Brant, Joseph (1742-1807)

Mohawk chief, Anglican missionary, and British military officer during the American Revolution. Brant, who was awarded a captain's commission in 1775, led four of the six nations of the Iroquois League against the revolutionaries in numerous battles in New York state.

Born on the banks of the Ohio River, Brant learned English and studied European history and literature at Moor's Charity School for Indians in Lebanon, Connecticut 1761-63. He then translated the Gospel of Mark into Mohawk with the Anglican Missionary, the Reverend John Stuart, for whom he acted as interpreter. In 1775 he travelled to England in an attempt to recover Mohawk lands, meeting King George III on two occasions. On 6 August 1777 Brant commanded the Mohawks and Seneca in the Battle of Oriskany against the Americans and their allies, the Oneida and Tuscarora, effectively ending the Iroquois League.

After the war Brant helped the USA secure peace treaties with the Miamis and other ethnic groups, and travelled in the American West promoting an American Indian confederacy to resist land concessions. In 1784, the British granted him 273,000 hectares of land along the banks of the Grand River in southern Ontario, where he established the Grand River Reservation for the Mohawk and other members of the Iroquois League. Believing that his people had much to learn from white people's ways, he sold much of the land to white settlers, who founded the town of Brantford, Ontario (named after him). In 1785 he travelled to England in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain legal title to this land. On his return he continued with his missionary work, and translated more of the Bible.