Orator, Diplomat, Witch, Betrayer, Hero: A New History Lights Up Red Jacket’s Life

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Allegedly tried as a witch by his own people, admired and feared by European monarchs, accused of betraying the nation he represented, the formidable Iroquois diplomat Red Jacket remains one of the most compelling figures of his era.

"Red Jacket: Iroquois Diplomat and Orator," a new book by University at Buffalo Archivist Christopher Densmore, is the first modern biography of the legendary Seneca Indian who represented the Iroquois Nation in some of the most important diplomatic missions of his lifetime, serving as the representative of the Six Nations in negotiations with every president from George Washington to Andrew Jackson.

Densmore writes that Red Jacket's most significant achievement may be that, unlike most American Indian tribes, the Seneca and other Iroquois nations for whom he negotiated continue to own and live on their traditional ancestral lands.

In negotiation, Densmore says, Red Jacket -- his Seneca name was Sagoyewatha -- held firmly to his belief in the rights of native peoples to their own land, beliefs, traditions, government and way of life, independent of the encroaching American influence. Densmore notes that in keeping with this belief, Red Jacket required when meeting with government representatives that negotiation formats be in keeping with Iroquois traditions and diplomatic ritual.

Densmore's book, published by Syracuse University Press, explores the diplomat's life, accomplishments and the role he played for the enormous and powerful Iroquois Nation in its treaty negotiations with the U.S. government. Densmore also assesses the evidence for such derisive allegations as that Red Jacket was a physical coward, an alcoholic and a betrayer of his people and examines the complicated and surreptitious activities surrounding his corpse. So iconic a figure was Red Jacket that 20 years after his death in 1830, his bones were stolen and moved all over Western New York while public debate raged between Indians and whites as to whom they belonged.

From the 1780s through the first four decades of the 19th century, Red Jacket served the Six Nations as a diplomat and orator. These were not autonomous or personally authoritative public positions, however. They were political roles that required him to speak on behalf of the groups whose interests he represented, be it a tribe, councils of chiefs or group of Iroquois women -- powerful matrilineal figures who did not speak or vote in council.

Densmore sheds new light on the many legends surrounding Red Jacket -- that he was a warrior (accounts vary, but his lack of physical courage was something of a joke among the Seneca), that he was a chief in his own right (uncertain, but he campaigned vigorously on his own behalf) and that he was universally admired among the Iroquois. Although on principal he held out for the peaceful settlement of disputes through diplomatic interaction, many Iroquois did not trust him and considered him vainglorious and deceitful. At one time, according to early New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton, Red Jacket was denounced as a witch by his own people. They put him on trial, Clinton reported, but he spoke so eloquently in his own defense that he was acquitted.

Densmore says his research was complicated by the fact that Red Jacket neither spoke nor wrote English and Seneca was not a written language. Stories of his diplomatic skills and oratorical accomplishments were sometimes reported years after the event in question or by witnesses who had pro- or con-Red Jacket agendas, which cast doubt on their accuracy.

Densmore examines the "Christian" and "pagan" political parties of the Iroquois (Red Jacket was a pagan, a fact that figured prominently in his life and in his post-mortem adventures. He describes how the earliest Indian "reservations" arose out of the Iroquois practice of reserving a large tract of land for their own use -- reservations -- before selling off the rest of what is now New York State, and large tracts of Ohio and Pennsylvania the U.S. government.

"Ultimately, of course," says Densmore, "the land the Indians' reserved was too small for their growing population. By the early nineteenth century, they found themselves surrounded on all sides by white settlers. Many were driven out of their territories but others continue to own and reside on these relatively small landholds named for the creeks and rivers that run through them.

"Red Jacket was a more complex man than his legend suggests and some mysteries about his life have yet to be solved," Densmore adds "It's white men who have celebrated his accomplishments for the last 200 years. "It was always the white men who put up the monuments, named sites after Red Jacket and endlessly quoted him. In fact, he got his 'white' name, Red Jacket, from a military coat presented to him by a grateful British officer.

"Of course, those who appreciated Red Jacket's diplomatic efforts most wrote American history," he says, "so his story was passed down to white people by white people as that of a great Indian hero. Historically, he is widely considered a distinguished orator and diplomat who represented his people honorably through his legendary powers of persuasion. We should remember, however, that there are Iroquois who took exception to this assessment then and now."

EDITORS' NOTE: To receive a copy of this book, contact Patricia Donovan at 716-645-2626 or at the email address listed at the top of this page.