Petalesharo
Encyclopedia
Petalesharo was a Skidi Pawnee chief who rescued an Ietan Comanche
girl from a ritual human sacrifice
in 1817 (in present-day Nebraska
) and earned publicity for his act in national newspapers. In 1821, he was one of numerous Great Plains
tribal chiefs to go to Washington, DC as part of the O'Fallon Delegation. They met President James Monroe
and were shown the might of the United States.
. They would care well for her before the sacrifice in the weeks or months beforehand.
Petalesharo’s father Knife Chief (Lachelasharo) opposed the ceremony, but the tribe ignored his concerns. The ritual had a long tradition and the people believed that their crops and hunting would suffer if the Morning Star did not receive a human sacrificial offering. The Comanche girl was tied to a pyre and prepared for execution when Petalesharo approached the warriors gathered for the ritual. Announcing that his father, also a chief, disapproved of the ceremony, he released the woman and led her away. Petalesharo gave the freed woman a horse and provisions, then sent her home to rejoin her tribe.
Missionaries working in the area heard the story of Petalesharo’s bravery. The story circulated around the United States, appearing in newspapers that provided a romanticized version of the rescue. Petalesharo’s story first appeared in The Washington Daily National Intelligencer on November 22, 1821. In the winter of 1821, the New York Commercial Advertiser published an eleven-stanza poem, “The Pawnee Brave.” The poem became popular and was read and recited in parlors of sentimental New Yorkers.
Petalesharo was part of a delegation of Native American chiefs who traveled to Washington DC in 1821 on a trip organized by the superintendent of Indian affairs, Thomas L. McKenney
, and Indian Agent Benjamin O’Fallon (it was sometimes called the O'Fallon Delegation). The US officials intended to impress the Natives with the power and wealth of the white man and ideally persuade them to end their warfare against American settlers. Native Americans who participated in this delegation performed traditional dances, which drew a reported six to ten thousand on-lookers. Many businesses and Congress closed for the day, to allow staff to attend the performances.
During the visit to Washington, news of Petalesharo’s rescue became a popular topic of discussion. At Miss White’s Select Female Seminary, the young students begged to attend the Native American dance performance. Afterward, they raised funds to have a medal created for Petalesharo, to commemorate his brave act. Made of silver, the medal had images depicting his rescue, together with the inscription, "bravest of the brave". McKenney accompanied Petalesharo to the home of one of the students' parents. There the young women presented the medal to him. Petalesharo made a short speech, saying, “I did not know the act was so good. It came from my heart. I was ignorant of its value. I now know how good it was. You make me know by giving me this medal.”
The BIA commissioned Charles Bird King
to paint portraits of Petalesharo and others in the delegation, including Young Omahaw, War Eagle, Little Missouri and Pawnees. Petalesharo is also shown in the 1822 Samuel F.B. Morse painting, The Old House of Representatives, now held by the Corcoran Gallery of Art
. During the trip, Petalesharo met author James Fenimore Cooper
, who was believed to be inspired to write his novel, The Prairie
.
The Comanche girl was not the first whom Petalesharo had rescued from ritual sacrifice. In 1818, he prevented sacrifice of a young boy under similar conditions. Indian agents had warned the tribes against continuing their sacrifices. In 1833, Petalesharo, with the help of an Indian agent, attempted to rescue a young Cheyenne girl who had been taken in a raid. During his effort, Skidi Pawnee shot and killed the girl with arrows as she was being lifted onto a horse.
The last historic reference to Petalesharo is in 1825, when he and his father signed a treaty at Fort Atkinson
, on the west bank of the Missouri River. Petalesharo is believed to have died in 1832 and been buried in Nebraska.
The medal given by the student girls in Washington was excavated in 1883 from a gravesite in Howard County, Nebraska
. A young farm boy, Olando Thompson, dug up the medal at the former site of a Skidi village. By the 1920s, the American Numismatic Society
in New York had purchased the medal for its collection.
Earlier sources often confused Petalesharo with two other 19th-century Pawnee with the same name. A second Petalesharo also accompanied the 1821 delegation to Washington. A third Petalesharo was the head chief of the Grand Pawnees in the 1860s.
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
girl from a ritual human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
in 1817 (in present-day Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
) and earned publicity for his act in national newspapers. In 1821, he was one of numerous Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
tribal chiefs to go to Washington, DC as part of the O'Fallon Delegation. They met President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
and were shown the might of the United States.
