Mecosta was a 19th-century

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

chief. His name in the

Potawatomi language Potawatomi (, also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi , , or ) is a Central Algonquian languages, Central Algonquian languages, Algonquian language. It was historically spoken by the Potawatomi, Pottawatomi people who lived around the Great Lake ...

was ''Mkozdé'', meaning "Having a Bear's Foot" but the name was recorded in English to mean "Big Bear." Mecosta County
Clarke Historical Library Mecosta was born near what is today

Big Rapids, Michigan Big Rapids is a city and the seat of government of Mecosta County, Michigan, United States. The population was 7,727 at the 2020 census, down from 10,601 in 2010. The city is surrounded by Big Rapids Charter Township but they are completely s ...

Mecosta County, Michigan Mecosta County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 39,714. The county seat is Big Rapids. The county is named after Chief Mecosta, the leader of the Potawatomi Native American ...

is named for him.Mecosta County, Michigan
InfoMI Mecosta is best known as a signer of the Treaty of Logansport () on April 22, 1836, which ceded lands reserved in the

Treaty of Tippecanoe The Treaty of Tippecanoe was an agreement between the United States government and Native American Potawatomi tribes in Indiana on October 26, 1832. Treaty On October 26, 1832, the United States government entered negotiations with the Native ...

, and began the removal of Mecosta's band of Potawatomi from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

to lands west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, as part of the

Potawatomi Trail of Death The Potawatomi Trail of Death was the forced Indian Removal, removal by militia in 1838 of about 859 members of the Potawatomi nation from Indiana to reservation lands in what is now eastern Kansas. The march began at Twin Lakes, Indiana (Myers ...

. The following places in Michigan are directly or indirectly named for the chief: * Lake Mecosta in Mecosta County, Michigan *

Mecosta, Michigan Mecosta is a village in Mecosta County, Michigan, Mecosta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 386 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 457 in 2010 United States Census, 2010. The village is within Morton To ...

* Mecosta Township, Michigan

Notes

Chiefs of the Potawatomi People from Mecosta County, Michigan 19th-century Native American leaders Native American people from Michigan {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub