Cultural variances between the Kanyen'kehaka and British
There are many cultural variances to consider between the Kanyen'kehaka and British. For instance, the Kanyen'kehaka primarily shared knowledge via oral traditions, relying on storytelling and collective memory for record-keeping, knowledge, and customs. The Hiawatha wampum belt is an example of a Haudenosaunee document without the use of written words, instead utilizing intricate symbols to illustrate and record a foundational nation-to-nation agreement.
The Hiawatha wampum belt records when five warring nations, the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk, buried their weapons to live in peace. The belt predates the arrival of European settlers in Haudenosaunee territories.
However, the British primarily saw Haudenosaunee and Kanyen'kehaka communication methods as inferior to European written languages, failing to understand the complexity and intracacies of wampum belts as living documents.
Other potentially divisive factors between the Kanyen'kehaka and British were their differing ideas of spirituality and religion. For instance, Kanyen'kehaka belief conceptualized good and evil not as polar opposites, but as complimentary. The Church of England sought to "augment" Kanyen'kehaka ideas of the sacred world by teaching them about "discontinuous revelation -- God's truths, once revealed, now fixed immutably in the Bible" (Hart, 8). This idea contrasts with the Haudenosaunee tradition of "Continuous revelation -- that is, the regular petitioning of the spirit world through ritual speech and action to learn the 'truth' about [life events in general]"(ibid). Some Kanyen'kehaka people would come to view the Anglican faith as carrying "more certitude and reliability than Haudenosaunee sacred practices"(ibid). As a result, following "50 years of war, disease, displacement, and death," some Kanyen'kehaka began to adapt and compliment "their traditional faith practices with some Christian traditions"(ibid).
Spotlight On: Sir William Johnson
One of the most successful entrepreneurs in colonial New York, Sir William Johnson's personal and professional life also centered around his relations with Indigenous peoples. Johnson had a positive relationship with the Kanyen'kehaka and was thus granted the title, "Warraghivagev," which roughly translates as "he who does much business" (Allen, 23).
Johnson inherited a fortune from his naval uncle and managed a 200-acre farm in the Province of New York worked by indentured white labourers and enslaved Black people. He continued to buy up more land as his profits grew and began trading imported goods with Indigenous settlements. Through his accumulated financial power, he gradually became involved in public affairs. Early in his career, Johnson acted as Justice of the Peace for Albany County, Colonel of the 14 militia companies on the New York frontier, and was appointed to the New York Council in 1750.
With his political power, Johnson advocated for a regular policy of paying Indigenous garrison members for their services. While these policies were not initially agreed upon, they led to his appointment in 1756 with the title of "Colonel of the ... Six Nations of Indians, & their Confederates, in the Northern Parts of North America" and "Sole Agent and Superintendent of the said Indians."
After some defeats, but also substantial victories in military affairs, Johnson gained a respectable reputation amongst the Six Nations. An additional factor that helped consolidate ties between Johnson and the Six Nations was his romantic and political ties to Kanyen'kehaka women. While this claim has not been supported by substantial documentation, it is important to note that Johnson was aware of the matrilineal power structure in Kanyen'kehaka society. Clan mothers held great power and influence in the Confederacy meetings. One of his most longstanding relationships was with Molly Brant (Konwatsi'tsiaienni), with whom he had eight children. Konwatsi'tsiaienni was the sister of Joseph Brant.
Near the end of his career, Johnson had the Crown build a school for the Haudenosaunee and pay a schoolmaster’s salary.