David Cusick

author

David Cusick

d. 1839

An early Tuscarora writer and artist, he is remembered for one of the first known Native-authored books published in English in North America. His work gathered Haudenosaunee history and origin stories into print at a time when such traditions were rarely preserved this way.

1 Audiobook

David Cusick's Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations Comprising First—A Tale of the Foundation of the Great Island, (Now North America), The Two Infants Born, and the Creation of the Universe. Second—A Real Account of the Early Settlers of north America, and Their Dissensions. Third—Origin of the Kingdom of the Five Nations, Which Was Called a Long House: the Wars, Fierce Animals, &c.

David Cusick's Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations Comprising First—A Tale of the Foundation of the Great Island, (Now North America), The Two Infants Born, and the Creation of the Universe. Second—A Real Account of the Early Settlers of north America, and Their Dissensions. Third—Origin of the Kingdom of the Five Nations, Which Was Called a Long House: the Wars, Fierce Animals, &c.

by David Cusick

About the author

Born into the Tuscarora Nation around 1780, David Cusick was an artist and writer best known for Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations. The book was first published in the 1820s and is widely described by libraries and scholars as an unusually early example of Native-authored history and traditional knowledge printed in English.

Cusick explained that he wanted to record the ancient history of the Six Nations because no one else had yet done so in print. Drawing on oral tradition and his own effort to translate that material into English, he created a work that blends Haudenosaunee origin stories, migration accounts, and confederacy history.

Some sources disagree on the details of his life, including the year of his death, so biographical information about him remains limited. Even so, his surviving work holds an important place in Native American literary history for bringing Tuscarora and Haudenosaunee traditions to print in his own voice.