 Much of Brant 's influence came from her connections to Sir William Johnson and her stepfather Brant Kanagaradunkwa . Additional influence came from the fact that women in matrilineal Iroquois society had more political influence than women in patriarchal societies . Because Brant 's ancestry is unclear , historians have apparently disagreed about whether she was born into an influential clan . Brant has been described as the " head of the Six Nations matrons " , although historian Robert Allen writes that " there is no substantive evidence to suggest that Molly was ever a clan matron or mother within the Iroquois matrilineal society " . Fiester and Pulis write that " although not born to the position , she became one of the Mohawk matrons " . 
