How the miniature “Iroquois Warrior” came about

The term Iroquois is derived from the nickname “Irinakhoiw” and means “snake’s tongue”. The Iroquois were the most ferocious warriors of America. Originally they lived in the lowlands of S. Lorenzo but, subsequently, they moved on to the region to the south of the Great Lakes (today the New York State). The Iroquois were reunited in a confederation of five nations: the Agniers (Mohawks), the Onneitouts, the Onontagués, the Goyogouins and the Tsonnontouants.

The Dutch were the first to arm the Iroquois with rifles to defend their small commercial colonies. They were first allies to the colonies of New Amsterdam (the Dutch New York) and then to the English, who provided them with rifles (something which France always refused to do). The Dutch and the English used them for several guerrilla raids against the young French colony. The Iroquois warriors massacred without mercy and on several occasions the peasants of the New France. They fought in many of the Indian Wars, mainly against the Algonchine tribe and the Hurons, their natural enemies, and it seems that only the Sioux-Dakota commanded their respect. The enemies were usually incorporated into the tribe and they accepted this as normal; only if wounded or if they were former members of the league were they tortured to death, but without hate – simply to prove their courage – and often some parts of the body of the most courageous ones were eaten to draw from that courage and the good virtues of the killed person; and it is because of these practices that they were hated by the whites who did not take into account their many virtues and merits. The league, after the French-Indian war which had seen the Iroquois fighting against the French and their allies, found itself with its population halved due to the losses in battle, illnesses and desertions by those who had accepted the Catholic faith. Towards 1774, a young Englishman pushed himself to the Mohawk territories. His name was William Johnson and he was nominated administrator of the lands bordering their territory. He proved himself to be an excellent administrator, understanding the importance of an agreement with the natives. He was so loyal and sincere with them that they nominated him a member of their tribe. In time he became a sachem, married a Mohawk, frequently led the Indians against the French and after their defeat ensured that the Iroquois refused to unite with the Pontiac alliance.  Another very important Iroquois chief was Tayenadageh who adopted the English name of Joseph Brant. He was Johnson’s brother-in-law and a sincere friend to the British, studied in a school for Indians in Connecticut and was much appreciated by the teachers and thanks to him, until the War of Independence, there were no fights between the Iroquois and the Anglo-Americans. When William Johnson was substituted by Colonel Guy Johnson, he became his advisor and it was to their merit that the Iroquois fought with the crown during the War of Independence. The War of Independence lasted from 1776 to 1783, but it was only in 1777 that the Indians were directly involved in one of the most bloody battles (Fort Stanwix). It all started when the British Colonel Barry St. Leger in the summer of 1777, at the command of 1200 men, most of whom were Iroquois at the command of Joseph Brant, descended from the North towards New York to cut the rebel colonies in two and thus separate Pennsylvania from Virginia. On reaching Fort Stanwix, near New York, they were stopped by the eager resistance of a group of Dutchmen at the command of Colonel Peter Gansewoort who had barricaded himself while waiting for reinforcements from New York. After two hours of fighting the Indians had victory in their hands but a sudden storm forced the fighters to cease fire to shelter themselves as well as cover the gunpowder. When the storm stopped, the reinforcements for Fort Stanwix had arrived and the league warriors had to retreat so that they themselves would not be caught between two firing lines. Another fight of certain importance occurred between 3^rd and 6^th June 1778 in the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania and it became known in history as “the horrors of the revolution”. In the valley the majority of men were missing, seeing that they were enlisted with George Washington – the few that were left were the older men and the youngsters, and naturally there were the women, wives, mothers and daughters. Colonel Zabulon Butler who was in the valley at home on leave came to know that a large group of Indians was closing in, and gathered the whole population at Fort Forty. When the Indians attacked they found an unexpected resistance and were forced to stop, subduing the valley to bullets and fire and killing 240 inhabitants. After abandoning the valley, the Iroquois went towards Cherry Valley and on the 11^th November attacked it, killing the families that lived there. These two victories signalled the end of the Iroquois since, as soon as Washington (who had been elected president in the meantime) was informed of all this, decided to eliminate the Iroquois threat in a definite way. In the summer of 1779 he sent General Sullivan with 2500 men and General James Clinton with 1500 men against the league. The sachem Joseph Brant tried to avoid the invasion by attacking first a small detachment and destroying it but he only managed to delay the inevitable. Abandoned by the British allies and put in a corner by the Americans, he fought with valour, but with only 600 warriors, two fights were enough to defeat him and make him go on the run. The American soldiers hunted down men, women and children in the forests, killed them mercilessly in a carnage to which the Indian massacres seemed like country picnics. The defeated, decimated, had to abandon their territories and had to ask refuge in Canada where they received a territory on the River Grand which is still today inhabited by Iroquois. The proud confederation of North America, the six just laws, the great chiefs, all wiped out by “history”.