Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), Mohawk Chief and later Chief of the Six Nations, was the first recorded Native American Freemason. Somewhat controversial because of his efforts as a warrior and soldier, Brant is known to have spared at least four Brothers who made an appeal to him with the grand hailing sign of distress. Raised in Hiram's Cliftonian Lodge 417, London, WB Brant was also the first Master of Lodge 11, Brantford, Mohawk Village. In 1787, Brother Brant translated and published the Gospel of Mark into the Mohawk language. In 1807 he died and was buried near what today is the town of Burlington, Ontario. In 1850, several young tribesmen carried his remains in a 34 mile relay from his original grave site to the Chapel of the Mohawks in Brantford, where it rests today.
