Six Nations man discovers notable historic figures in family tree

SIX NATIONS—It was a question that was always in the back of Rope Loft’s mind, even when he was a young child growing up on Six Nations of the Grand River: where did the last name ‘Loft’ come from? 

“You don’t hear of it on the territory,” said Loft, who is Mohawk, Wolf Clan; the only other people he knew who shared the name were his close relatives. 

For many years, Loft’s knowledge of his family history was limited. His grandfather, Emerson Loft, died in a collision in 1967; his mother remembered her grandfather, Freddie Loft, only a little bit – he had died in 1961, when she was 10. 

“Where we live on the Six Nations, that’s the old homestead of where Freddie Loft once lived,” Loft said. 

So one day, Loft decided to do a little digging. He searched the name ‘Freddie Loft’ online, and a picture of a man in a military uniform came up. 

“I said to my mom, ‘I didn’t know Freddie Loft was in the war,’ and she said, ‘He wasn’t.’ And I said, ‘Well, who’s this guy, then?’” 

Loft soon learned that the man was Frederick Ogilvie Loft (1861-1934), Freddie’s father; his Mohawk name had been Onondeyoh, which translates as ‘Beautiful Mountain,’ and he was a soldier, scholar, journalist, political advocate, and more. 

At the age of 12, Frederick was sent to the Mohawk Institute Residential School for a year. Later in his life, he would call on the Canadian government to close residential schools “because he knew firsthand what it was like,” Loft said. An entry about Frederick on the Canadian Encyclopedia’s website quoted him as calling them “veritable death-traps.” 

From an early age, Frederick “valued his education,” Loft said. At 13, Frederick began attending public school in Caledonia; for the first year, he walked nearly 26 kilometres round trip. After graduating high school, Frederick worked several jobs, including in the lumber industry, eventually earning the position of timber inspector. That would have an impact on his later military career. 

In the years before the First World War, though, Frederick received a scholarship and studied bookkeeping at the Ontario Business College in Belleville, Ontario. When he couldn’t find a job in that field, he instead worked briefly as a journalist for the Brantford Expositor before working in civil service – a field he would work in for over 35 years. 

During WWI, Frederick served three years of active militia service in Toronto before being commissioned into a forestry company as a lieutenant, because of his wealth of knowledge having worked in the lumber industry. 

Throughout his life, Frederick was also an Indigenous activist. He founded the League of Indians of Canada, the first pan-Indigenous political organization in the country; this organization is seen as a precursor to the Assembly of First Nations. Loft said, “He was fighting for our treaties, and equal rights.”

For instance, Frederick advocated on behalf of Indigenous veterans who were given fewer benefits and smaller pensions after the First World War.  

Because of all his work over the years, Frederick was a respected figure. Six Nations Council awarded him a Pine Tree Chieftainship, and a 1907 article in the Toronto Star detailed how Six Nations leadership wanted him to be appointed Superintendent.                  

In the article, Frederick was quoted as saying, “The fact of this being the first occasion upon which they have ever made such a recommendation makes the honour unique in the history of our people, and I feel deeply grateful that they have selected me as their representative.” 

Frederick also served as a representative for Six Nations Council when he met King George V at Buckingham Palace. 

“He was telling the King of the struggles the Natives were having back here in Canada,” Loft said.

In 2020, Frederick was included on the short list of people being considered to appear in the new design for Canada’s $5 bill. (In 2023, the Government of Canada announced that the next $20 bill would feature a portrait of King Charles III, so work on redesigning the $5 bill was halted; it’s unclear when or if the project will resume at a later date). 

Frederick wasn’t the only notable relative Loft found out about in his research. 

Frederick’s brother, William, was a skilled calligrapher and artist, who would burn script and images into buckskin. One of his creations was an address to the King and Queen of England, edged with illustrations; it was presented as a gift to the Royal Family. He also made a drum that was laid on a memorial for Sir Isaac Brock during the 100th anniversary of the War of 1812. The piece is now housed in a museum in Niagara-on-the-Lake. 

Loft also learned about a family tragedy in his research. 

Frederick and William’s sisters, Sa-Sa-Na and Ya-Goweia, as well as their father, George Ro-Kwa-Ho Loft, had worked as travelling entertainers to raise funds for a cause. 

“They were Christian.… They wanted to translate the Bible into the Mohawk language,” Loft said. 

One day, while travelling in New York State, they ended up at a train station in a town called Deposit. George went inside to purchase their tickets while the sisters boarded the train; the only spots available were in the back of the last box car.  Suddenly, “everybody started screaming and alarm bells were going off,” Loft said. 

There was a runaway train barrelling toward the station. 

The sisters rushed to get off the train and out of harm’s way, but “that’s where tragedy struck.”

When trying to jump onto the platform, Sa-Sa-Na fell back onto the tracks. Loft said since this happened in the winter, the theory is that she slipped on some snow or ice. In any case, she was killed when the runaway train crashed into the waiting one. 

“George and Ya-Goweia, they knew that without Sa-Sa-Na they couldn’t (continue), so they abandoned the rest of their shows,” Loft said. 

The mayor of Owego, NY, which is about 50 miles away, heard about the collision and reached out to the family, asking if Sa-Sa-Na could be buried at Owego. They agreed, and a monument was put up to honour her memory. 

“I went down there and visited it,” Loft said, adding that he’d also been contacted by some historians who had been researching the monument. 

“They determined that it was the earliest known monument in memory of an Indigenous lady in all of the United States and Canada,” he said.

As he continued his research, Loft was eventually able to answer the question that had got him started in the first place. He found a document talking about an incident during the American War of Independence (1775-1783). 

A British General named David Loft had hired an Indigenous scout, Ga-Ron-Ya-Ge-Go-Wah (which means ‘The Great Blue Sky’), to help bring Indigenous people out of the Mohawk Valley while the war was happening. 

“The British General, he ended up getting wounded through gunfire – seriously wounded,” Loft said. Ga-Ron-Ya-Ge-Go-Wah “doctored him back to health through Native healings and medicines.” 

Loft said the account he read was that after David was healed, he told Ga-Ron-Ya-Ge-Go-Wah, “‘I don’t have anything to give you, but I offer you my last name as a gift of appreciation, and also to remember me by.’ And that’s how the Loft name came to be amongst the Natives.” 

Loft has compiled all the bits of information he’s found on his family history into a weighty file. 

“When I started to research, all of a sudden, everything just kind of snowballed,” he said. 

He hopes one day it can be turned into a book. In the meantime, it’s been illuminating for him as well as other members of his family. 

“My mom, she didn’t even know anything about this. She was kind of amazed, too, you know?” 

The stories are already getting some attention; recently, Loft partnered with Westfield Heritage Village in Rockton. The site, billed on its website as “a living history museum and conservation area,” has created information boards detailing Loft’s investigative journey; he’s also been attending the site regularly, speaking with visitors about his process and family. 

“I feel honoured” that the museum took such an active interest, Loft said, adding that he’s appreciative for the opportunity to tell others of his family member’s accomplishments. 

“In some way I feel that … maybe I’m continuing where these guys left off.”