Name/Title
By-Laws of Shenandoah Tribe No. 89Entry/Object ID
ARC689Scope and Content
Orange paper-bound pamphlet entitled: "BY-LAWS OF Shenandoah Tribe No. 89, IMPROVED ORDER RED MEN, Charles Town, W. Va." Handwritten on cover below title: "Jos. W. Willis, Leetown, W. Va. Mar. 18 1907." Printed by the Farmers Advocate Print, Charles Town, W. Va. 18 pages. Measures 3.6" wide x 5.4" long.
From Wikipedia: The Improved Order of Red Men is a fraternal organization established in North America in 1834. Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those assumed by white men of the era to be used by Native Americans. Despite the name, the order was formed solely by, and for, white men.[2] The organization claimed a membership of about half a million in 1935, but has declined to a little more than 15,000.
On December 16, 1773, a group of white colonists — all men, and 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 their idea of Mohawk people, proceeded to Boston harbor, and dumped overboard 342 chests of English tea. (See Boston Tea Party.)[citation needed]
For the next 35 years, the original Sons of Liberty and the Sons of St. Tamina groups went their own way, under many different names. In 1813, at historic Fort Mifflin, near Philadelphia, several of these groups came together and formed one organization known as the Society of Red Men. The name was changed to the Improved Order of Red Men in Baltimore in 1834.[citation needed]
In the late 18th century, the Tammany Societies, named after Tamanend, were formed. The most well-known these was New York City's Society of St. Tammany, which grew into a major political machine known as "Tammany Hall." Around 1813, a disenchanted group created the philanthropic "Society of Red Men" at Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia. From this, the "Improved Order of Red Men" was an offshoot formed in 1834.[3]
In 1886, its membership requirements were defined in the same pseudo-Indian phrasing as the rest of the constitution:
“ Sec. 1. No person shall be entitled to adoption into the Order except a free white male of good moral character and standing, of the full age of twenty-one great suns, who believes in the existence of a Great Spirit, the Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and is possessed of some known reputable means of support.[4] ”
In one 1886 tribe, a member's 12 cent a week dues went into a fund which was used to pay disability benefits to members at a rate of about "three fathoms per seven suns" ($3/week) for up to "six moons" (6 months) and then two dollars a week. Some medical care ("a suitable nurse") was available, and also a death benefit of one hundred dollars. The fund was invested in bonds, mortgages, and "Building Association Stock". Meetings were weekly on Friday nights.[4]Acquisition
Accession
602Source or Donor
Moore, Garland H., III from estate of Garland H. Moore, Jr.Acquisition Method
Gift