J. B. Mackenzie

J. B. Mackenzie (1851–1919) is remembered chiefly for A Treatise on the Six-Nation Indians and The Six-Nations Indians in Canada, works published in the late 19th century on the history and condition of the Haudenosaunee in Canada. Contemporary title pages and library records show that The Six-Nations Indians in Canada was published in Toronto in 1896, and that it included illustrations and portraits.

The prefatory material to A Treatise on the Six-Nation Indians says the work was first prepared and delivered as a lecture, which helps explain its direct, public-facing style. Another surviving clue from the period describes Mackenzie as the author of recent contributions to the Canada Law Journal, including pieces on arrest and wrongful arrest, suggesting that he also wrote on legal issues as well as history.

Very little biographical information about Mackenzie appears to be easily confirmed online beyond his dates and his publications. From the record that does survive, he seems to have been a Canadian writer whose work ranged from legal commentary to historical writing and drama, with a particular focus on the Six Nations and figures such as Joseph Brant.