselves as minutemen even before hostilities began. Of those Iroquois that did serve, they had a quite an impact on the outcome of many of the encounters. The natives that battled for the British did well, and in some encounters they fielded more warriors and underwent more losses than the British. For example, at Cherry Valley on November 11, 1778 the Iroquois delivered 500 warriors and the British only sent 200.[2] The eruption of the American Revolution had great concerns for the all Indians. They agreed the Revolution was a challenge for their domains as well as for independence. Some tribes disobeyed their chiefs and attacked border colonies all along the frontier. Many others struggled to linger as an impartial party. In the Ohio Valley, the Shawnees worked to stay out of the fray. But the revulsion of Indians amid pioneers soon demolished the amity. American militia massacred defenseless, converted, Moravians at Gnadenhutten, Ohio, in 1782. The Ohio tribes joined themselves with the British after these assaults. It was not an easy choice, but as mentioned before, a few tribes did end up siding with the colonists, one being the Oneida. In 1777, the Iroquois nations still differed about their part in the American Revolution. The Oneida and Tuscarora agree to back the Continental Army while the others bolstered the British on the grounds that Iroquois land titles be arbitrated. Iroquois nation met Iroquois nation in combat for the first time in more than 300 years at Oriskany, New York, on August 8, 1777.[3] When the Oneidas took the side of the Continentals became their supporters in the battle for freedom. The Oneidas clashed in many skirmishes, like that at Oriskany, where other Iroquois tribes were fighting together with the British. The Oneidas even assisted in the supply of foodstuff to General George Washington's armed forces at Valley Forge. The Oneida/Colonist alliance had a vital role in averting a premature Colonist rout in New York, and therefore an initial loss of the Revolution. The union indicated the breakdown of Iroquoian political and martial influence in New York. Because of their loyalties to the Colonists the Oneida suffered significantly, and were never again able to attain the amount of affluence and freedom they appreciated prior to the Revolution.[4] There are several reasons why this alliance existed. One influence that may have abetted the Oneida-Colonist coalition was the energy made by the Colonists to source the Oneida with amenities. The Continental Congress in November, 1775 ordered: Trade with the Indians to be encouraged, and Indian goods to be procured. The Commissioners are desired to provide entertainment, etc., for sachems and other Indians who come to Albany; and $750 is provided for this purpose. The Commissioners will employ two blacksmiths, for reasonable salaries, to reside among the Six Nations and work for them.[5] Another significant reason of the Oneida/Colonist alliance was the sway of Samuel Kirkland a Presbyterian minister and missionary among the Oneida. At the time of the Revolution, Kirkland had been with the Oneida for about 10 years and was fairly persuasive with the tribe. He was the spiritual spearhead, oversaw the scholastic undertakings, set social guidelines, provided the deprived with foodstuff, and aided as a translator.[6] It was this close contact with the natives that eventually swayed the tribes to fight alongside the colonists. When the dust settles on the American Revolution, natives were signed up for a losing war, regardless of their affiliations during. Had British or Colonial leaders identified more about the Native culture, they would perhaps have determined there was too much contrast among their own civilizations and the native civilization for a system of cultural appropriating to have been successful. Separately from fiscal, social, and spiritual dissimilarities, Native culture was profoundly unlike that of the British and colonists. The second existed in a state structured civilization, and all their league plans were intended for the direction of a state controlled settlement or an autonomous state. The natives, like the Iroquois, lived in a non-state civilization.[7] But even siding with the eventual victors had its cost. At the close of the war, the Continentals found that it had beaten the tribes that had assisted the British, and no endowment for the Iroquois was prepared in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The fledgling United States congested the distinct Native tribes in a westward development, obtaining Indian land by numerous ways: by contracts, acquisition, deception, and might. The tribes like the Iroquois slowly were stuffed into reservations in New York, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.[8] [1] Levinson 267 [2] Crawford 370 [3] Crawford 370 [4] Levinson 265 [5] Ibid 286 [6] Levinson 284 [7] Payne Jr 614 [8] Crawford 371
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Ryan LancasterThe internet is a scary place. You don't know who to trust when it comes to information sometimes, especially when it involves history. Well weary traveler, look no further. Professor Lancaster has got you covered. After receiving my masters in American history, I wanted to put that rather expensive piece of paper to use and create a curriculum of my choosing to inform the unwashed masses of their history. Also, I want to be an internet celebrity. Archives
August 2018
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