Leopold Pokagon
Leopold Pokagon | |
---|---|
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Born | 1775 |
Died | 1841 (aged 65–66) United States |
Nationality | Potawatomi |
Occupation | Native American chief |
Title | Chief |
Children | Simon Pokagon |
Leopold Pokagon (c. 1775 – 1841) was a Potawatomi Wkema (leader). Taking over from Topinbee, who became the head of the Potawatomi of the Saint Joseph River Valley in Michigan, a band that later took his name.
Early life and education
Pokagon's early life is surrounded by legend, and many details are known only in the oral histories of the tribe. Stories suggest that he was born an
Pokagon converted to the
Career
Pokagon emerged as a very successful tribal leader after 1825. In the last decade of his life, Pokagon sought to protect and promote the unique position of the Potawatomi communities living in the St. Joseph River Valley. He traveled to Detroit in July 1830, where he visited
In 1833, Pokagon negotiated an amendment to the
The Catholic Potawatomi throughout southwest Michigan and northwest Indiana acknowledged Pokagon as their leader. Ever since, the Indian villages from Hartford, Rush Lake, Dowagiac, Niles, Buchanan in Michigan and South Bend in Indiana have been united under a common identity, Pokégan Bodwéwadmik dbéndagwzéwad (Pokagon Potawatomies they belong to).
In 1841, Pokagon obtained the assistance of Associate Michigan Supreme Court Justice Epaphroditus Ransom to halt US military attempts to remove the Catholic Potawatomi in violation of the 1833 Treaty. After Pokagon’s death on July 8, 1841, disputes between his heirs, the Potowatomi, and the Catholic Church over ownership of the Silver Creek lands resulted in legal battles that painfully disrupted the community. A majority of the residents living at Silver Creek moved to Brush Creek, Rush Lake and elsewhere in southwest Michigan and northwest Indiana. The Potowatomi worked to secure the annuities and other promises owed them under the terms of the many treaties they had signed with the United States.
Today, the tribe continues as the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, a federally recognized Indian Nation, with an excess of 4300 citizens and a ten-county service area in northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan. Tribal headquarters are located in Dowagiac, Michigan, with a satellite office in South Bend, Indiana. The Tribal Police force operates a substation in New Buffalo, Michigan to cover the tribal-owned casino, Four Winds New Buffalo.
Legacy and honors
- The band took his name.
- Pokagon State Park in Indiana was named for him.
- A sculpture of Chief Pokagon is located on the south facade of the Knute Rockne Memorial on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.[4]
See also
References
- Bwakajig (wise people/ those who know) and Clifton, James A., The Pokagons, 1683-1983, Catholic Potawatomi Indians of the St. Joseph River Valley, Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1984.
- ^ Atlas of Berrien County, p. 4
- ^ Fletcher, Matthew L. M. (2007-11-20). "Pokagon Band and Notre Dame". Turtle Talk. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ Mumford, Lou (2011-09-23). "Events Today, Saturday Celebrate Sovereignty". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
- S2CID 146612474.
- John N.Low, Ph.D., citizen Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. “Imprints: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians & the City of Chicago,” Michigan State University Press, 2016.