History
As was their traditional practice, the Pawnee had captured an enemy girl to sacrifice her as part of the Morning Star ceremony in the spring on the solsticeSolstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
. They would care well for her before the sacrifice in the weeks or months beforehand.
Petalesharo’s father Knife Chief (Lachelasharo) opposed the ceremony, but the tribe ignored his concerns. The ritual had a long tradition and the people believed that their crops and hunting would suffer if the Morning Star did not receive a human sacrificial offering. The Comanche girl was tied to a pyre and prepared for execution when Petalesharo approached the warriors gathered for the ritual. Announcing that his father, also a chief, disapproved of the ceremony, he released the woman and led her away. Petalesharo gave the freed woman a horse and provisions, then sent her home to rejoin her tribe.
Missionaries working in the area heard the story of Petalesharo’s bravery. The story circulated around the United States, appearing in newspapers that provided a romanticized version of the rescue. Petalesharo’s story first appeared in The Washington Daily National Intelligencer on November 22, 1821. In the winter of 1821, the New York Commercial Advertiser published an eleven-stanza poem, “The Pawnee Brave.” The poem became popular and was read and recited in parlors of sentimental New Yorkers.
Petalesharo was part of a delegation of Native American chiefs who traveled to Washington DC in 1821 on a trip organized by the superintendent of Indian affairs, Thomas L. McKenney
Thomas L. McKenney
Thomas Loraine McKenney was a United States official who served as Superintendent of Indian Trade from 1816–1822....
, and Indian Agent Benjamin O’Fallon (it was sometimes called the O'Fallon Delegation). The US officials intended to impress the Natives with the power and wealth of the white man and ideally persuade them to end their warfare against American settlers. Native Americans who participated in this delegation performed traditional dances, which drew a reported six to ten thousand on-lookers. Many businesses and Congress closed for the day, to allow staff to attend the performances.
During the visit to Washington, news of Petalesharo’s rescue became a popular topic of discussion. At Miss White’s Select Female Seminary, the young students begged to attend the Native American dance performance. Afterward, they raised funds to have a medal created for Petalesharo, to commemorate his brave act. Made of silver, the medal had images depicting his rescue, together with the inscription, "bravest of the brave". McKenney accompanied Petalesharo to the home of one of the students' parents. There the young women presented the medal to him. Petalesharo made a short speech, saying, “I did not know the act was so good. It came from my heart. I was ignorant of its value. I now know how good it was. You make me know by giving me this medal.”
The BIA commissioned Charles Bird King
Charles Bird King
Charles Bird King is a United States artist who is best known for his portraiture. In particular, the artist is notable for the portraits he painted of Native American delegates coming to Washington D.C., which were commissioned by government's Bureau of Indian Affairs.-Biography:Charles Bird King...
to paint portraits of Petalesharo and others in the delegation, including Young Omahaw, War Eagle, Little Missouri and Pawnees. Petalesharo is also shown in the 1822 Samuel F.B. Morse painting, The Old House of Representatives, now held by the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
. During the trip, Petalesharo met author James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
, who was believed to be inspired to write his novel, The Prairie
The Prairie
The Prairie: A Tale is a novel by James Fenimore Cooper, the third novel written by him featuring Natty Bumppo. His fictitious frontier hero Bumppo is never called by his name, but is instead referred to as "the trapper" or "the old man." Chronologically The Prairie is the fifth and final...
.
The Comanche girl was not the first whom Petalesharo had rescued from ritual sacrifice. In 1818, he prevented sacrifice of a young boy under similar conditions. Indian agents had warned the tribes against continuing their sacrifices. In 1833, Petalesharo, with the help of an Indian agent, attempted to rescue a young Cheyenne girl who had been taken in a raid. During his effort, Skidi Pawnee shot and killed the girl with arrows as she was being lifted onto a horse.
The last historic reference to Petalesharo is in 1825, when he and his father signed a treaty at Fort Atkinson
Fort Atkinson (Nebraska)
Fort Atkinson was the first United States Army post to be established west of the Missouri River in the unorganized region of the Louisiana Purchase of the United States. Located just east of present-day Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, the fort was erected in 1819 and abandoned in 1827...
, on the west bank of the Missouri River. Petalesharo is believed to have died in 1832 and been buried in Nebraska.
The medal given by the student girls in Washington was excavated in 1883 from a gravesite in Howard County, