Mary Brant

Konwatsi'tsiaiénni, known in English as Mary or Molly Brant, was the elder sister of Joseph Brant and a high-ranking Clan Mother of the Six Nations of the Grand River. As the wife of Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, she held extraordinary political sway, combining traditional Haudenosaunee matriarchal authority with deep knowledge of colonial administration.

During the American Revolution, her diplomatic letters and council speeches rallied the majority of the Iroquois Confederacy to remain loyal to the British alliance. Following the war, she settled at Cataraqui (modern Kingston, Ontario), where colonial governors continued to consult her counsel, designated a Person of National Historic Significance in Canada.