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Brant Thayendanegea, by Charles Willson Peale, 1797.
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Oil on canvas of Joseph Brandt in colorful native American clothing and a head dress that includes a band and several green and white feathers. Small amounts of war paint adorn his cheeks.

Credit: Independence National Historical Park

The charismatic chief of the Mohawk, Joseph (Thayendanegea) Brandt led raids against patriot communities in New York and northern Pennsylvania during the American Revolution. Charles Willson Peale painted this portrait of Brandt in 1797, the same year that agents from the State of New York duped Brandt and other Mohawk nation leaders into signing a fraudulent treaty that ceded more than 6 million acres to New York.

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