Hendrick Tejonihokarawa
Encyclopedia
Hendrick Tejonihokarawa, also known as Tee Yee Neen Ho Ga Row and Hendrick Peters (1660-c. 1735) was a pro-English leader of the Mohawk who was one of the "Four Mohawk Kings
" who went to London
in 1710 to meet with Queen Anne. They requested her help in controlling French influence in New York and asked for English missionaries.
of his mother, as the Mohawk and Iroquois had a matrilineal system of descent. He was given the name Hendrick Peters in July 1690 when he was baptized by Godfridius Dellius
as a Christian and member of the Dutch Reformed Church
. According to the anthropologist Dean Snow, he later became a Protestant preacher. He lived in the lower Mohawk village known as Tionondoroge, where Fort Hunter was built.
While in London, he requested Anglican missionaries to help offset French influence in Iroquois
territory, as their Catholic Jesuits had been recruiting Mohawk converts. Numerous converted Mohawk had settled at Kahnewake south of Montreal.
Queen Anne sent Anglican missionaries to the New York colony in 1711, who established a mission and chapel at Fort Hunter. The village became largely Christianized within years.
In turn, Queen Anne had asked Tejonihokarawa for help in settling Palatine German refugees, who were working at English camps in the Hudson Valley. Through Governor Hunter, he offered Mohawk land to the refugees, some of whom took land near Schoharie. Tejonihokarawa was deposed by Wolf Clan matrons in the winter of 1712-1713, apparently because of differences with the missionaries, but by 1720 he had been restored to power, as he was noted as sachem in colonial records. He made a trip to New England, trying to build alliances with the Abenaki, but was prevented from meeting with them.
Until Barbara Sivertsen's work published in 1996, biographical details concerning him have frequently been confused with the similarly named Hendrick Theyanoguin, who was three decades younger.
Four Mohawk Kings
The Four Mohawk Kings or Four Kings of the New World were three Mohawk chiefs of the Iroquois Confederacy and a Mahican of the Algonquian peoples...
" who went to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1710 to meet with Queen Anne. They requested her help in controlling French influence in New York and asked for English missionaries.
Early life and education
Tejonihokarawa was born into the Wolf ClanClan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
of his mother, as the Mohawk and Iroquois had a matrilineal system of descent. He was given the name Hendrick Peters in July 1690 when he was baptized by Godfridius Dellius
Godfridius Dellius
Godfridius Dellius was a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church active in and around New Holland during the late 17th century, and perhaps the early 18th century...
as a Christian and member of the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
. According to the anthropologist Dean Snow, he later became a Protestant preacher. He lived in the lower Mohawk village known as Tionondoroge, where Fort Hunter was built.
Career
By 1710 Tejonihokarawa may have been selected as one of three Wolf Clan sachems, with the title Sharenhowaneh. The sachems were chosen by the women elders of the clan. His actions helped build the alliance with the English and preserve the Iroquois Confederacy as a key power to be reckoned with in North America in the early 18th century.While in London, he requested Anglican missionaries to help offset French influence in Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
territory, as their Catholic Jesuits had been recruiting Mohawk converts. Numerous converted Mohawk had settled at Kahnewake south of Montreal.
Queen Anne sent Anglican missionaries to the New York colony in 1711, who established a mission and chapel at Fort Hunter. The village became largely Christianized within years.
In turn, Queen Anne had asked Tejonihokarawa for help in settling Palatine German refugees, who were working at English camps in the Hudson Valley. Through Governor Hunter, he offered Mohawk land to the refugees, some of whom took land near Schoharie. Tejonihokarawa was deposed by Wolf Clan matrons in the winter of 1712-1713, apparently because of differences with the missionaries, but by 1720 he had been restored to power, as he was noted as sachem in colonial records. He made a trip to New England, trying to build alliances with the Abenaki, but was prevented from meeting with them.
Until Barbara Sivertsen's work published in 1996, biographical details concerning him have frequently been confused with the similarly named Hendrick Theyanoguin, who was three decades younger.
Sources
- Eric Hinderaker, The Two Hendricks: Unraveling a Mohawk Mystery. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2010.
- Barbara J. Sivertsen, Turtles, Wolves, and Bears: A Mohawk Family History (1996), reprint Heritage Books, 2007
- Snow, Dean R. "Searching for Hendrick: Correction of a Historic Conflation". New York History, Summer 2007