Red Jacket: Iroquois Diplomat and Orator

by Christopher Densmore

In the first modern biography of Red jacket, Christopher Densmore sheds light on the achievements of this formidable Iroquois diplomat who, as a representative of the Seneca and Six Nations, met and negotiated with American presidents from George Washington to Andrew Jackson. The political career of Red Jacket (1758-1830) began just before the American Revolution, when both the Americans and the British sought the alliance of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. By the 1790s, Red Jacket was frequently the diplomat chosen by the Seneca Nation and the Iroquois Confederacy to represent them in councils and treaty negotiations between the United States, the British in Canada, and the Indian nations of the Ohio Country. Red Jacket spoke eloquently against the sale of Indian lands, against the encroachment of the white man’s religion and culture, and in defense of Indian sovereignty. His speeches were widely known in his own lifetime and continue to be reprinted.

Genres: Biography

166 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

In only 125 pages of narrative text Densmore described the role which Red Jacket played as an orator and diplomat for the Seneca nation, one of six nations which were part of the Iroquois Confederacy, during the years in which the English and, after the Revolutionary War, the  Americans were vying for control over their territory which came to be known as western New York State.  As one reads through the book one comes to get a fairly deep and nuanced portrait of this man who strove mightily to protect Seneca sovereignty, retain as much of their land as possible, resist efforts by Missionaries and others to undermine their traditional culture and spiritual beliefs.

The author accomplished this with some careful scholarship on his part.  For example, he noted in the introduction that the sources are limited to reports about and translations of RJ’s speeches by others. Where these contradict each other he described these and then offered a careful opinion of his own as to which interpretation might be valid.  The 12 page bibliography contains newspapers, periodicals, government papers and reports of proceedings of meetings, the personal correspondence and journals of various people, as well as books and articles.  These were referenced with notes inside the text itself.  For those who like to peruse primary sources there are four appendices which include two important treaties which RJ was involved in negotiating and two of his most famous speeches. 

Densmore made the book engaging because of the following.  First, his prose was fairly direct and thus readable.  Second, the chapters were relatively brief and focused on specific events as these occurred over the course of RJ’s life.  Third, he provided brief quotations by RJ and/or others with whom he interacted.  Finally, there were some reproductions of portrait paintings and two maps.  

My only criticism of the book is its brevity. Often Densmore provided a broad brush description of events.  While this was enough to allow the reader to grasp what took place, it left out some of the underlying dynamics or cross currents which often underlie and explain history more fully. I would recommend this book for someone interested in one of the important leaders of the Iroquois Confederacy in the late 18th to his death in 1830.

[Cindy Marcusen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done with references noted and seems to represent Red Jacket from what is available about him. There is little actually written from the period about the man by Native Americans and the author tries to represent a non-partisan view point.