Great Father and Great Mother

History

For many First Nations and Native American groups, clan and family were the primary units of social organization, with kinship ties shaping both intertribal relationships and the very concept of political authority. In the Iroquois Confederacy, for instance, the connections between different bands were described using parent-child or sibling terms to signal their relative importance. British officials, seeking to be understood during treaty talks, adopted this framework by referring to Jehovah as "the Great Father." This title was later applied to British monarchs George III and Queen Victoria, who were called "the Great Father" and "the Great White Mother," while Indigenous peoples were addressed as their "Red Children." David Laird used this phrasing when explaining Treaty 7 to the Blackfoot.

Anthropologist Raymond DeMallie argued that employing kinship terms like "Great Father" and "Great Mother" was a shrewd diplomatic strategy, not an admission of Native inferiority. Often, the negotiators acting for the "Great Father" called themselves the "brothers" of Indigenous peoples, a significant choice because among some tribes refusing a brother’s request was a serious offense. In the United States, the idea of the Great Father was reinforced through grand military displays, mystical language about the distant President, and the distribution of peace medals bearing the current leader’s image. Gift-giving itself deepened the paternal bond, as in many Native cultures such exchanges were typically reserved for parent-child relationships. As in Canada, Native people were called the "children" of the Great Father. The myth surrounding him became so powerful that chiefs brought to Washington, D.C. to meet the President often showed signs of terror before the audience. Lean Bear, when presented to Abraham Lincoln at the White House, reportedly lost the ability to speak. Winnebago chief Hoowaneka described his meeting with John Quincy Adams by saying, "I thought I was in heaven, and the old man there, I thought was the Great Spirit."