Col. Louis Cook’s Story: An Unknown Revolutionary War Hero

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

5 pm ET

Harold Polingyumptewa and Peter Whiteley stand facing one another on top of rocky ridge, filmed by two camera men.
Peter Whiteley interviews Harold Polingyumptewa (Sand clan), Hotvela, Hopi Reservation, AZ (L to R Harold Polingyumptewa, Peter Whiteley, Stewart Koyiyumptewa, Saul Hedquist). 
T.J. Ferguson

Join us for a virtual talk with Curator Peter Whiteley, North American Ethnology, Division of Anthropology.

This presentation follows the life of “Colonel Louis Cook,” a.k.a. Atayataghronghta, the child of an enslaved African father and Abenaki mother, and its importance in American history.

Louis Cook was captured from a plantation near Saratoga Springs and reared by Kahnawake Mohawks near Montreal. In 1775, he offered George Washington his services and led Native troops in several key battles. Distinguished for his valor, in 1779 Cook was commissioned a Lieutenant-Colonel, the highest rank of any African-American or Native soldier in the Continental Army. Afterwards, he became a leader in Oneida and Mohawk communities in New York, and died on active service (aged 77) in the War of 1812. From research with Akwesasne Mohawks and in archives, this presentation traces his life and its significance for American history.