Doug George-Kanentiio is wearing a coat tailored after the Butler's Rangers unit of the British Army in 1777. The Rangers fought alongside the Mohawks who gave them instruction into aboriginal warfare tactics. The Rangers proved to be highly effective, so much so that the American rebels put a reward on their heads. The Mohawks highly prized this uniform which has silver colonel epaulets attached to the shoulders. Courtesy photo

The War of 1812 and its Legacy at Akwesasne
By Doug George-Kanentiio

By December of 1814 the war between the US and Britain was coming to a close. Britain was under growing pressure to restore trade with the US and reduce the tax burdens of its citizens not only from the conflicts in North America but with France on the European continent.

Negotiations directed at signing a peace treaty began in August, 1814 in the Belgian city of Ghent. The British delegation began the discussions by insisting on the creation of an aboriginal state in the Ohio-Michigan-Wisconsin area to act as a buffer between Canada and the US while serving as a brake on American expansion into the upper Midwest.

A primary cause of the war had been the US invasion of Native lands and the subsequent efforts by Tecumseh to form an alliance to thrust the Americans back. Tecumseh proved to be an exceptional political and military leader whose forces inflicted numerous defeats upon the US but needed British supplies to continue to do so. When Tecumseh was killed at the Battle of Moraviantown in October of 1813 the dreams of a broad aboriginal alliance died with him. While most Native nations (including the majority of Mohawks) fought alongside the British and Canadians there was no chance of continuing the war without necessary firearms and ammunition only the British could supply.

The American response to the British demands at Ghent was to demand that all of Canada be ceded to the US without any regards for the aboriginal nations. Both sides spent the next few weeks exchanging positions until they were given news about the burning of Washington in August and the Battle of Plattsburgh in September.

While the torching of the US Capitol was a moral victory for Britain the defeat at Plattsburgh under incompetent military command meant the end of the plans to march down the Lake Champlain-Hudson River corridor and divide the US into sections. The British knew there was movement in New England to secede from the US had such an invasion been successful but those hopes evaporated after Plattsburgh.

With no compelling reason to continue the war as a result of the military stalemates on the Niagara Peninsula and on Lake Champlain the US and Britain came to terms in December of 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. Only one provision, Article Nine, cited Natives. It held that the pre-war status of the Native nations would be acknowledged but it also meant that Britain would no longer support them in their fight against the Americans.

For Akwesasne the treaty failed to remove a prime source of contention on the community. The international border would remain in place. Its exact place would be subject to further surveys and included in the 1842 Webster Ashburton Treaty, again between the US and Britain exclusive of aboriginal participation.

Despite the sacrifices of the Mohawk people in defending Canada they would not warrant specific protection under the terms of the Ghent Treaty. The Americans, and particularly New York State, would continue to intrude upon Mohawk lands using the fraudulent Seven Nations of Canada (1796) and Joseph Brant (1797) "treaties" and by empowering the three "trustee" system now known as the St. Regis Tribal Council. In 1899 at force of arms Canada would replicate the Americans when it imposed its own "elected" system with the formation of the St. Regis Band Council (now the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne).

The basis for generations of internal tension and periodic conflict at Akwesasne was set. While the majority of the community desired then (as now) one governing council the external powers would not-and will currently oppose-the return to singular Mohawk jurisdiction.

The War of 1812 solved nothing for the Mohawks. It was the last time the Mohawks fought as cohesive units using ancestral battle techniques. It was the last time the Iroquois fought other Iroquois in pitched battle. It was the last chance for the border at Akwesasne to be redrawn.

But the war has another unforeseen effect. Eleazer Williams, the Anglican deacon and son of Thomas Williams a signatory to the Seven Nations Treaty, had served as a US spy during the conflict. It is said his information at the Battle of Plattsburgh enabled the US to defeat the British land forces but it made him a controversial person at Akwesasne.

As a result he moved to the pro-American Oneidas in Oneida Castle, NY where he used his government ties in Albany and Washington to effect the removal of the majority of Oneidas to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Unknown to the Oneidas Williams was also an agent for the Ogden Land Company (hence the name Ogdensburg), accepting bribes to open Oneida lands for settlement.

George-Kanentiio, Akwesasne Mohawk, is the former editor of the journal Akwesasne Notes. A founding member of the Native American Journalists Association he served on the Board of Trustees for the National Museum of the American Indian. He is the author of many books and articles about aboriginal people including "Iroquois on Fire". He may be reached via e-mail: Kanentiio@aol or by calling 315-415-7288.