. That did not happen, and in fact the murals fate (should they be removed? The surviving Onondaga were homeless; some began to rebuild; some headed west to find shelter with their brother nations the Cayuga and Seneca. The name in its original language(s) has been given variously as "Caunotaucarius", "Conotocarious", "Hanodaganears", and "Hanadahguyus." It is translated as "Town Taker", "Burner of Towns", "Devourer of Villages", or "he destroys the town". Just an hour long, Snitow and Kaufman's documentary offers a fascinating overview of a case that encapsulates many of the bitterest divisions of our era. His great-grandson lived up to the name of Town Destroyer in his treatment of Indigenous nations both during and after the Revolutionary War (177583). If you are, tell us so that those of our nation who have become your children & are determined to die so, may know what to do: In this case one chief has said, he would ask you to put him out of pain: Another, who will not think of dying by the hand of his father, has said he will retire to the Chataughque, eat of the faral root, and sleep with his fathers in peace. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Wanting to remain neutral but forced to choose sides, some Haudenosaunee nations fought alongside the colonists during the war. Forty Indian villagesand a powerful indigenous nationwere razed on the orders of George Washington, Town Destroyer Versus the Iroquois Indians, By 1779, George Washington had already earned the famous moniker "Father of His Country." Town Destroyer explores the ways we look at art and history at a time of racial reckoning. Derryveagh Evictions, and By August, the expedition was moving through Iroquois country, meeting almost no resistance. In Town Destroyer, the filmmakers focus on the image of a dead Indian lying face down on the ground while settlers with guns stand close-by. Records Commission. An installation of video projected onto a bust of George Washington mounted on a surveyor's tripod. In August and September, the Sullivan campaign resumed with multiple attacks against the Cayuga and Seneca Nations with the army again killing Haudenosaunee people and destroying their villages. We were deceived but your people in teaching us to confide in that King, had helped to deceve us and wnow appeale to your hearts. To the Irouqois, General George Washington was Ha-no-da-ga-nears, which means Town Destroyer, and this remained the name they gave to all Presidents of the United States. and therefore weak as our nation was, they determined to take the chance of war rather than submit to such unjust demands, which seemed to have no bounds. It also opens Fri/4 at the Roxie, with some screenings attended by Davenport and producer Keith Wilson. The name in its original language(s) has been given variously as Conotocarius, Conotocaurious, Caunotaucarius, Conotocarious, Hanodaganears, and Hanadahguyus. Town Destroyer is a 2022 documentary that discusses the art, history, struggle, and politics around the Victor Arnautoff murals at George Washington High School. What they agreed to has bound our nation. In 2019, he had a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA. After suffering for nearly two years from Iroquois raids on the Colonies' northern frontier, Washington and Congress decided to strike back. His heart is in pain for them; but he percieves that the great God will try his firmness in doing what is right. 1890. Among the many discussions in the podcast, Estes brings up George Washington's reputation amongst indigenous people as "town destroyer" Washington was known as "town destroyer." The nickname had previously been given to his great-grandfather John Washington in the late seventeenth century. Thus he claimed the whole country North of Pensylvania and west of the Lands belonging to the Cayugas. In his book, George Washington and Native Americans Its like a midpoint betweenWall-Eand those old Disney True-Life Adventures, which manipulated nature footage into sentimental narrative shapes. (The Iroquois dubbed him "Town Destroyer.") But some present-day students, parents, and observers found those depictions . Every tax-deductible donation helps us grow to cover the issues that mean the most to our community. fort Stanwix, commissioners from Pensylvania, told our chiefs, that they had come there to purchase from us, all the Lands belonging to us within the lines of their State, and they told us that their line would strike the river Susquehanna below Tioga branch. Town Destroyer will shed new light on our first president. copy, DNA: RG 233, First Congress, 17891791, Records of the Office of the Clerk, Records of Reports from Executive Departments (War Department), Confidential Reports; Our writings were lodged in the hands of Street of Niagara, as we supposed him to be our friend; but when we saw Phelps consulting with Street, on every occasion, we doubted of his honesty towards us, and we have since heard, that he was to Plus: Julian Assange's father comes to Roxie with new doc, Oscar-nominated Irish-language 'Quiet Girl,' more, Plus: 8mm video diaries by late, great local residentGeorge Kuchar and a history of the Laemmle theatre chain, Plus: 'First Fallen" confronts AIDS in Brazil, beguiling mystery in 'Magoado,' Naples thriller 'Nostalgia,' more new movies. receive for his endeavors