The son of a U.S. government employee, Rande Payne was born in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada, while his father was on deployment. Sioux Lookout is an Ojibwe First Nation community that derived its name from a hill overlooking the English River where Ojibwe warriors would watch for Sioux canoes. When invaders were spotted, women and children were alerted to run …
Peashwah was a warrior among the Wabash Potawatomi and husband to Mary Ann Benache, daughter of headman Benache or Segnak.
The forerunner of lacrosse, stickball is considered one the oldest American Indian sports, played in various forms by woodland tribes for centuries. The sport has three distinct regional styles [Northeast; Southeast; Great Lakes], with equipment, gameplay and fundamentals varying for each. Known to the Potawatomi as pegnegewen [stickball], games are played for recreation, communal prestige, spiritual reverence and healing. Exclusively …
Similar to pegnegewen [stick ball], péski’a or double-ball is a Potawatomi sport played traditionally by women. Played for recreation, communal prestige, spiritual reverence and healing, bagjegejek [players] are equipped with their own bagwzhanatek [ball stick] and divided amongst two even teams based on their moiety, shkesh [first-born] and kishko [second-born]. Péski’a [double-ball] is played on a large open field, with …
The Treaty of Chicago was signed on Sept. 26 and 27, 1833, and proved to be a watershed agreement in the dealings between the Potawatomi and the U.S. government. Prior to this treaty, land cessions were relatively small and included land set aside as private reserves for certain signatories. The Treaty of Chicago, however, ensured a substantial land cession of …
Pokagon was a headman among the St. Joseph Potawatomi and veteran of the Northwest Indian War. He ascended to leadership after marrying Elizabeth Topinabee, daughter of prominent tribal leader Topinabee and granddaughter of Nanaquiba. After the death of Topinabee, Pokagon took control of the St. Joseph villages. The St. Joseph Potawatomi had a long association with French Catholic missionaries. Pokagon …
Understanding that the French and Indian War was more than provincial disputes between European nations, but a cultural battle between Native people and eventual Anglo assimilation, a Great Lakes Native confederacy led by Odawa leader and warrior Pontiac assembled and continued to fight to preserve their way of life. After the Treaty of Paris, the war continued between Great Lakes …