Shabbona
Shabbona | |
---|---|
Ottawa, Potawatomi | |
Other names | Shabbonee |
Occupation | Native American chief |
Known for | Keeping Potawatomi people out of the Black Hawk War |
Title | Chief |
Shabbona (or Sha-bon-na), also known as Shabonee
Early life
Shabbona was born around 1775 of the
His name comes from either the
The Ottawa are an
Wars
War of 1812
Shabbona was an accomplished warrior who fought alongside Tecumseh during the War of 1812 while aligned against the United States.[3] Shabbona helped persuade many Native Americans in the Northwest Territory to oppose the white settlers and side with Tecumseh and the British in an all-out war.[3] Following Tecumseh's death, Shabbona abandoned his stance against the United States and allied himself with them permanently, feeling that fighting was in vain.[3][4]
In 1810, Tecumseh visited Shabbona's village west of Chicago. He readily agreed with Tecumseh and joined his recruiting party to visit the Potawatomi, Sac, Fox, Winnebago, and Menominee of Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Their journey returned them home via Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, down the Mississippi to Rock Island and then east to Chicago. When Gov. Harrison marched north to Prophetstown on the Tippecanoe in November 1811, Shabbona was there with Waubansee and Winamac to lead the Potawatomi warriors against the Americans. The defeat of the Indian confederacy scattered the tribes to their home villages. Then in 1812, Shabbona joined with Main Poc in a move to Canada to join the British during the War of 1812. In September 1813, when Captain Perry defeated the British fleet on Lake Erie, the British began their evacuation of Detroit. Shabbona, Mad Sturgeon, and Billy Caldwell accompanied Tecumseh and the British into Canada. On September 27, at the Battle of the Thames, the American overtook the retreating British and Indian forces. As the pitch of battle swirled around Tecumseh, the British troops were the first to quit the battle. When Tecumseh fell, the warriors dispersed through the forest and made their way back to their villages in Indiana and Illinois.[6]
Red Bird Uprising
In 1815, with the treaty ending the war, Shabbona and Senachewine were supported by the Indian Agent at Peoria as the tribal leaders against the Fort Wayne Agent's selection of
Black Hawk War
On April 5, 1832
Shabbona would warn settlers on several occasions of hostile tribes, including one incident where he rode from
Late life
September 1836 saw the removal of the Potawatomi from northern Illinois. The trek west was plagued by rain. At Quincy, Illinois, Shabbona and Waubonsie's party joined with the main group moving west and they traveled together to join Billy Caldwell's people in the Platte country of Nebraska. The story is told around Peru, Illinois on the Illinois River that Shabbona returned from the west and died in that area. In Peru is Shabbona's rock, where he is said to have spent his days watching the seasons change. He is known in that area as a firm friend of the whites, counseling peace, and cooperation.[6]
Shabonna died at his home in section 20, Norman Township, Grundy County, Illinois, on July 17, 1859, at the age of 84 and, in 1903, a large granite boulder was erected as a monument on his gravesite in Evergreen Cemetery. Shabbona's wife, whom he married around 1800, was Coconako (or Pokanoka, Pokenoquay), daughter of Chief Spotka. She is also buried at Morris, Illinois, having drowned in the Mazon River, a tributary of the Illinois River, in December 1864,[7] five years after the death of her husband.[8]
Legacy
The unincorporated community of Shabbona was named before 1909 in his honor in Evergreen Township, Michigan.
The Shabbona Trail was established in the 1950s by Troop 25, featuring a variety of woodland habitats. The trail is Nationally Approved by the Boy Scouts of America and follows the paths that Shabbona was known to have walked. The trail is 20 miles in length extending from Joliet, Illinois to Morris, Illinois. Chief Shabbona Trail Flyer is a printable trail Map.
Shabbona's Grove
Since the death of Shabbona, there has been an ongoing effort to reclaim the reserve that was afforded to Shabbona in the 1829 Second Treaty of Prairie du Chien. In Article III of the treaty, a 1,280-acre (520 ha) reserve was created for Shabbona and his band in what is now DeKalb County, Illinois. Reclaiming this grove has chiefly been pursued by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. From the time of Shabbona's death to 2001, little recognition was offered by the Department of Interior. However, in 2001 the Solicitor wrote an opinion that concluded that the grove was indeed a reserve and the ownership was vested to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.[citation needed] In 2007, an opposing group funded a study[10] into the history of Shabbona's grove and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has submitted volumes of legal and historical documents.[11] A final ruling has not been reached.
Notes
- ^ a b "Portrait (Front) of Shabonee or Shabbona (Built Like A Bear) in Native Dress with Ornaments n.d.," Archives, Manuscripts, Photographs Collection, Smithosonian Institution Research Information System (SIRS). Retrieved 6 August 2007.
- ^ a b Memories of Shaubena, N. Matson, 1878.
- ^ a b c d e "Chief Shabbona Archived 2006-08-31 at the Wayback Machine, Historical Buildings, Northern Illinois University. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Mann, Robert. "Shabbona: Friend of the White Man" Nature Bulletin No. 748, 21 March 1964, Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Illinois). Retrieved 6 August 2007.
- ^ "Real names, personalities behind local Indians," Ledger-Sentinel (Oswego, Illinois), Reflections, 2 October 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
- ^ a b c The Potawatomis, Keepers of the Fire by Edmunds, R. David, 1978
- ^ Kendall County Record 1849 - 1869, http://www.littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org/
- ^ "Ambrotype Image Of Coconako, Wife Of Chief Shabonna". Historical.ha.com. November 10, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ^ Article in The Batavia Historian
- ^ "Lynch Report: Table of Contents". Dctac.org. September 26, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ^ "Shab-eh-ney Reservation » Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation". Pbpindiantribe.com. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
References
- Grant, Bruce. The Concise Encyclopedia of the American Indian. New York: Wings Books, 2000. ISBN 0-517-69310-0
External links
- Matson, N. Memories of Shaubena 2nd edition 1880.
- Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900. .