to deceive us, a peice of land ten miles in width west of the Chenesco river, and near forty miles in length extending to lake Ontario; and the lines of this tract have been run accordingly tho no part of it is within the bounds which limit his purchase. This is an analysis of a controversy that was all over the local and national news not so long ago even if it seems very long ago, as it was just-pre-COVID. Before you determine on a measure so unjust, look up to the God who made us, as well as you, we hope he will not permit you to destroy the whole of our nation. Allegedly both George Washington and his Great Grandfather, John Washington shared an unusual nickname. He insisted in killing as . es. (Being an Appendix to Report of the Minister of Agriculture.). The chiefs remained in Philadelphia until GW arrived in Philadelphia and Congress reconvened. Would doing so be a redaction of history, identity politics gone off the railsor a justified blow to a lingering American colonized mentality as well as ongoing traumatization of young minds? Its minders at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena demonstrate a very paternal mindset, saying things like Theres energy in its veins, it needs to be given love, and otherwise viewing Oppy more like a genius dog than a technological tool. 1890. We have already said how we came to join against you. modern editorial content, are copyright The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. The NASA scientists interviewed more than do their bit to anthropomorphise our heroine, particularly in choosing various golden oldies as Oppys (and their own) wake-up song, including the B-52s Roam, ABBAs SOS, plus Born to be Wild, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, etc. The Game which the great Spirit sent into our Country for us to eat, is going from among us: We thought he intended we should till the ground as the white people do, and we talked to one another about it. The elder Washington's reputation was remembered and when they met his great-grandson in 1753 they called George Washington by the same name, Conotocarious.[2][3]. On 1 April 1788 that state sold the preemptive rights to these six million acres to Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps. Alan Michelson is a Mohawk artist and a member of Six Nations of the Grand River. He signed the message "Conotocarious," or Town Devourer. Wed. Nov. 9thBenefit forCalifornia Institute for Community, Arts & Nature Q & A with filmmakers + speakers TBA. What Colour was Napoleons horse? . On display since San Francisco's George Washington High School opened in 1936, it offers a view of the Founding Father both celebratory and critical, referencing his involvements in slavery and Native American genocide. The Speech of the Corn-planter, Half-town and the Great-Tree chiefs of the Senecca Nation. In his orders to campaign leader Major General John Sullivan (after whom Sullivan Street in Manhattan is named), he wrote: The immediate objects are the total destruction and devastation of their settlements and the capture of as many prisoners of every age and sex as possible. The Onondagas, who were honoring the neutrality agreement, were not prepared for the attack. 1.By GWs account the name Towntaker (variously rendered as Town-destroyer) was bestowed upon him by the Seneca chief Half-King in 1753, when he met that chief on his way to Fort Le Boeuf. TOWN DESTROYER happening at Walnut Creek Library - Contra Costa County, 1644 N. Broadway,Walnut Creek,CA,United States, Walnut Creek, United States on Fri Jan 13 2023 at 07:30 pm . It has also been translated as 'Town Taker', 'Burner of Towns', 'Devourer of Villages', or 'he destroys the town'. They called us brothers and invited us to his protection. Presented by the California Film Institute (CAFILM), the 45th Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF45) runs October 6-16, 2022. Longtime local nonfiction filmmaking team Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman (Blacks & Jews, Secrets of Silicon Valley, etc.) In the summer of 1788 Livingston accompanied Phelps to a meeting with the Seneca chiefs at Buffalo Creek, and on 8 July Phelps concluded an agreement to purchase the Indian rights to the eastern third of the area purchased from Massachusetts (Livermore, Early American Land Companies, description begins Shaw Livermore. They told us they must have the whole: That it was already ceded to them by the great King at the time of making peace with you, and was their own. Perhaps only in a city that loves its murals, some by Diego Rivera, and hates its murals, could murals painted in the 1930s under a New Deal art program, divide citizens from one another and stir up deeply seated passions. Commissioned in the late 1960s to create a mural at George Washington High School titled Multi-Ethnic Heritage, Crumpler honors Blacks and Indians. They are in the early stages of promoting the 55-minute film about the controversial murals at George Washington High School in the Richmond District. If you find our videos helpful you can support us by buying something from amazon.https://www.amazon.com/?tag=wiki-audio-20Town Destroyer Conotocaurious (Tow. (The Iroquois dubbed him "Town Destroyer.") George Washington (1700s), also known as Hanadaguyus , had become famous as an Indian killer during the French and Indian War. Ryan Whites documentary about the data-gathering land rover that was only expected to function on Mars surface for about 90 days, yet wound up lasting a remarkable 15 years. Gen, George Washington meets with representatives of the Iroquois nation before departing for Y. George Washington (February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and served as the nation's first president (1789-1797). When George Washington High Schooldesigned by architect Timothy Pfleuger, who also created the Castro and Paramount Theaters, among other landmarksopened in 1936, its hallways sported 13 impressive murals titledThe Life of Washington. If the British took the . Staked Plains. hidden? Just an hour long, Snitow and Kaufmans documentary offers a fascinating overview of a case that encapsulates many of the bitterest divisions of our era. He's the first and a reluctant first, at that . (Its twin sister robot, named Spirit, conked out pretty quickly by contrast.). From George Washington to Major General John Sullivan, 31 May 1779 Sir, The expedition you are appointed to command is to be directed against the hostile tri 21st. I Didnt Seeis more philosophical than biographical, a meditation on an apart-ness the filmmaker grapples with on numerous levels (including I wonder if I feel more than other people). | Benjamin Fanjoy/The Standard We recollect that you did not promise to punish those who killed our people, and we now ask, Was it intended that your people should kill the Seneccas, and not only remain unpunished by you: but be protected by you against the next of kin?6. description ends Colonial ser., 16:5018), as well as other grievances. It is interesting to see close-up the strategizing of such groups, including their straight-up asking citizens to be single-issue voters, even if they have to hold their noses in pulling the lever for last-minute ally Trump. Town Destroyer, also translated as Town Taker, Burner of Towns, or Devourer of Villages, was a nickname given to George Washington by Iroquois Indians. He had risen quickly through the militia ranks by butchering Indian communities and burning their homes. These are to us very great things. THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNER JEWISH FILM INSTITUTE, The California Film Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Town Destroyer. Roxie Theater3117 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103. https://www.roxie.com/ai1ec_event/town-destroyer/. Do this and so long2 as the Land shall remain that beloved name shall live in the heart of every Senecca. First came genocide, than came cultural plunder or maybe it was the other way around. The supreme executive council of Pennsylvania had informed Cornplanter and the other Seneca chiefs on 30 Oct. 1790 that to GW, 15 Aug. 1789, note 1. How did we get here after 50 years, during which span a majority of Americans came to support abortion access? tr. Summary: George Washington (1732-1799), nicknamed the "American Cincinnatus", was the 1st American President and served in office from 1789-1797. Larger questions arose: Is arts purpose to provoke, or placate? r e. s w. w. w. Tow. Pennsylvania Archives. Why does Cornplanter bring this up? But most of the pro-lifers here seem to sincerely concur with such concepts as having a baby is more of a way to empower women. (Like every other abortion critic, however, these nice people never, ever mention mens responsibility in the matter.). The title by which Washington was known to Native nations, Handaga:yas or Town Destroyer, was one he inherited from his great-grandfather, John Washington, a slave-owning planter and colonel in the Virginia militia who, during Bacon's Rebellion of 1676, had the chiefs of several tribes killed. Elaborate reenactments of the robots experience via Industrial Light & Magic wizardry are accompanied by a treacly, heart-tugging orchestral score. There are passionate arguments on both sides, and they are not as simply divided by racial, cultural, or political identification as youd think. Signed at Philadelphia the first day of December. The campaign defeated the loyalist Iroquois army, burned 40 Iroquois villages to ashes, and left homeless many of the Indians, hundreds of whom died of exposure during the following frigid winter. He is silent for he has nothing to answer. Hundreds perished of starvation, disease and exposure a Haudenosaunee Trail of Tears. 9 ser., 138 vols. They were men and when at peace had a right to live on the Earth. To this day, "Town Destroyer" is still used as an Iroquois name for the president of the United States. Town Destroyer? Conotocaurius (Town Destroyer) was a nickname given to George Washington by Iroquois peoples in 1753. 9 ser., 138 vols. We know that you are strong and we have heard that you are wise; and we wait to hear your answer to what we have said that we may know that you are just. Town Destroyers armies burned and plundered 60 of our towns and hundreds of our farms, fields, orchards and livestock, forcing our people to evacuate. Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. In a letter written by tribal leaders in 1790, Washington is described as an unjust killer and referred to as the "Town Destroyer." Crops such as corn, beans, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, and melons grew in an abundance that astonished the invading soldiers. At least thats the impression we get from this very slick package, which numbers Spielbergs production company among its makers and isnt so far in cuddly tone from hisE.T. On the one hand, things were said like If you support this mural, you have a colonized mentality and (on a signboard) Stop Protecting White Supremacy. On the other, the whole situation was termed identity politics gone off the rails, and the suggestion that the murals were traumatizing an easy way to justify the erasure of things you dont like.. They would soon face one of the largest amphibious invasions yet seen. History of Relations with our Brothers: 1613 to Today, Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), MAGAZINE OF SMITHSONIANS NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN. However, theres one thing almost everyone will agree on: After seeing the film, you will most likely be jonesing to see Arnautoffs magnum opus in person, because it looks quite stunning. However, most ofBattlegroundsfocus is not on the headline-makers, but on those in the trenchesin particular, anti-abortion activists whove been working towards this moment for years, even decades. The political doesnt get any more personal than when it comes to abortion, and now thanks to an activist conservative Supreme Court, it appears the era of Roe v. Wadeand choicemay well be over. Pawpaws. are back withTown Destroyer, which premiered at the Mill Valley Festival last month. must know from you, whether you mean to leave us, and our children, any land to till. left as is, but with explanatory text?) It was impossible for us to grant him this and we immediately refused. When I was a child, I was told that George Washington was our first president and that he had . Longtime Bay Area documentarians Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman interview historians, artists, activists, and GWHS students to probe a fascinating microcosm of todays culture wars. Washington was elected with 69 of the 69 first-round votes cast in the United States Electoral College. The name in its original language(s) has been given variously as Conotocarius , Conotocaurious , Caunotaucarius , Conotocarious , Hanodaganears , and Hanadahguyus . By the standards of the era, the work was indeed pretty progressive in content, mixing a standard, celebratory depiction of early US history with images that clearly indicted treatment of Native Americans, the institution of slavery, and so forth. While individual Iroquois tribes continued to launch raids over the next few years, the Revolutionary War broke the power of the Iroquois as a political unit. When a circus tent gets erected in his Oakland neighborhood, it causes him to muse on the legacy of the freak show, and how his own status as a differently-abled person echoes both the conspicuousness and invisibility of those whose physicality makes them societal outliers. And he said also that it did not belong to us for that the great King had ceded the whole of it when you made peace with him. During the Revolutionary War, Washington, known to the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) as Handaga:yas, or Town Destroyer, ordered a brutal campaign against them in which his generals devastated some 60 villages, and hundreds of prosperous houses, farms, and orchards. In the summer of 1790, Street was in New York to present these grievances to GW. The documentary also provides a platform for experts about the representations and misrepresentations of Indians in American culture, including commercial advertisements and the names of military helicopters like Apache and Comanche to Barbie Dolls with feathers and beads. What Recent Independent Cinema Closures Mean for Scotland, Bjrks Fossora Guides Listeners Through Jagged Heights, the musician tackles mourning and uses memory as a way to enrich lifes soil, The National Windrush Monument Is a Bittersweet Tribute to Courage, Sonia Boyces Performances Defy Easy Categorization, WochenKlausurs Language Schools for Refugees, How Topshops Business Model Cannibalized Youth Culture, How Open-Access Resources Can Support Disabled Artists. Street has been informed by General Knox, that the President cannot interfere in the business of the five nations, committed to his agency; that if they are not satisfied with the behaviour of the New York Commissioners, they must apply to the Legislature which appointed them; in consequence of this answer Mr. Street intends to return to Niagara in a fortnight, and to petition the Legislature of this State at its next meeting (Dorchester to Grenville, 25 Sept. 1790, in Brymner, Report on Canadian Archives, 1890, description begins Douglas Brymner. Many Haudenosaunee froze or starved to death that winter. The nickname, Conotocaurius means Destroyer of Towns. American soldiers burned forty villages to the ground, and displaced thousands of Indians. Conotocaurius ( Town Destroyer) was a nickname given to George Washington by Iroquois peoples in 1753. It did not leave our 1st POTUS unblemished as a participant in both those officially sanctioned wrongs. At fort Stanwix we agreed to deliver up those of our people, who should do you any wrong, that you might try them, and punish them according to your Law. But the conflict revealed particularly ugly ideological divides, as amply shown