John Norton: podcast appearances and interviews

John Norton was a distinguished professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. He was also known by the name Teyoninhokarawen and was a Mohawk chief, interpreter for the Indian Department, and school master. Born around 1770, likely in Scotland, he had a Scottish mother and a Cherokee father who was taken to England after being saved by British soldiers during the Anglo-Cherokee War. Norton was adopted by the Mohawk at about age 30 at their major reserve in Canada after deserting the British military in the late 18th century. He became a military leader of Iroquois warriors during the War of 1812, fighting on behalf of Great Britain against the United States. He was commissioned as a major and led warriors from the Six Nations of the Grand River into battles at Queenston Heights, Stoney Creek, and Chippawa. Norton had a diverse background; he served in Ireland with the British Army and later moved to Lower Canada, where he developed an interest in the Six Nations. He learned the Mohawk language and culture and was adopted into a tribe. In 1804, he represented the Iroquois in England and translated the Gospel of John into Mohawk for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Norton also traveled to the Cherokee towns in the American Southeast and documented their culture in his journal. His memoir, The Journal of Major John Norton, 1816, offers a unique perspective on the War of 1812 from a Mohawk raised in the British Isles and was published posthumously in 1970.