John Brant

Who was John Brant?

John Brant or Ahyonwaeghs was a Mohawk chief and government official in Upper Canada.

Brant was born near the current site of Brantford, Ontario, the son of Joseph Brant and Catharine Croghan Brant. His father Joseph was a Mohawk chief who became famous during the American Revolutionary War. His mother Catharine was from an important Mohawk lineage: while her father was the Irish trader George Croghan, her mother was the sister of Johannes Tekarihoga, one of the hereditary Mohawk civil leaders. Because the Mohawks were a matrilineal society, the title "Tekarihoga" did not pass from father to son. Instead, the women in the family selected the next Tekarihoga from their male relatives. As Clan Mother, Catharine Brant would name Johannes Tekarihoga's successor. At a young age, her son John became an obvious candidate for the next Tekarihoga.

The family moved near Burlington Bay in 1802. John Brant studied at Ancaster and Niagara. In the War of 1812, Brant and John Norton led native warriors to stop an American attack at the Battle of Queenston Heights in October 1812. He was made a lieutenant in the Indian Department and was involved in several battles throughout the war.