description ends Colonial ser., 16:5078). And he said also that it did not belong to us for that the great King had ceded the whole of it when you made peace with him. Pero los indios iroqueses de la poca le dieron a Washington otro epteto no tan halagador: Conotocarious, o "Town Destroyer " . Many colonial homes were attacked. 1.By GWs account the name Towntaker (variously rendered as Town-destroyer) was bestowed upon him by the Seneca chief Half-King in 1753, when he met that chief on his way to Fort Le Boeuf. Donald Trump recently condemned these actions in a speech delivered in front of his latest provocative backdrop, Mount Rushmore, in Lakota territory illegally seized by the US in the 1870s. Washington received his commission on October 31, 1753 and set out immediately. Paul Chaa, a curator at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., calls romanticism a form of racism and observes that Americans have a secret obsession with Native Americans.One hundred years ago, D. H. Lawrence noted that white people aimed to extirpate Indians and then glorified them. The name in its original language(s) has been given variously as "Caunotaucarius", "Conotocarious", "Hanodaganears", and "Hanadahguyus." It is translated as "Town Taker", "Burner of Towns", "Devourer of Villages", or "he destroys the town". I Didnt Seeis more philosophical than biographical, a meditation on an apart-ness the filmmaker grapples with on numerous levels (including I wonder if I feel more than other people). It is quite an image, and one difficult to reconcile with the man known by many Indians as the "Town Destroyer," a name originally claimed by his great-grandfather for the fighting he did along the Potomac frontier in the 1670s, and which our Washington appears to have appropriated and used when it served his purposes. That did not happen, and in fact the murals fate (should they be removed? From his headquarters in Middlebrook, N.J., Washington authorized the "total destruction and devastation" of the Iroquois settlements across upstate New York so "that country may not merely be overrun but destroyed.". Hear now we entreat you, what has since happened, concerning that Land. [1], Washington was given the name in 1753 by the Seneca leader Tanacharison. From George Washington to Major General John Sullivan, 31 May 1779 Sir, The expedition you are appointed to command is to be directed against the hostile tri 21st. Why does Cornplanter bring this up? copy, MHi: Timothy Pickering Papers; Few people are more revered in the U.S. American lexicon than George Washington. What the Commissioners had said about the land having been ceded to them at the peace our Chiefs considered only as intended to lessen the price, & they passed it by with very little notice; but since that time we have heard so much of the right to our lands which the King gave when you made peace with him that it is our earnest desire you will tell us what they mean. should Doyle be convicted, there was little doubt of his being capitally punished (Pa. Archives, description begins Samuel Hazard et al., eds. The British agent George Beckwith reported to Lord Dorchester from New York on the course of Streets mission, noting that The application of Mr. Street in behalf of the Indians of the Five Nations by means of Mr. Wadsworth has drawn a declaration from the President, expressive of his intentions to pay every attention to the Indians in general, and Mr. Street is assured by General Knox, that his business will be taken into immediate consideration. Beckwith subsequently reported, however, that Mr. Great Tree was shot in the leg during his stay in Philahdelphia (Wallace, Death and Rebirth of the Seneca, description begins Anthony F. C. Wallace. The name in its original language (s) has been given variously as Conotocarius, Conotocaurious, Caunotaucarius, Conotocarious, Hanodaganears, and Hanadahguyus. (The Iroquois dubbed him "Town Destroyer.") Courtesy: JASON SZENES/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock. But the title stuck even tighter than the Seneca chief could have imagined. Bob Spiegelman has been a freelance author and film producer, screenwriter, project-developer, multimedia advisor, research director and story consultant on a growing array of film, museum and multimedia projects. When we saw we were deceived and heard the invitation which you gave us to draw near to the fire you had kindled and talk with you concerning peace we made haste towards it. Become a member. On the one hand, things were said like If you support this mural, you have a colonized mentality and (on a signboard) Stop Protecting White Supremacy. On the other, the whole situation was termed identity politics gone off the rails, and the suggestion that the murals were traumatizing an easy way to justify the erasure of things you dont like.. Conotocaurious - Iroquois for Town Destroyer, also translated as Town Taker, Burner of Towns, or Devourer of Villages, was a nickname given to George Washington by Iroquois Indians. Hes known as the Father of the Country and as the man who couldnt and wouldnt lie about chopping down a cherry tree. He had been commissioned by the Five Nations in the spring of 1790 to seek redress of grievances against the New York lessees. Crushed power. By August, the expedition was moving through Iroquois country, meeting almost no resistance. Sat. How did we get here after 50 years, during which span a majority of Americans came to support abortion access? 