The ORDER OF RED MEN traces its origin to certain Patriotic
Societies founded before the American Revolution. They were established to promote LIBERTY and
defy the tyranny of the English Crown. Among the early groups were THE SONS OF LIBERTY, SONS OF TAMINA
and the 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, proceded
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 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 Revolution the various secret societies founed before and during the conflict continued
in existence as brotherhoods or fraternities.
For the next 35 years each group went its own way, under many different names. In 1813 at historic
Fort Mifflin, near PHILADELPHIA, several of these groups formed one organization known as the SOCIETY
OF RED MEN.
At Baltimore, Maryland in 1847 the various local tribes came together and formed a national organization
called the GRAND COUNCIL OF THE UNITED STATES.
With the formation of a national organization the Order of Red Men
soon spread, and within 30 years there were State Great Councils in 21 states with amembership over 150,000.The order continued
to grow and by 1920, tribes in 46 states totaled membership over one half million.
