A new type of Indian

                 We often describe physical characteristics of Native Americans as tall, lean, straight black hair, dark reddish-brown skin complexion, that when all combined form a class of their own. As I was researching, I came across a term I had never heard before—Black Indians. Automatically, my assumptions were that this type of Indian arose around the time of slavery, but in fact, interaction between Africans and Native Americans began even before European settlers brought African slaves to the Americas. Granted, this group of individuals did not actually multiply until the new American government began to thrive, forcing the connection between blacks and indigenous Indians to strengthen.

                  I vaguely researched the history of Black Indians because I was more curious about learning someone’s story of their personal struggle than a broad spectrum of people. One I came across was Atiatoharongwen (Colonel Louis or Louis Cook), who is one of the most historically well-known North Americans of black and Indian descendents; his father a black man and mother a Saint-François Abenaki. During a French and Indian raid on the Niagara frontier, him and both his parents were captured. It is unknown what happened to his mother, but his father was made a servant in Montreal, leaving Atiatoharongwen, who was assumed black, to become the prize of a French officer, until the Mohawk warriors of Iroquois Confederacy intervened. The Mohawk people plead for his release and was eventually handed over has one of their own people, where he ascended his status in politics and became a warrior, a chief, and a staunch US ally. Below is a depiction of Colonel Louis Cook raising his tomahawk in John Trumbull’s The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec.

                  If you want more information on Colonel Louis Cook, I recommend checking out this website that provides a detailed biography.