Potawatomi Family: Bourbonnais (Francois/Catish) Andrew Thomas Walters began work with the City of Oak Ridge North Police Department in Texas in 1988 and was promoted from investigator to lieutenant during his time. In 1999, the mayor asked him to become chief of police, a title he held for the next two decades. As chief, he acted as liaison with local, …
Watseka, also known as Watchekee, was the daughter of respected warrior and leader Shabbone and Monashki. Watseka had a reputation for being intelligent and beautiful. Family records indicate she was born during a bright star. Potawatomi often used natural phenomenon to denote time rather than years. After the Potawatomi signed the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, she was among those who …
Paul Chrisstarlon Wesselhöft is a fifth-generation Oklahoman and descendant of Chief Abram Burnett, known for leading the Potawatomi through the turbulent 1860s. His Potawatomi name is Naganit, meaning, “Leader.” He has served as the legislator for District 9 since March 2007. An ordained Southern Baptist minister who spent nearly two decades as a U.S. Army Chaplain, Representative Paul Wesselhöft also …
Bob Whistler has served as the legislator for District 3 since 2008, when the CPN constitution was ratified to include representation for the entire United States. His Potawatomi name is Bmashi, “He Soars.” Although born in Cushing, Oklahoma, the Bourassa descendant grew up in San Diego, California, from the age of 3. He graduated from Arkansas City High School in …
Antoine Ouilmette [Wilmette] was a French-Canadian fur trader and early resident of Fort Dearborn [Chicago]. As an agent for the American Fur Company, Ouilmette move to the area in 1790 and worked for well-known trader John Kinzie. Here he married Archange Chevalier in 1796, daughter of Francois and Marianne-Chopa. The couple had eight children. Due to Archange’s Potawatomi heritage and …
George Winter was an English-born artist known for his chronicles of 18th century American life and geography. Much like his contemporaries, Winter was driven by adventure and eager to capture the vanishing culture of the Native American. While in Ohio, he learned of the approaching Potawatomi removal from Indiana. Coincidentally, Potawatomi emigration and annuity negotiations were held in Winter’s Washington …