Tekarihogen

Tekarihogen or Dekarihokenh (Tekarihó:ken) is the title and office of an Iroquois League sachem of the Mohawk nation. The title has been rendered in English in numerous spelling variations.

The title of Dekarihokenh is hereditary through the maternal line; each office holder is a male of the Mohawk Turtle clan. He is appointed by the senior women of the clan, as the Iroquois have a matrilineal system of descent and property. Like the other sachems of the Grand Council of the Six Nations, the Dekarihokenh is part of the ceremonial leadership of the Iroquois, but not necessarily of the political leadership.

In the council of the Six Nations Confederacy the chief who bore it served as the titular head of the Mohawks, the first in rank of that tribe’s nine sachems. Since the Mohawks headed the roll listing the council’s 49 or 50 chiefs, his name took precedence over all others.

Holders of this title included:

• Hendrick Tekarihoga
• John Brant

References

• Snow, Dean R. The Iroquois. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1994.
• Sivertsen, Barbara J. Turtles, Wolves, and Bears: A Mohawk Family History. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1996.

External links

• Trigger, Bruce G. (1979) [1969]. "Tekarihoken". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
• Smith, Donald B. (1987). "Tekarihogen (d. 1830)". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. VI (1821–1835) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.