John Shikellamy: Emissary, Oneida Chief
Posted: Thursday, September 29, 2011
by Jack H. Schick
John Shikellamy, who was also known as Swatana, was an Oneida Native American chief. A representative of the Iroquois Confederation, he was the overseer of the subordinate Shawnee and Lenape tribes. His place and date of birth is unknown. He first appears in the historical record as a Confederation representative at Philadelphia in 1728. He was soon recognized as an important leader by the Provincial government and James Logan, who was Superintendent of Indian Affairs. His relationship with Logan and the Quaker run colony was instrumental in the development of Pennsylvania.
In 1732, Shikellamy was sent by the Provincial Assembly to invite the leaders of the Iroquois Confederacy to a council. The ensuing event was considered a great success by both parties, and follow-up councils were agreed to. Renowned interpreter and emissary, Conrad Weiser, who became a good friend of Shikellamy and trusted agent of both the Iroquois and Pennsylvania government, frequently traveled with the chief.
During a council at Philadelphia in 1736, a treaty was negotiated in which the Iroquois sold to Pennsylvania land in the upper Schuylkill River country, and “all the land that was drained by the Delaware River south of the Blue Mountain.” Shikellamy persuaded Thomas Penn to pay a much larger sum than he had planned to. It was the third time the Penns had paid for some of the land.
This agreement was a significant change in Pennsylvanian Indian policy. Due to ‘problems’ dealing with minor Lenape chief Nutimus, over the land at the Forks of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, the English decided to negotiate directly with his overlords, the Iroquois. William Penn had dealt with each individual tribal group. The Iroquois never laid claim to the land at the “Forks,” but they did claim authority over the Lenape. Lenape “king” Sasoonan (Allumpaees) was present and also agreed to the sale of the “Walking Purchase” land.
In 1742, when the Shawnee were moved west off of the ‘sold’ Schuylkill land, Shikellamy moved to Shamokin village at the juncture of the North and West branches of the Susquehanna River, at present day Sunbury. The Pennsylvania government rewarded him for his help in circumventing Nutimus’ invalid claims to the Delaware “Forks” area. Conrad Weiser oversaw the construction of a home for Shikellamy. Records show that a house was 49.5 feet long, 17.5 feet wide and was covered by a shingle roof.
Though he was comfortable with, and respected the integrity of, Quakers, Shikellamy welcomed Moravian missionaries. Moravians, unlike the Quakers, made great efforts to convert all the Indians to their sect. Shikellamy allowed the Moravian to live among the tribes because they had no interest in the fur trade, did not give alcohol to the Indians, and, he believed, had the Natives best interest at heart. He formally converted to Christianity at Bethlehem, PA, in November of 1748. Unfortunately, on his return trip to Shamokin he became ill and died on December 6th.
Shikellamy was an honored and respected chief. He was instrumental in the second surge of land purchases made by the Penns to expand the settled area of their colony. Shikellamy was a staunch ally of the English and did much to forge the alliance between Pennsylvania and the Iroquois Nations that continued through the French and Indian Wars. The Iroquois found their dealings with the Quaker led colony to be much more advantageous than it was with other colonies such as New York or Connecticut. Shikellamy developed such a respect for the Pennsylvania leaders that he named his sons James and John Logan after his good friend from Philadelphia.
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