Trail of Tears, October 15, 1838

 

Potawatomi Trail of Death - Dairy of William Polke, 15 Oct. 1838:

 “According to a promise made the chiefs a few days ago, we remained in camp. In the evening the chiefs Ash-kum, I-o-weh and others, along with a number of the Indians, assembled at Head Quarters, and shook hands for a talk.

“They came, I-o-weh said, to demand the dismissal or suspension of Dr. Jerolaman, the physician for the emigration, whom they had ceased to like, and did not wish him longer to accompany the emigration. I answered and informed them that their request was one of so much importance and so unusual in emigrations, that I hoped I might be allowed time not only to decide but to counsel with my officers. The Indians then retired, with the understanding that an answer would be given them to-morrow evening.

“At 8 o'clk. this morning we were on the march. The day was very windy, which rendered our passage across the prairie very disagreeable. Many of the Indians suffered a good deal. At noon we reached our present encampment, near Paris (MO), twelve miles distant from the camp of last night. During the evening the chiefs, according to arrangement of last night, along with a large number of the Indians, came to Head Quarters, and repeated their request of last night. The Speaker said that he did not demand it for himself but for every man, woman and child in camp—they all united in soliciting the discharge of Dr. Jerolaman. I briefly informed them that Dr. J. had received his appointment from government—that I felt a delicacy in discontinuing an officer of government—that the Indians were not compelled to receive the services of Dr. J—they were free to choose for themselves—that I thought it my duty to retain his services as physician for the officers of the emigration, and that viewing their request in the light I did, I could not consistent with my duty, grant their request. I hoped they would forget their prejudices, and still continue friendly with Dr. J.—and that my decision might not affect the feelings of unity which had so far subsisted between the officers and their red brethren.

“In conclusion I informed them that I had purchased, in the hope of allaying their discontent, a keg of tobacco, which I wished them to smoke in token of continued friendship. The Indians then retired, not, without, first requesting leave to renew the subject again."

Subsistence, beef, corn and potatoes. Forage corn & hay.  Painting of I-O-Weh (Iowah) by George Winter.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sacred - a definition - and the Eagle (Kno)

Image
I  want to clarify what I see with the word ‘sacred,’ as used in our stories.  Some people mistakenly think that we worship all things labeled sacred, and that there are multiple gods - not true.  My little granddaughter even asked me, “What about the rain god?”  I don’t know where she got that idea, but I told her we only have Creator, with lots of different words for that concept, like Mnedo (spirit), Shemendo (great spirit), Mamogosnan (father of us all), God.  Sacred, whether Eagle, the four medicines, or others are due the highest respect. We give thanks to them, but we don’t ‘worship’ them, if that distinction makes sense. For example, the drum is sacred; it is blessed with tobacco before being played to welcome the voice and heartbeat of our ancestors. With that in mind, a story about the importance of Eagle (directly from potawatomi.org) Long ago Creator, Mamogosnan (our great father), became angry with mankind because they  did not live i...
Read more

Sweat Lodge

Yes, I have done sweat lodge.  Once.  And I plan to attend again. And I recommend it. When I was invited, the message was very respectful, “I want you to know that this is a very protected space, no creepy folks, no nakedness, I know everyone attending and I can vouch for each one.” The space is on Cowlitz tribal land and there is much symbolism in the layout. The structure is a dome wigwam; the number of ribs (five) is symbolic; heavy blankets make the walls; the opening is to the east (the direction of sunrise; the direction of new beginnings); there is an ‘umbilical’ line to the east of the opening that you should not cross because it leads to the fire where the stones — and the stones are the ancestors — are being heated. Since I’ve only been once, I can only describe how this program was run.  I have been told that another type, a “warrior sweat” is a crazy situation where they bring in a ton of stones (like 40) at a time and pour a whole bucket of water on... ...
Read more

Naming ceremony

I hope to have a naming ceremony sometime before October 1 to receive my Native name. Everyone is welcome to attend (at my home) and I will publicize the date as soon as I know. What happens in the ceremony?  I haven’t seen one, but this is directly from our CPN web site: An aspect of traditional Potawatomi culture, the naming ceremony, has reemerged in recent years. Traditionally, Potawatomi believe that when a child is born, the Creator cannot see their face. In order to show the child to the Creator, the tribe would have a ceremony and the child was given a name. Centuries of forced removals and interactions with missionaries curbed the practice, but in an effort to strengthen our tribal bonds, members of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation have conducted several ceremonies in recent years. Before a naming ceremony takes place, an individual seeking to be named must find two sponsors, a man and a woman, who will go through the ceremony with them. The sponsors are like godpare...
Read more