The Sons of Liberty, those bold patriots who defied tyranny and famously disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians during the Boston Tea Party, evolved after the Revolutionary War into the Improved Order of Red Men — the nation’s oldest Congressionally recognized patriotic fraternal organization. Its rituals, symbols, and name draw directly from Native American traditions of liberty and unity.

Today, that same spirit lives on through Save Our Native Souls (SONS), a dedicated group fighting to defend and reclaim Native American names and imagery — including the proud legacy of the Washington Redskins. Here, “SONS” carries powerful resonance — echoing the language of Native diplomacy where “sons” symbolized adopted brotherhood and shared destiny, as well as the classic Redskins fight song refrain: “Fight on, fight on ‘til you have won, sons of Washington.”

If you are not familiar with the objectivity and goals of ‘Redmenism,’ the patriotic legacy of the Sons of Liberty and their fraternal successors, now embodied by Save Our Native Souls (SONS), offers the perfect starting point.
 

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Oglala Sioux Chief Crazy Horse proclaimed: “The Red Nation shall rise again and it shall be a blessing for a sick world. A world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separations. A world longing for light again.” He envisioned interracial commonality: “I see a time of Seven Generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and the whole earth will become One Circle again.”

He added that in that day, “there will be those among the Lakota who will carry knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things, and the young white ones will come to those of my people and ask for this wisdom.”
These notions of peace, brotherhood, and unity trace back to Native American founding fathers — the Iroquoian leaders of the Confederacy — who modeled confederated liberty for the colonies.

A 1775 Congressional speech quoting Iroquois advice stated: “The Six Nations are a wise people, let us harken to their council and teach our children to follow it.”

In 1776, just ahead of the Declaration of Independence, the lead Onondaga sachem pledged “brotherhood” to the nation’s leaders: “as long as the sun shall shine and waters run… that we be of one people and have but one heart.”

These ideas extend to Deganawida, the Peacemaker, whose Great Law of Peacewelcomed anyone living by its principles into the “Red” societies. Many elements influenced the U.S. Constitution and are reflected today in the motto E Pluribus Unum — “from many we are one.”

The Iroquois offered this Great Law as a gift to the new nation, naming John Hancock “Karanduawn” or Great Tree — the White Pine symbol of unity. These principles directly shaped the Sons of Liberty, who planted their own Great Tree in Massachusetts and, with gratitude to the Iroquoian Confederacy, formed the Order of the Redmen.

The Redmen helped secure Native citizenship in 1924 and aided the founding of the National Congress of the American Indian. Its red-painted war bonnet warrior symbol was their historic a core identifier, much like the historic Redskins imagery SONS seeks to rightfully recover.

Leaders have sometimes sought to erase these Native notions of peace and brotherhood. In Massachusetts, it was once illegal for white citizens to adopt Native identity or language. The Canisteo-Greenwood Redskins name was eradicated by elected leaders in New York but later restored by community vote. Save Our Native Souls (SONS) and similar groups like the Native American Guardians Association continue this fight today, defending Redskins and Redmen legacies against those who would reduce them to mere “mascots.”

Crazy Horse had answers those who continue to misinterpret history. He indicated that the use of red paint had nothing to do with race but everything to do with spiritual status. He once instructed: “At my death paint my body with red paint and plunge it into fresh water to be restored back to life… but my spirit will rise.”

These notions of the status of war paint as the key element of Redskin’ism is confirmed in America’s Fascinating Indian Heritage by Dr. Stanley A. Freed and other anthropologists, who explain that “Red” in Redmen or Redskins refers to the widespread use of red paints and dyes in Northeast Native culture.  (For more on the Blackfeet Nation's use of Redskins paints and dyes, click here.

Opponents sometimes cite Dr. Stephanie Fryberg but omit her finding that the positive solution for those offended would be to increase Native American educational context around these symbols instead of eradicating them - and SONS agrees. 

This educational path — embraced by the Sons of Liberty, carried by the Redmen, and defended by Save Our Native Souls (SONS) — honors the Peacemaker’s vision and our Native American founding fathers while preserving proud legacies like the Redskins.

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To learn more on the origin of Redskins and how it's a warrior status, click the image below.