Chief Oshkosh
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Chief Oshkosh (also spelled Os-kosh or Oskosh) (c. 1795 – August 31, 1858) was a chief of the
Menominee The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...
Native Americans, recognized as the leader of the Menominee people by the United States government from August 7, 1827, until his death. He was involved in treaty negotiations as the United States sought to acquire more of the Menominee tribe's land in
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
and
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
for both white settlers and relocated Oneida, Stockbridge,
Munsee The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...
, and Brothertown Indians. The Menominee ceded over 10,000,000 acres (40,000 km2) of land to the United States. However, Oshkosh resisted U.S. government pressure for the tribe to relocate to northern Minnesota and played a key role in securing the Menominee Indian Reservation as a permanent home for his people on their ancestral land.
Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...
, is named after him.


Early life

Oshkosh ("Claw"; cf.
Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...
''oshkanzhiin'', "claw") was probably born in about 1795 at Point Basse on the
Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, at approximately 430 miles (692 km) long. As a tributary of the Mississippi River, it is part of the Mississippi River System. The river's name was first recorded in 1673 b ...
, near present-day Nekoosa, Wisconsin. His family belonged to the Bear Clan, and his grandfather Chawanon was head chief of the Menominee. During the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, Oshkosh fought on the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
side with a band of approximately one-hundred Menominee warriors led by Tomah, also known as Thomas Caron, a Menominee chief whose paternal grandfather was a French military officer. Oshkosh was present at the sieges of Fort Mackinac, Fort Meigs, and Fort Stephenson, as well as the 1814 Battle of Mackinac Island.


Chief of the Menominee

Head Chief Chawanon died in 1821 without leaving a clear successor. In 1827, Oshkosh was involved in negotiations with the United States Federal Government at Butte des Morts, Wisconsin, to resettle Christianized Oneida, Stockbridge, and
Munsee The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...
people from New York and western Massachusetts on Menominee land in Wisconsin. Michigan Territorial
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was a United States Army officer and politician. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1 ...
and Superintendent of Indian Affairs Thomas L. McKenney negotiated on behalf of the U.S. government. Cass lamented the lack of centralized leadership among the Menominee at the time, saying "We have observed for some time the Menomonees to be a in bad situation as to their chiefs. There is no one we can talk to as head of the nation...like a flock of geese without a leader, some fly one way and some another. At the opening of the council t Butte des Mortes we he United States governmentshall appoint a principal chief of the Menomonees...We shall give him the
medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...
, and expect the Menomonees to respect him." On August 7, 1827, Cass and McKenney declared Oshkosh to be the Principal Chief of the Menominee, making him the intermediary between the United States government and the Menominee people.


Murder trial

On June 3, 1830, a
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...
man named Okewa (also known as Antoine), who was enslaved by a
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
family in Green Bay was hunting and accidentally killed a Menominee man who belonged to Oshkosh's band. He reported the incident to Oshkosh, who was in Green Bay at the time. Oshkosh and two other men stabbed Okewa to death. The three men were arrested and charged with murder. Some historians have interpreted Oshkosh's actions as having fallen in line with the Menominee tradition of justice practiced at that time; an enslaved person could be killed for taking a Menominee person's life under any circumstances, even if it was an accident. When the case came to trial, the jury ruled that while Oshkosh was guilty of killing Okewa, he had acted in accordance with Menominee custom and could not be convicted of murder. Unfamiliar with the nuances of the law, the jury asked Judge
James Duane Doty James Duane Doty (November 5, 1799 – June 13, 1865) was an American land speculator, politician, and pioneer. He served as the 2nd Governor of Wisconsin, governor (1841–1844) of the Wisconsin Territory and 5th Governor of Utah, governor ...
to render the final verdict. Doty acquitted Oshkosh and the other two men, believing that they should not be punished for following traditional customs. He ruled that United States laws did not apply to Native Americans under the circumstances, because, at the time, Native Americans were not granted the privileges of citizenship under the law, so U.S. law did not apply to their internal disputes and affairs on their own lands. However, Eleazer Williams recalled that his mother-in-law, who was related to the Métis family that enslaved Okewa, considered asking a council of chiefs to kill Oshkosh as an act of retribution for Okewa's death. According to Williams, Oshkosh possibly feared for his life and apologized to the woman by "acknowledg ngthe murder, thr
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
himself on her mercy, and implor ngpardon," which she granted.


