A primer for the use of the Mohawk children opens with an engraving by Englishman James Peachey of an Indigenous, presumably Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk), teacher sitting before his pupils. He wears European-style breeches and coat, and traditional earrings. On the desk behind him lie a book, a quill, and an ink bottle. The children all hold their own small books, presumably the primer itself.
The picture shows the purpose of the primer: to impose European notions of literacy onto a culture with very different means of recordkeeping. Most of its pages are dedicated to Biblical education as well as English/ Mohawk literacy, showing the role of Christian missionaries in colonization. The blend of dress may suggest a deliberate resistance to these changes, an attempt to maintain Kanien’kehá:ka identity under colonial rule.
Citation
Daniel Claus, A primer for the use of the Mohawk children = Waerighwaghsawe iksaongoenwa. Tsiwaondad-derighhonny kaghyadoghsera. London: C. Buckton (1786).[Catalogue Entry] [archive.org]