Improved Order of Red Men
The Improved Order of Red Men traces its origin to certain secret patriotic societies founded before the American Revolution. They were established to promote Liberty and to defy the tyranny of the English Crown. Among the early groups were: The Sons of Liberty, the Sons of St. Tammany, and later the Society of Red Men.
On December 16, 1773 a group of men, all members of the Sons of Liberty, met in Boston to protest the tax on tea imposed by England. When their protest went unheeded, they disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, proceeded to Boston harbor, and dumped overboard 342 chests of English tea.
During the Revolutionary War, members of secret societies quenched their council fires and took up muskets to join with the Continental Army. To the cause of Freedom and Liberty they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honors. At the end of the hard fought war the American Republic was born and was soon acknowledged among the nations of the world.
Following the American Revolution many of the various secret societies founded before and during the conflict continued in existence as brotherhoods or fraternities.
For the next 35 years, however, each of the original Sons of Liberty and Sons of St. Tamina groups went their own way, under many different names. In 1813, at historic Fort Mifflin, near Philadelphia, several of these groups came together and formed one organization known as the Society of Red Men. The name was changed to the Improved Order of Red Men in Baltimore in 1834.
Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those used by Native Americans. The organization claimed a membership of about half a million in 1935, but has declined to less than 38,000.
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[edit] Customs
The order itself claims direct descent from the Sons of Liberty, noting that the Sons participated in the Boston Tea Party dressed as Native Americans. Thus, they continue to dress as Native Americans and are organized into tribes and such.
Their ladies' auxiliary is the Degree of Pocahontas.
[edit] History
In the late 18th century, social and benevolent Tammany Societies, named after Tamanend, were formed. The most famous of these was New York City's Society of St. Tammany, which grew into a major political machine known as "Tammany Hall." Around 1813, a disenchanted group created the philanthropic "Society of Red Men" at Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia. From this, the "Improved Order of Red Men" was later formed as a working man's drinking group similar to the Odd Fellows fraternal organization.[2]
In 1886 its membership requirements were defined in the same pseudo-Indian phrasing as the rest of the constitution:
| “ | Sec. 1. No person shall be entitled to adoption into the Order except a free white male of good moral character and standing, of the full age of twenty-one great suns, who believes in the existence of a Great Spirit, the Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and is possessed of some known reputable means of support.[3] | ” |
In one 1886 tribe, a member's 12 cent a week dues went into a fund which was used to pay disability benefits to members at a rate of about "three fathoms per seven suns" ($3/week) for up to "six moons" (6 months) and then two dollars a week. Some medical care ("a suitable nurse") was available, and also a death benefit of one hundred dollars. The fund was invested in bonds, mortgages, and "Building Association Stock". Meetings were weekly on Friday nights.[3]
One current side degree is the National Haymakers' Association.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Captions: "Red men administer no oaths binding you to any political or religious creed. They bind neither your hands nor your feet. As you enter their wigwams so you depart a free man." "If a stranger enter your abode welcome him and forget not always to mention the Great Spirit." "And make the forest as free to you as the air is to the eagle." "To adopt orphans and bring them up in various ways is pleasing to the Great Spirit." "Be merciful to the stranger found astray in the forest." "It is the will of the Great Spirit that you reverence the aged." "The three sisters: our life - our supporters. Unbroken faith." "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth." "The Great Spirit spoke and the whirlwind was still. This belt preserves our words."
- ^ The Improved Order of Red Men History in Marin County, California
- ^ a b Constitution, By-laws and Rules of Order, Sciota Tribe, No. 214, Improved Order of Red Men, of Pennsylvania. Frankford Avenue and Aramingo Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Shaw Brothers, Printers. 1886.
