Indigenous Nations and the Revolution — Cherokee, Catawba, Haudenosaunee, and the Iroquois Confederacy Split

Morning Meeting + standing recite Three Promises. Read aloud one Haudenosaunee Clan-Mother present-day photograph and caption about contemporary Iroquois Confederacy operation.

• Standing recite Three Promises
• Present-day Haudenosaunee photograph at opening
• Affirm: 'Today we learn about Indigenous nations as AGENTS during the Revolution — making diplomatic decisions, splitting along strategic lines.'

Walk through Indigenous-nation positions during the Revolution: HAUDENOSAUNEE / IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY SPLIT — for the first time since the Great Law of Peace was established, the Six Nations did NOT achieve consensus. Most nations sided with Britain under Thayendanegea / Joseph Brant (Mohawk, c.1742-1807): Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca. The Oneida and Tuscarora sided with the Patriots. Brant became one of the most prominent Indigenous diplomat-warriors of the period — fluent in English, educated, traveled to London twice, met King George III, married into prominent families. His sister Mary Brant / Konwatsi'tsiaienni (Mohawk, 1736-1796) was an even more influential diplomat — she served as a key intelligence gatherer for the British and as a Clan Mother held real political power. The 1779 Sullivan Campaign by Continental Army under George Washington's orders devastated 40+ Haudenosaunee villages (Iroquois towns burned, crops destroyed) — Washington's nickname among Haudenosaunee remains 'Hanödaga:nyas' (Town Destroyer) today. CHEROKEE — most Cherokee sided with Britain, motivated by British Proclamation Line 1763 protections against colonial expansion. Nancy Ward / Nanye'hi (Cherokee, c.1738-1822) was a Beloved Woman of the Cherokee Nation — Cherokee women held political authority including the right to declare war or peace. Nanye'hi tried to broker peace but was overruled. The 1776 Cherokee-American War devastated Cherokee. CATAWBA — Catawba mostly sided with the Patriots (one of few Indigenous nations to do so), partly because they were geographically surrounded by Patriot colonies in the Carolinas. OUTCOMES FOR ALL INDIGENOUS NATIONS: the 1783 Treaty of Paris had NO PROVISIONS for Indigenous nations who fought; the new United States claimed all territory east of Mississippi by 'right of conquest' (a contested legal claim); the seeds of later forced removal (G4-Spring Trail of Tears content) were planted at the Revolution's end.

• Indigenous nations made strategic decisions based on their own sovereignty interests.

  model Because the British Proclamation Line of 1763 (Lesson 15) had protected Indigenous territory west of the Appalachians from colonial expansion. Patriot victory would mean removal of that protection and expanded colonial settlement onto Haudenosaunee territory. Most Iroquois leaders judged Britain the lesser threat to sovereignty. The Mohawk under Brant were closest to British colonial authorities.

  prompt Why did most Iroquois Confederacy nations side with Britain?
• Haudenosaunee matrilineal authority — Clan Mothers hold political power.

  model Mary Brant (Mohawk, 1736-1796) was Joseph Brant's older sister and an even more influential Mohawk Loyalist diplomat. She served as a key intelligence gatherer for the British and as a Clan Mother held real political power within the Mohawk Nation. She is rarely mentioned in elementary US history but was one of the most important Indigenous political figures of the Revolutionary era.

  prompt Who was Mary Brant / Konwatsi'tsiaienni? Why is she important?
• This is rarely taught in elementary US history but is the Sovereignty Promise foundational fact.

  model George Washington ordered the Sullivan Campaign 1779 — Continental Army troops under General John Sullivan devastated 40+ Haudenosaunee villages (Iroquois towns burned, crops destroyed). Washington's nickname among Haudenosaunee remains 'Hanödaga:nyas' (Town Destroyer) today. The campaign was a deliberate scorched-earth strategy against Indigenous nations who supported the British.

  prompt What was the Sullivan Campaign 1779 and why is it important?

• Why did the Iroquois Confederacy split during the Revolution?
• Who was Mary Brant / Konwatsi'tsiaienni?
• Who was Nancy Ward / Nanye'hi?
• What was the Sullivan Campaign 1779?

Children apply MG-7 to Cherokee Nation own-voice primary source on the Revolutionary era (Cherokee Nation Cultural Resource Center materials). Discuss the importance of own-voice primary sources for Indigenous-nation history.