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Pete Galindo, the director of the Great Wall Project, talks about the half-mile long Great Wall of LA which depicts the history of the city, including lynching. Conotocaurious (Town Destroyer) was a nickname given to George Washington by Iroquois Native Americans in 1753. "Town Destroyer" will have its world premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival, Oct. 6-16, with the first of three screenings at the CinArts Sequoia Theatre in Mill Valley, Oct. 8, at 8 p.m. Our writings were lodged in the hands of Street of Niagara, as we supposed him to be our friend; but when we saw Phelps consulting with Street, on every occasion, we doubted of his honesty towards us, and we have since heard, that he was to They became our fathers, and took care of us. JavaScript is disabled. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy. California Indian Artist Judith Lowry describes the Gold Rush as ground zero for Native Americans and a time when they experienced searing losses.She adds that Arnautoff aimed to subvert the dominant narrative about Indians, pioneers and settlers. Streets mission to New York probably contributed to GWs decision to send Timothy Pickering on a special mission to pacify the Seneca a few weeks later. We also invite you to join the conversation on ourFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram. The Iroquois Confederacy, arguably the strongest Indian government during the colonial period, would never recover. In 2018, he installed Mantle, a monument honouring Indigenous nations at the Virginia Capitol in Richmond. What happens when it no longer reflects current societal views? During George Washington's presidency, Indian delegates were regular visitors to the seat of government. The story focuses on a dispute over historic murals depicting the life of George Washington: slaveowner, general, land speculator, President, and a man Seneca leaders called "Town Destroyer" after he ordered their villages destroyed during the Revolutionary War. Town Destroyer A high profile battle erupts over images of African American slaves and Native Americans in New Deal-era murals at a San Francisco high school. He had risen quickly through the militia ranks by butchering Indian communities and burning their homes. But if Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman have their way, George Washington will also be remembered as "the town destroyer." That's the title of a new documentary that they have written,. . Black muralist Dewey Crumpler came of age in the era of Black Power. After all, the issues go back to 1779 when George Washington ordered the destruction of the Iroquois villages. Pawpaws. It opens with audio from a closed-door meeting Trump, Steve Bannon and others held with leaders of the religious right forty days before the 2016 election. Both Washington and Jefferson enslaved and waged war against Indigenous nations to dispossess them of their homelands. HAWARA, West Bank (AP) Israeli troops fired stun grenades and blocked hundreds of Israeli left-wing activists from staging a solidarity rally on Friday in a Palestinian town that was set . The Expedition you are appointed to command is to be directed against the hostile tribes of the Six Nations of Indians, with their associates and adherents. . Pennsylvania Archives. (Its twin sister robot, named Spirit, conked out pretty quickly by contrast.). Beyond Canal Street: Gentrification in Chinatown, Rediscovering Moki and Don Cherrys Utopian Visions. New Anti-Colonialist Documentary Asks Big Questions, California Institute for Community, Arts & Nature, The CIAs Changing Take on the Climate Emergency, Emancipation, Hollywoods Best Civil War Film Ever. The artist, Victor Arnautoff, was a Russian emigre whod studied under Diego Rivera, and whose work reflected both that masters visual style and leftist politics. They are in the early stages of promoting the 55-minute film about the controversial murals at George Washington High School in the Richmond District. facts, Another local, Reid Davenport, is both director and star ofI Didnt See You Therealthough we do not, in fact, see him onscreen. "It was disastrous to the Iroquois," says Barbara Graymont, author of The Iroquois in the American Revolution. We see groups of collegiate women who travel to a D.C. March for Life in January 2020 to save the babies. They demand equal rights for unborn humans, hoping not just that abortion will become illegal, but abortion will become unthinkable. Organizations like Students for Life of America and the Susan B. Anthony List are very well-organized, and there is no questioning the earnestness of their members. Nov. 10thBenefit forThe