- Deskaheh
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Levi General, commonly known as Deskaheh, (Grand River, Ontario, 1873 - Tuscarora Reservation, New York, 1925), was a Haudenosaunee statesman noted for his persistent efforts to get recognition for his people. Raised and educated as a traditional Cayuga, he became hereditary chief of the Cayuga with the title "'Deskaheh'".[1] He departed for Geneva, Switzerland to speak at the League of Nations in 1923 using only a passport from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. At the League of Nations, he presented "The red man's appeal for Justice," and reminded European colonizers of the new world of their obligations under the two row wampum, the most significant pact made between the Iroquois and Europeans. Despite receiving the support of some nations, British influence was too strong for a realistic chance at effecting change in the League of Nations, and he returned home to the Western hemisphere.
On the 7 October 1924, as the result of a report by Andrew Thorburn Thompson who had been asked by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to investigate the situation, the RCMP dissolved the traditional government of the Six Nations, stealing important documents and wampums and declaring an immediate election to displace the traditional government. Soon thereafter, Deskaheh died on the Tuscarora Reservation near Buffalo, NY, after giving his famous last speech on March 10, 1925; during which he stated in part in regard to policies of "forced acculturation":
"Over in Ottawa, they call that policy "Indian Advancement". Over in Washington, they call it "Assimilation." We who would be the helpless victims say it is tyranny. If this must go on to the bitter end, we would rather that you come with your guns and poison gases and get rid of us that way. Do it openly and above board."[2]
References
- ^ "Deskaheh" is an Iroquois Confederacy chiefly title, but the press mistakenly applied it as a given name, which stuck. Ronald Niezen, “Recognizing Indigenism: Canadian Unity and the International Movement of Indigenous Peoples,” Comparative Studies in Society and History 42, no. 1 (2000).
- ^ Bruce Elliott Johansen, The encyclopedia of Native American legal tradition (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998, ISBN 0313301670), pg.84 .
External links
- [1]
- Deskaheh, Levi General - Iroquois Patriot's Fight for International Recognition
- Deskaheh at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
Categories:- Native American activists
- Native American leaders
- Aboriginal leaders in Ontario
- Iroquois people
- Cayuga
- American activist stubs
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