The Polly Cooper Shawl is one of the greatest relics of the Oneida
People. Linked to it is the story of George Washington's sick and
starving army wintering at Valley Forge in 1777-78. The suffering was
relieved by an Oneida gift of corn organized by Chief Skenandoah. An
Oneida woman, Polly Cooper, stayed to help the soldiers and to teach
them how to prepare the nutritional and medicinal food. Refusing to take
money in payment, Cooper did accept this shawl in token of
Washington's gratitude.
This story is at the heart of Oneida oral tradition passed down
through the generations. It expresses the unswerving friendship and
timely aid offered by the Oneidas in the most perilous hour of the United
States.
It also symbolizes the relationship between the Oneidas and the
United States. In times past, any agreement of the Haudenosaunee
(Iroquois) was accompanied by a gift; usually it was wampum but it
might be an animal skin or textile also. The gift was tied to the words of
the message and the object underlined the truth and importance of the
words. So it is with the shawl. As memorial to the American
acknowledgement of Oneida help and sacrifice, the Polly Cooper Shawl
testifies to a pact of the Revolutionary War in the traditional
Haudenosaunee way.
The Shawl is also an icon of neglected and little known history.
> From non-Native documentary sources it is clear that the Oneidas
contributed greatly to the birth of the American nation. Oneidas played a
key role in the most important American victory of the war, the repulse of
British invasions at Fort Stanwix and Saratoga in 1777. They certainly
aided Washington's army at Valley Forge. Later, they fought beside New
York soldiers in several battles of the Mohawk Valley. The sacrifices
they made in the American cause of liberty were enormous. They lost
the lives of perhaps a third or more of their people. After losing their
homes, they lived as refugees for four years enduring hunger, smallpox,
and lack of adequate clothing and shelter (see endnote).
To date, non-Native written sources neither confirm nor deny the
Polly Cooper story. However, we do know that an Oneida woman called
Polly Cooper by English speakers was alive during the Revolution and did
serve again as a cook in the American cause during the War of 1812.
We also know that the tradition of Polly Cooper is very old locally
and goes back to those with living memory of those times. William
Honyost Rockwell (1870-1960), an important Oneida leader earlier in this
century, heard the story of his ancestor Polly Cooper when he was a
small child. Chief Rockwell knew the tradition of Skenandoah, corn, and
Valley Forge but he emphasized parts of the story which held the richest
meaning for him. He stressed Cooper's bravery and selflessness in a
righteous cause. Above all, he understood it as a parable for the
traditional matriarchal wisdom of his people.
Chief Rockwell wrote about his ancestor Polly Cooper several
times between the 1930s and 1950s. The following account has been
compiled from his two longest passages on the subject. The
unpublished Rockwell Papers are owned by the Oneida Indian Nation.
George Washington is called the father of this country; an Indian
woman of the Oneida Nation should be called the mother of this country.
Her name was Polly Cooper. She cooked for George Washington and his
staff of officers when they were located in Philadelphia. Polly Cooper would
not accept cash payment for her part in the Revolutionary War. Isn't that
just like what a mother does for her children?
So the wives of the officers invited Polly Cooper to take a walk
downtown with them. As they were looking in the store windows, Polly saw
a black shawl on display that she thought was the best article. When the
women returned to their homes, they told their husbands what Polly saw
that she liked so well. Money was appropriated by Congress for the
purpose of the shawl, and it was given to Polly Cooper for her services as a
cook for the officers of the Continental Army. The shawl is still owned by
members of the Oneida Nation, descendants of Polly Cooper.
When I was a boy, I used to hear my people talk about Polly
Cooper's bravery, about how she cooked and carried water to the soldiers.
Whenever she had a chance between the hours of cooking duty, Polly
would roll up her sleeves and take two pails of water, one container in each
hand, and go into the battlefield. She would give water to quench the dry
throats of the soldiers on either side and she walked on both sides of the
firing line without fear of harm. Polly Cooper gave water to the enemy
soldiers as well as to the men in the colonial army because she believed the
war was not over water or food. She knew that, when the war was over,
people would continue to have all the water and food they needed no
matter which side won. Polly knew the war was about freedom in thought,
to develop principles for the good of all living and the coming generations.
Polly Cooper's thoughts were that all men, no matter what country
they were fighting for, they all had mothers. And the mothers didn't send
their sons out to kill other mothers' sons. All the old Indian people I heard
talk 50 years, 60 years, and 70 years ago favored the mothers' right to
govern people. Mothers carried the child before it was born. They nursed
and cared for it in every way so that the infant knew the hands that held it
were a dependable love.
Before the Europeans came into the country, the Iroquois women
were the heads of domestic affairs. Since they took upon themselves the
responsibilities of the home, it was therefore very natural they should have
the right to govern home affairs. I support the good judgment of my Iroquois
ancestors who yielded to womanhood for love and a peaceful government
(William Rockwell).
Endnote: The government of the United States acknowledged the
contributions of the Oneidas in the Revolution as well as the severity of
their sacrifices.
1777: "We have experienced your love, strong as the oak, and your fidelity,
unchangeable as truth. You have kept fast hold of the ancient covenant
chain, and preserved it free from rust and decay, and bright as silver. Like
brave men, for glory you despised danger; you stood forth in the cause of
your friends and ventured your lives in our battles. While the sun and moon
continue to give light to the world, we shall love and respect you (Journals
9:996)."
1784: "The immoveable firmness with which you have preserved your faith
to Congress and attached yourselves to the fortunes of America has justly
raised your glory among nations. It is a glory that will last as long as any
memory of these times shall remain. Congress has not forgot your fidelity
and attachment (Campisi 1988:58)."
1794: The Oneidas "adhered faithfully to the United States, and assisted
them with their warriors; and in consequence of this adherence and
assistance," the Oneidas "at an unfortunate period of the war, were driven
from their homes, and their houses were burnt and their property destroyed
(Kappler 2:37)."
References Cited
Campisi , Jack
1988 The Oneida Treaty Period, 1783-1838. Pp. 48-64 in The Oneida
Indian Experience: Two Perspectives. J. Campisi and L.M. Hauptman,
eds. Syracuse University Press.
Journals
1904 Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. W.C. Ford et
al., eds. to Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress and
Government Printing Office (34 1937 volumes).
Kappler, Charles J., ed.
1902 Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties (Vol. 2, Treaties). Washington,
D.C.: Government Printing Office.
A photograph of the Polly Cooper Shawl is available on the Oneida Indian
Nation Home page at http://one-web.org/oneida/ Follow the link to "Little
Known Historical Facts"
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Daniel Umstead * The Oneida Indian Nation
Internet Coordinator *
Oneida Indian Nation * "A Sovereign Cyber-Nation
315-361-6300 *
315-361-6333 (fax) * on the World Wide Web"
umstead@oneida-nation.org *
* URL - http://one-web.org/oneida/
*
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