 Symbol: Totem of the Eagle (TOTE) Motto: Freedom, Friendship, & Charity | |
 Improved Order of Red Men Museum and Library, Waco, Texas | |
| Predecessor | Sons of Liberty (claimed) Society of Red Men (c. 1813) |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1834 |
| Founded at | Baltimore |
| Type | Fraternal |
| Purpose | Patriotism, charity, friendship |
| Headquarters | Waco, Texas |
| Website | redmen |
The Improved Order of Red Men is a fraternal organization established in North America in 1834. It claims direct descent from the colonial era Sons of Liberty.[2] Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those assumed by men of the era to be used by Native Americans. Despite the name, the order was formed solely by, and for, white men.[2] This whites-only rule was part of their bylaws until 1974, when the all-white clause was eliminated. Their current position is that they are now open to people of all ethnic backgrounds.[2] In 1935 the organization claimed a membership of about half a million but, by 2011, that declined to a little more than 15,000.[3]
- ^ Captions: "Red men administer no oaths binding you to any political or religious creed. They bind neither your hands nor your feet. As you enter their wigwams so you depart a free man." "If a stranger enter your abode welcome him and forget not always to mention the Great Spirit." "And make the forest as free to you as the air is to the eagle." "To adopt orphans and bring them up in various ways is pleasing to the Great Spirit." "Be merciful to the stranger found astray in the forest." "It is the will of the Great Spirit that you reverence the aged." "The three sisters: our life - our supporters. Unbroken faith." "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth." "The Great Spirit spoke and the whirlwind was still. This belt preserves our words."
- ^ a b c Schmidt 1980, p. 288.
- ^ Roth, Clare (August 8, 2019). "What's The Story Behind Old North's Red Men Sioux Sign?". WOSU-FM. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University. Retrieved July 19, 2024.