Joseph Louis Cook

rdf:langString Joseph Louis Cook

rdf:langString Joseph Louis Cook, or Akiatonharónkwen (died October 1814) (Mohawk), was an Iroquois leader and commissioned officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Born to an African father and an Abenaki mother in what is now Schuylerville, New York, he and his mother were taken captive in a French-Mohawk raid and taken to Kahnawake, a Mohawk village south of Montreal. They were adopted by a Mohawk family. His mother soon died and he served Catholic missionaries, learning French. He became an influential leader among the Mohawk and distinguished himself as a warrior for their allies the French during the French and Indian War. During the American Revolutionary War, Cook supported the American colonists and joined their fight against the British. He became the highest-ranking Native American officer in the Continental Army, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. He led Oneida warriors, who were allied with the rebels, against the British in some actions. After the war, he settled in central New York State, where he became an important adviser to the Oneida. He represented them and the Seven Nations of Canada to negotiate with the government of New York state in trying to achieve more justice in postwar land deals. He later settled at Akwesasne, eventually a formal Mohawk reserve that straddles the New York, USA-Quebec, Canada borders.