Trail of Tears, arrival, November 4, 1838

They arrived at Pottawattomie Creek in Osawatomie, Kansas, on November 4, 1838. Per the treaty, houses were supposed to be built and ready but when they arrived, there were no houses.

Potawatomi Trail of Death - Diary of William Polke, 4 Nov. 1838:

“The day was consumed in making settlements with the officers. During the afternoon a considerable number of the Indians assembled at headquarters and expressed a desire to be heard in a speech.”

“Pe-pish-kay rose and in substance said – ‘That they had now arrived at their journey’s end—that the government must now be satisfied. They had been taken from homes affording them plenty, and brought to a desert—a wilderness—and were now to be scattered and left as the husbandman scatters his seed."

The Agent, Mr. Davis, they knew not, and his absence would not afford them an opportunity of deciding what they might expect from him. The Indians did not think such treatment of a character with that promised them in their treaties. They hoped Judge Polke, their friend, would remain with them and see that justice should be rendered. I promised to give it some thought.”


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 in the right way. When they
Read more

Legacy of Federal Control

 Second in a series of essays about federal regulation over Native nations. Author Monte Mills, University of Montana School of Law. This one is a harder read, covering all sorts of issues around land: ownership, leasing, mining, right-of-ways, water. The official structure of federal history makes it look like tribal consultation is required, but that doesn't always happen and it doesn't mean that consent has been required. And even worse, the required payments to tribes has not been enforced (perhaps another article will cover the hard-fought for and eventually landmark Cobell Settlement) https://www.theregreview.org/2021/03/16/mills-legacy-federal-control-indian-country/
Read more

Trail of Tears, October 30, 1838

Image
Potawatomi Trail of Death - Entries from the diary of Jesse C. Douglas, Enrolling Agent under General Tipton, 30 Oct. 1838: Traveled 14 mi. to Blue Ridge. Warm day, pleasant journey."  Drawing  "Mjoquis wife". The drawing is on the CPN website but it doesn't explain who Mjoquis is. Artist unknown.
Read more