On Common Ground. Richard D. Merritt
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Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant), artist William Berczy, oil on canvas, circa 1807. As Mohawk chief and principal war leader of the Six Nations on the Grand River tract, Brant (1742–1807) was a frequent spokesman at the Indian Council House on the Commons. His sister, Molly Brant, was the second wife of Sir William Johnson.
Photo © National Gallery of Canada, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa #5777.
Eventually a compromise was reached whereby large tracts of land already sold to non-Natives were recognized by the government. When the hesitant Peter Russell, then Upper Canada’s administrator, met with Brant in council at Niagara to publicly formalize the agreement the following July, up to three hundred young warriors had unexpectedly accompanied Brant.[18] Since this probably exceeded the entire adult male population of Newark, including the garrison, Russell later admitted to his displeased superiors in London that he had felt “not a little intimidated” to reluctantly sign the agreement without their prior approval.[19] During the ceremony Brant “eagerly” took Russell’s hand and declared that, “they would now all fight for the King to the last drop of their Blood.”[20] Had Russell delayed signing the agreement, his negotiation stance would have been further compromised with the surprise arrival of Chiefs Red Jacket[21] and Farmers Brother,[22] accompanied by yet another two hundred warriors of the Seneca Nation from the United States[23] the next day.
Until then, the British Indian Department at Niagara served the Six Nations on the Grand River and, theoretically, those still living on reserves on the American side.[24] The Council House was open to the Mississauga Indians and any other Native group that might wander through. In an attempt to thwart Joseph Brant from uniting all the Natives against the interests of the government, the Mississaugas were forced to travel to York, where a new Indian Department was established under Major James Givins.[25]
Meanwhile William Claus carried out his responsibilities at Niagara, dispensing annual presents and provisions to the Natives and calling Indian councils when necessary to address specific domestic and political concerns. In 1799, with the death of Alexander McKee at Amherstburg, William Claus was appointed Deputy Superintendent and Inspector General of Indian Affairs, a post he would hold until 1826. His uncle, Sir John Johnson, pleased with the appointment, commented that Claus was now “set up for life,”[26] although he did worry about his nephew’s health given Niagara’s reputation as an unhealthy locale.
In August 1808 Claus reported that “a vast number of Indians are at this Post … [and they] complain of the great distress they are in for Bread,” but they had also informed him that they would “sit quiet in case of any quarrel between the King and America.”[27] The following March he reported on another meeting at the Council House in which the Natives remained aloof to any military alliance but complained of ongoing difficulty with local white settlers “stealing their hogs,” working their horses, and settling on their lands, all without redress.[28]
During the War of 1812 the Grand River Six Nations and their allies did eventually side with the British and played an important role in many of the battles.[29] Early in the morning of October 13, 1812, Six Nations warriors were encamped at the Indian Council House; their leader, Chief John Norton, saw General Brock gallop off towards Queenston. Soon the warriors were ordered to follow along the River Road and played a decisive role in the Battle of Queenston Heights. On November 5, 1812, a solemn memorial service was held in the Council House. In the presence of military and British Indian Department officials, Brock was eulogized by Chief Little Cayuga, who presented eight white strings of wampum. A large white belt of wampum was also presented to cover Brock’s grave.[30]
Portrait of Major John Norton (Teyoninhokarawen), artist Solomon Williams, oil, 1804. Adopted as a nephew by Joseph Brant, upon the latter’s death Norton eventually became a chief of war and diplomacy among the Mohawks. During the War of 1812 he questioned the authority of the British Indian Department and lead His Majesty’s Indian Allies in all the battles on the Niagara Peninsula save one. © Canadian War Museum #1995009-001.
Spirits were running high again on the Commons several weeks later. Having successfully repulsed another American invading force near Fort Erie, the Natives and some troops returned in triumph to Fort George. As one town person reported they “encamped on the skirts of the woods back of the town [and kept] us alive with their war dances and [made] the dark cedar woods echo with savage yells.”[31]
Early in the morning of May 27 the following year, fifty Natives under Chief John Norton, accompanied by several officers of the Indian Department, were lying in wait along the fog-enshrouded shore of Lake Ontario near One Mile Pond. Suddenly a fierce bombardment from American ships offshore cut into the defenders, killing Indian Department clerk and storekeeper Lieutenant William Johnson Chew and several Natives. Despite the valiant but unsuccessful attempt to defend the town of Niagara and Fort George against the invading Americans, the British forces retreated towards Burlington; the Natives successfully covered their retreat. During the American occupation of the fort and town of Niagara during the summer and fall of 1813, the British Indian Department encouraged up to eight hundred Natives to lurk in the woods nearby and harass the Americans, including their Native allies, whenever they attempted to venture forth outside Fort George.[32] During the occupation, the Americans were especially vengeful towards those families known to be directly connected with the Indian Department.[33]
By the time the war officially ended on Christmas Eve 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, perhaps as many as half of all the Grand River Six Nations’ warriors had been killed or wounded.[34]
Plan, Section and Elevation of the New Hospital at Fort George, technical drawings, 1823. The central portion of the new hospital was originally the post-war (1816) Indian Council House. Library and Archives Canada H3/450/Niagara/1823, NMC#5223.
In the summer of 1815, an important council of international repercussions was held at Niagara, probably near the site