inTown Destroyer. Washington dined with Cherokees, Chickasaws, Creeks, Kaskaskias, Mahicans, Mohawks, Oneidas, and Senecas; in one week late in 1796, he had dinner with four different groups of Indians on four different daysand on such occasions the most powerful man in the United States followed the . We could bear this confusion no longer, & determined to press thro every difficulty, and lift up our voice that you might hear us, and to claim that security in the possession of our lands which your commissioners so solemly promised us, and we now entreat you to enquire into our complaints and redress our wrongs. should Doyle be convicted, there was little doubt of his being capitally punished (Pa. Archives, description begins Samuel Hazard et al., eds. "Town Destroyer" is a translation of the name given to George Washington by the Iroquois nation after he demanded the total destruction of their settlement and crops in a 1779 attack against the tribe that was aligned with the British. Both Washington and Jefferson enslaved and waged war against Indigenous nations to dispossess them of their homelands. ), Timothy Pickering to GW, 4 Dec. 1790, n.6, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-07-02-0005, From Washington to Seneca Chiefs [29 December 1790], All correspondence between Washington and Seneca Chiefs, National Historical Publications and And god knows he doesnt care about anyone elses rights. A dispute erupts at a San Francisco high school over Depression-era murals about the life of George Washington: slaveowner, military leader, land speculator, President, and a man Native leaders. 2.At this point the copyist inadvertently repeated the words and so long.. But instead of trying them according to your Law, the lowest of your people took them from your magistrate, and put them immediately to death. Is the blame all ours? Conotocaurious (Town Destroyer) was a nickname given to George Washington by Iroquois Native Americans in 1753. He wants to remind Washington that Cornplanter understands that he is a powerful warrior and has defeated the Seneca in the past. 1790. When you gave us peace we called you father, because you promised to secure us in the possession of our Land. Chief Cornplanter, who headed the Seneca tribe of the Iroquois, stressed "And to this day when that name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale, What happens when it no longer reflects current societal views? Needless to say, those lamentable future occupiers of the White House are highly accommodating, providing perhaps the most egregious example of Twitlers lack of backbone on any issue save self-interesthe had always been publicly pro-choice, then began waffling, switching sides with a vengeance when it sank in that he needed the pro-life voters to win. Nonetheless, the murals stirred little debate until the 1960s, when some Black students protested aspects they deemed offensive. The issues reached a tipping point not long ago when the members of the San Francisco Board of Education listened to impassioned testimony and voted to cover up the murals. Yet to this day, the Iroquois (more properly, the Haudenosaunee) call Washington Conotocaurius, or "Town Destroyer." His army razed their well-constructed, permanent villages and laid waste to huge quantities of their food. This address was signed by the Allegheny Seneca chief, Cornplanter (for an identification, see GW to Timothy Pickering, 4 Sept. 1790), and the minor chiefs Half Town (Gahgeote, Achiout) and Great Tree (Kiandoch-gowa, Big Tree, Big Log, not to be confused with a more important Seneca chief named Big Tree or Great Tree; see Henry Knox to GW, 27 Dec. 1790, n.4). Hundreds of Iroquois died of exposure to winter weather. Alan Michelson, Handaga:yas (Town Destroyer), 2019, video, bonded stone Houdon replica bust, antique surveyor's tripod, artificial turf, sound, 190 183 cm. Washington received his commission on October 31, 1753 and set out immediately. After Phelps departure the Seneca made another speech to GW accusing Phelps of fraud and of defaulting on the terms of the 1788 agreement (see Seneca Chiefs to GW, 10 Jan. 1791). He paid us two thousand & five hundred dollars in hand part of the Ten thousand, and he sent for us last Spring to come and receive our money; but instead of paying us the remainder of the Ten Thousand dollars, and the one thousand dollars due for the first year, he offered us no more than five hundred dollars, and insisted he had agreed with us for that sum only to be paid yearly. Sun. He lives in New York. Snitow & Deborah Kaufman Executive Producer Peggy . Paul Chaa, a curator at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., calls romanticism a form of racism and observes that Americans have a secret obsession with Native Americans.One hundred years ago, D. H. Lawrence noted that white people aimed to extirpate Indians and then glorified them. It is quite an image, and one difficult to reconcile with the man known by many Indians as the "Town Destroyer," a name originally claimed by his great-grandfather for the fighting he did along the Potomac frontier in the 1670s, and which our Washington appears to have appropriated and used when it served his purposes. The Then and Now project examines three case studies of dispossession: the
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