The Improved Order of Red Men is a fraternal organization established in the Baltimore, Maryland in 1834. Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those used by Native Americans. The organization claimed a membership of about half a million in 1935, but has declined to less than 38,000.
The order itself claims direct descent from the Sons of Liberty, noting that the Sons participated in the Boston Tea Party dressed as Native Americans. Thus, they continue to dress as Native Americans and are organized into tribes and such.
Their ladies' auxiliary is the Degree of Pocahontas. They sponsor two youth organizations, the Degree of Hiawatha for boys and the Degree of Anona for girls.
In the late 1700s, social and benevolent Tammany Societies, named after Tamanend, were formed. The most famous of these was New York City's Society of St. Tammany, which grew into a major political machine known as "Tammany Hall." Around 1816, a disenchanted group created the philantrophic "Society of Red Men". From this, the "Improved Order of Red Men" was later formed as a working man's drinking group similar to the Odd Fellows fraternal organization.