MOHAWK CHIEF AHYONWAEGHS (JOHN BRANT) DIED
Born September 27, 1794, near Brantford, Ontario, Brant, son of Mohawk chieftain Joseph Brant, was the first Aboriginal to receive a commission in the British Army. During the War of 1812, Brant and John Norton led the Mohawk in victory at the Battle of Queenston Heights where Brant captured American officer, Colonel Winfield Scott. Brant, Norton, and Brant’s brother-in-law, Richard John Kerr fought in the Battle of Beaver Dams, in June 1813. In 1821, Brant and Kerr traveled to England and successfully lobbied for land rights for the Grand River Mohawk. The British Indian Department appointed Brant Resident Indian Superintendent for the Grand River Mohawk in 1828. In 1830, Brant was elected to the Upper Canada legislative assembly. However, his election was challenged in 1831, costing him his seat. In 1831, Brant was named Grand Chief of the Grand River Mohawk (Tekarihoga), a title that passed through his maternal line. He died in Brantford, Ontario during a cholera epidemic.
Source: D.S. Davis, “John Brant (Ahyonwaeghs), The Canadian Encyclopedia, 1/17/2011. Retrieved 7/11/2019, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-brant-ahyonwaeghs Lithograph: John T. Bowen (1801-1856?), 1842. DeGoyler Library, Southern Methodist University. No restrictions. Likely Public Domain in U.S.: Pre 1/1/1925. Likely Public Domain elsewhere where copyright term is author’s life plus 100 years or less.
Indigenous America Calendar 