M-5-F-HIS-17-B Illustration

Portrait illustration of Mary Brant / Konwatsi'tsiaienni (Mohawk, 1736-1796) in her position as Clan Mother and British Loyalist diplomat, in traditional Mohawk dress with diplomatic-message materials visible. Caption: 'MARY BRANT / KONWATSI'TSIAIENNI (Mohawk, 1736-1796). Joseph Brant's older sister. Mohawk Clan Mother. British Loyalist diplomat. Key intelligence gatherer for the British during the Revolution. Held real political power within the Mohawk Nation. Rarely mentioned in elementary US history but one of the most important Indigenous political figures of the Revolutionary era. The Mohawk people are sovereign and present today — Six Nations of the Grand River (Ontario), Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory (Ontario), Kahnawake (Quebec), Akwesasne (NY/Quebec/Ontario border).' Style: respectful adult portrait, dignified, no caricature.

• On the MG-14 5-Column Multi-Perspective Revolution Chart, fill in Column 4 (INDIGENOUS NATIONS SPLIT) with at least 6 nations and their positions.

  scaffold Use the sources list; partner check.
• Write one paragraph using Sovereignty Promise applied to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy today (Onondaga as Central Fire; all Six Nations sovereign; matrilineal authority).

  scaffold Sentence frames; present-tense protocol mandatory.

M-5-F-HIS-17-A Diagram

Section of the unit-wide MG-14 chart focused on Column 4 INDIGENOUS NATIONS SPLIT. Subcolumns: Nation / Position (British/Patriot/Neutral) / Key Figure / Reasoning. Rows: MOHAWK (British, Thayendanegea/Joseph Brant + Mary Brant/Konwatsi'tsiaienni, Proclamation Line protections); ONONDAGA (British, multiple Clan Mothers, sovereignty interests); CAYUGA (British, similar); SENECA (British, similar); ONEIDA (Patriot, Skenandoah, geographic proximity); TUSCARORA (Patriot, similar); CHEROKEE (mostly British, Dragging Canoe + Nancy Ward who tried to broker peace, Proclamation Line); CATAWBA (Patriot, Catawba surrounded by Patriot colonies). Banner: 'For the first time since the Great Law of Peace, the Six Nations did NOT achieve consensus. Indigenous nations made strategic decisions based on their own sovereignty interests.'

MG-14 Chart

Multi-Perspective Revolution 5-Column Chart — large unit-wide chart used in Lesson 19. COLUMNS: (1) PATRIOTS — the 40–45% of colonists who supported independence by 1776 (e.g., John Adams, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, George Washington as commander, 5,000+ Black soldiers in Continental Army including Salem Poor / Peter Salem / James Forten / 1st Rhode Island Regiment which was 1/3 Black and Indigenous, Mercy Otis Warren, Sybil Ludington, Deborah Sampson, Crispus Attucks legacy); (2) LOYALISTS — the 15–20% who remained loyal to Britain (e.g., Joseph Galloway, Jonathan Boucher, Ann Hulton, ~20,000 enslaved African Americans who fled under Dunmore's Proclamation 1775, most Iroquois Confederacy nations especially Mohawk under Thayendanegea / Joseph Brant); (3) NEUTRALS — the 35–40% who sought to stay out of the conflict (e.g., Quakers in Pennsylvania, many German Pietists, many enslaved people not given a choice, many Indigenous nations who tried to remain outside the Anglo-American conflict); (4) INDIGENOUS NATIONS SPLIT — Iroquois Confederacy split with Mohawk/Onondaga/Cayuga/Seneca with British and Oneida/Tuscarora with Patriots; Cherokee mostly with British; Catawba mostly with Patriots; (5) FRENCH ALLIES — the 1778 Franco-American Treaty (Benjamin Franklin in Paris) brought decisive French naval power at Yorktown 1781 (Comte de Rochambeau, Comte de Grasse, Marquis de Lafayette), plus Spanish entry 1779 (Bernardo de Gálvez), plus 1,500+ Native American allies on the French side at Yorktown including Catawba and Lenape scouts. Banner: 'The Revolution was not a single story. It was a wartime moment of choice — and many people did not have any choice at all.' Style: clean 5-column chart.

• Why did most Iroquois Confederacy nations side with Britain?
• Who was Mary Brant?
• What was the Sullivan Campaign 1779?

• Standing recite Three Promises
• Preview tomorrow: Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence summer 1776

• Find one source on the Haudenosaunee Confederacy today (Onondaga Nation Cultural Center or Six Nations Polytechnic). Bring back one fact about Haudenosaunee present-day governance.