Living New Deal Q & A with filmmakers + speakers. Is the blame all ours? . that assembled at them told us you were all brothers, the children of one great Father who regarded also the red people as his children. The men who claimed this promise said that you were children and had no Guns that when they had shaken you, you would submit. It was surrendered to you as the price of peace and we ought to have peace, and possession, of the little Land which you then left us. The surviving Onondaga were homeless; some began to rebuild; some headed west to find shelter with their brother nations the Cayuga and Seneca. The Then and Now project examines three case studies of dispossession: the 48hills.org is the official publication of the non-profit San Francisco Progressive Media Center. "Town Destroyer" is a translation of the name given to George Washington by the Iroquois nation after he demanded the total destruction of their settlement and crops in a 1779 attack against the tribe that was aligned with the British. Town Destroyer explores the ways we look at art and history at a time of racial reckoning. George Washington for sure had that nickname. The Haudenosaunee pledged neutrality with this statement, We see this as a fight between father and son. 9 ser., 138 vols. The time has come to even reconsider towering figures like Washington, honoured for their roles in founding the US, yet profoundly implicated in its colossal and, tragically, ongoing ethical and humanitarian failings. But before we speak to you of this, we Art can make viewers uncomfortable. (Being an Appendix to Report of the Minister of Agriculture.). On this edition of Your Call, we rebroadcast our discussion about Town Destroyer, a documentary that focuses on murals at San Francisco's George Washington High School, which praise Washington and critically depict him overseeing his slaves and directing the bloody seizure of Native lands. There are passionate arguments on both sides, and they are not as simply divided by racial, cultural, or political identification as youd think. Often it took the army days to completely destroy all of the longhouses, fields, orchards and food stores. "When your army entered the country of the Six Nations, we called you Hanadagyas (Town Destroyer): and to this day when that name is heard our women look behind them and turn pale, and our children cling close to the necks of their mothers. We saw that we were wrong: we wished for peace. this morning set of about Day Break on the same line of march and went about 6 Miles when we halted, Capt. 5.Samuel Street, reportedly born in New England, kept a store at Niagara. When your army entered the Country of the Six Nations, we called you the Town-destroyer and to this day, when that name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale, and our children cling close to the neck of their mothers.1 Our Councillors and warriors are men, and can not be afraid; but their hearts are grieved with the fears of our women & children, and desire, that it may be buried so deep, as to be heard no more. In other accounts, Washington was given the nickname sometime after the 1779 Sullivan Expedition in the American Revolutionary War, which destroyed at least 40 Iroquois villages. But the issue was more complex than that, with painfully strong feelings on all sides, many of whose participants more typically found themselves on thesameside. In a letter written by tribal leaders in 1790, Washington is described as an unjust killer and referred to as the "Town Destroyer." Crops such as corn, beans, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, and melons grew in an abundance that astonished the invading soldiers. The name in its original language (s) has been given variously as Conotocarius, Conotocaurious, Caunotaucarius, Conotocarious, Hanodaganears, and Hanadahguyus. copy, DNA: RG 233, First Congress, 17891791, Records of the Office of the Clerk, Records of Reports from Executive Departments (War Department), Confidential Reports; "[8][9], Last edited on 11 February 2023, at 23:33, George Washington: A Biographical Companion, From George Washington to Andrew Montour, 10 October 1755, From George Washington to Major General John Sullivan, 31 May 1779, "Madam Sacho: How One Iroquois Woman Survived the American Revolution", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Town_Destroyer&oldid=1138845464, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 23:33. r e. s w. w. w. Tow. Washington himself was given or assumed an Indian name, Conoto carious, meaning "Town Destroyer" or "Devourer of Villages," and an Indian messenger who arrived at Fort Harmar in July 1788 was identified as "George Washington, a Delaware." He was not the only Indian to bear Washington's name. Scarcely considered or acknowledged, our catastrophic losses, like those of other Native nations, are treated as settled business, rather than unsettling travesties in need of redress. and therefore weak as our nation was, they determined to take the chance of war rather than submit to such unjust demands, which seemed to have no bounds.