By Pepper Parr
February 14th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
We weren’t even a country yet when she died. Her father had made a huge impact on how this countries indigenous community would evolve.
In this portrait Joseph Brant is seen wearing the gorget given to him by King George III. That gorget is the most important piece in the collection at the Joseph Brant Museum.
Her Father, Captain Joseph Brant whose land holdings shaped the Burlington we live in today.
150 years ago today Catherine John, the last surviving child of the renowned war chief and diplomat Joseph Brant died.
They were Mohawks. He was known as Theyendanegea, the leader who negotiated the huge land grant along the banks of the Grand River for his people.
The Globe and Mail was close to poetic in its obituary, as it described Catherine John as “tall, handsome – even in old age – and of a queenly bearing.”
A gorget, a piece of armour worn at the throat given to Joseph Brant by King George III with the inscription: “A Gift from a friend to Captain Brant”.
He was feted by Kings, had his portrait painted by some of the leading British artists. He donated the land on which St. Luke’s Anglican church was built.
The city will not have issued a media release; the Mayor will not say a word publicly and the Brant Museum, closed since last July will have not said a word.
No wonder Brant was buried in Brantford.
I love history of any kind, here was a man who reacting to change handled himself with dignity and a shrewdness that commanded respect in George III’s Royal court. He played the cards that were dealt with admired skill, faced with at that time a force so overwhelmingly powerful I believe he did an outstanding job of protecting the rights of his people. A natural diplomat.
The Mayor on the other hand….Not so much.