Treaties

The territorial dispute between the Menominee, the U.S. government, and the New York Native American groups was not resolved until 1832. The Menominee first signed the 1831 Treaty of Washington, in which they ceded 2,500,000 acres (10,000 km2) between
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
and
Lake Winnebago Lake Winnebago (, , ) is a shallow freshwater lake in the north central United States, located in east central Wisconsin. At , it is the largest lake entirely within the state, covering an area of about by with of shoreline, an average depth ...
to the United States for $125,000. They then signed a second treaty in Washington, D.C., on October 27, 1832, ceding an additional 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) to the New York Native American groups. Oshkosh was present at the initial negotiations in Green Bay, but he did not travel to Washington, D.C., to sign the treaties. His younger brother signed the 1832 treaty in his stead. While the negotiations of the 1832 treaty were ongoing, the Menominee sided with the United States during the
Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...
. Three hundred pro-U.S. Native American troops were raised in Green Bay in July 1832, including Oshkosh, who was part of a band that patrolled the Mississippi River under the command of William S. Hamilton. In 1836, the U.S. government sought to acquire more Menominee land in the newly created Wisconsin Territory. Oshkosh and Territorial Governor
Henry Dodge Moses Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was an American politician and military officer who was Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Bla ...
conducted negotiations at a site along the Fox River. In the resulting Treaty of the Cedars, the Menominee ceded 4,000,000 acres (16,000 km2) along the Fox River, west of Lake Winnebago, and east of Green Bay for $800,000, with the tribe agreeing to relocate to a site near Lake Poygan. In 1848, the United States and the Menominee negotiated the Treaty of Lake Poygan, in which Oshkosh ceded the Menominee's remaining lands in Wisconsin in exchange for 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) along the Crow Wing River in
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
and $20,000. A clause in the treaty allowed the tribe to remain in Wisconsin until 1850. William Medill and Morgan Lewis Martin were among the representatives of the United States government, while Oshkosh was accompanied by other Menominee chiefs as well as interpreter Augustin Grignon. Grignon's son-in-law Louis Porlier was also present and later recalled that the Menominee initially rejected the government's offer of relocating to Minnesota, at which point Morgan L. Martin approached Porlier and advised him that the Menominee "ought to make the most advantageous reatythey can; for if they persist in refusing to treat, the president can at his pleasure order their removal, without giving them another chance to make a treaty, and then it would be optional with him whether to them anything or nothing." Porlier and Grignon then spoke to Oshkosh, who signed the treaty the following day. Oshkosh led a delegation to visit the Crow Wing River area in 1850, but was disappointed with what he found. The Menominee found few opportunities for hunting and were concerned when they found that the region was already embroiled in intertribal war between the
Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...
and
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...
peoples. He traveled to Washington, D.C., in August 1850 to request that President
Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a De ...
allow the tribe to remain in Wisconsin. Fillmore initially permitted the tribe to remain in Wisconsin until June 1, 1851, and granted two additional extensions in 1851. In 1852, the Menominee were allowed to stay on a temporary reservation on the Wolf River in northeastern Wisconsin. The 1854 Wolf River Treaty made the Menominee Indian Reservation permanent. Oshkosh was reportedly unhappy with the treaty, first refusing to sign, and then begrudgingly signing after the government increased financial compensation for the tribe, saying "I
ign ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
without my consent. My tribe compels me to sign it." In 1856, the U.S. government relocated the Stockbridge,
Munsee The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...
, and Brothertown Indian tribes again, settling adjacent to the new Menominee Reservation. On February 11, 1856, Oshkosh and other Menominee leaders signed a treaty granting 46,000 acres (190 km2) of the Menominee Indian Reservation to the other tribes, creating a separate reservation for the Stockbridge–Munsee Community.


Personal life

Oshkosh married three times. He and his first wife, Bambani, had three sons who survived to adulthood: Akwinemi, Niopet, and Koshkanoque. He had no surviving children with his second wife, Shakanouiu. He and his third wife, Tomokoum, had a daughter, Kinoke. He also had at least one adopted son, who was killed on January 1, 1850 in a bar fight with a white man in Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. Oshkosh had reputation for drinking heavily. According to Augustin Grignon, he was "only of medium size, possessing much good sense and ability, but asa great slave to strong drink, and two of his three sons surpass dtheir father in this beastly vice." However, a pioneer who knew Oshkosh recalled that while the chief was fond of alcohol, "stories to the effect that he was continually intoxicated are not true."


Death and burial

According to his obituary in the ''Shawano Venture'', Oshkosh and two of his sons were under the influence of alcohol when they killed him in a fight in
Keshena, Wisconsin Keshena () is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Menominee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located on the Menominee Indian Reservation, it had a population of 1,257 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Keshena ...
, on August 31, 1858. His eldest son, Akwinemi, who was involved in the fight, succeeded him as head chief in 1859 and held the role until 1871, when he was deposed and imprisoned for stabbing another man. In 1926, the Menominee allowed Oshkosh's remains to be moved to Menominee Park in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where they were interred at the foot of a monument dedicated to him, covered with an inscribed granite slab. Soon after, doubts arose as to whether the Menominee had handed over the actual remains. Some speculate his remains were never removed from the Menominee reservation and a different body was interred at the monument, possibly a woman. The monument is usually referred to in city documents as the Oshkosh "burial site" using scare quotes to reflect this.


References


Note


Citations


Bibliography

* * * *


Further reading


Chief Roy Oshkosh: Door County’s Unlikely Ambassador
by Lauren Bremer, '' Door County Living'', July 1, 2011. The article is a profile of Chief Oshkosh's great grandson and also discusses his great-grandfather. *


External links


City upgrading Chief Oshkosh ‘burial site’
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshkosh, Chief 1790s births 1858 deaths Menominee people Native American leaders Native American people from Wisconsin Native Americans in the War of 1812 Native Americans of the Black Hawk War People from Nekoosa, Wisconsin