Wabokieshiek (translated White Cloud, The Light or White Sky Light in English
/ref>) (c. 1794 – c. 1841) was a Native American army commander of the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) and Sauk tribes in 19th century

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, playing a key role in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

of 1832. Known as a

medicine man A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and cerem ...

and

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

, he is sometimes called the Winnebago Prophet. Wabokieshiek was born as ''Poweshiek'' to a Sauk father and a Ho-Chunk mother in the vicinity of

Prophetstown, Illinois Prophetstown is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,080 at the 2010 census, up from 2,023 in 2000. Geography Prophetstown is located at (41.670504, -89.935869). According to the 2010 census, Prophetstown h ...

, which is named after him. Like his father, he was considered a Sac chief, and was also very influential among the Ho-Chunk, and he was known for his promotion of a traditional way of life among the local tribes. However, his influence waned after he promised/prophesied to Sauk/Fox chief Black Hawk that the British and other tribes (such as the Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi) would aid him against the United States in what became the Black Hawk War, a prediction that proved false. At the end of the war, on August 27, 1832, Wabokieshiek was taken prisoner along with the remnant of Black Hawk's band. The prisoners were sent to

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

(meeting with

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

) and then to

Fort Monroe, Virginia Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

in April, 1833. On June 5, 1833, they were sent back West to be released; Wabokieshiek and his son were released at

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was est ...

. After this time, he lived quietly until he died circa 1841. Wabokieshiek is sometimes confused with

Red Cloud Red Cloud ( lkt, Maȟpíya Lúta, italic=no) (born 1822 – December 10, 1909) was a leader of the Oglala Lakota from 1868 to 1909. He was one of the most capable Native American opponents whom the United States Army faced in the western ...

, a

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

chief, and Mahaska, an

Ioway The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje (English: grey snow; Chiwere: Báxoje ich'é) are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma an ...

also called White Cloud.

References

Winnebago Chiefs
''Access Genealogy Tribal Records'' — based on Fulton, ''Red Men of Iowa'', 1882; Stevens, ''Black Hawk War'', 1903; ''Wis. Hist. Soc. Coll.'', vol. 10, 1888.

''Prophetstown Pow Wow'' (August 2007).

''The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago'', Chicago Historical Society (2005). *Lewis, James

an

''Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project'', Northern Illinois University (retrieved August 2007). Native Americans of the Black Hawk War Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America People from Prophetstown, Illinois History of Illinois 1790s births 1840s deaths 19th-century Native Americans {{Wisconsin-stub