Prof. Laura Stevens (U Tulsa)
June 25, 2018, 12 p.m.–2 p.m. (c.t.), Philosophicum I, P 5
This lecture will provide an introduction to the Mohawk People, who called themselves “Kanienkehaka,” or “People of the Flint.“ The Easternmost tribe of the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee confederacy, the Mohawks were powerful and pivotal figures in the complex and violent landscape of colonial America. After considering some of their history and customs, this lecture will focus on a visit of 3 Mohawk and 1 Mahican ambassadors to London in 1710. An important public event that shaped English attitudes to Native Americans for years to come, this visit also generated a variety of literature and encouraged English missionary efforts to the Mohawk Nation. We will conclude by considering the importance of Mohawk diplomacy, mobility, and adaptability to what Native author Gerald Vizenor has called “Native survivance“ in the twenty-first century.