Frederick Ogilvie Loft, Onondeyoh, Iroquois, 1861-1934
He was a Mohawk and former lieutenant during the First
World War who organized the League of Indians of Canada after
the war ended. Loft was one of “the great Indian activists
of the first half of the twentieth century, whose struggles laid
the groundwork from which recent activism emerged”. The
League of Indians began in the east, with Loft as its first president.
Loft's initial plan was to organize widely scattered bands for
united collective action patterned after labour unions. He maintained
that Indian peoples were facing the same problems and could only
effect change by working together: “We must be heard as
a nation”. Among the grievances uniting Aboriginal communities
were amendments to the Indian Act that facilitated the sale of
Indian reserve lands leading to the surrender and sale of hundreds
of thousands of acres of some of the best Indian lands. For personal
reasons Loft left the League for a few years. In this interval
the government attempted to suppress further political activity
and on his return Loft was unable to revive the eastern branch
of the League because. Although Loft failed to make the League
a national force, the western branches continued throughout the
1930s and often adopted Loft’s example of circumventing
the Indian Affairs department and calling directly on members
of Parliament for help. In the west, League activities continued
under the leadership of John Tootoosis and Edward Ahenakew.
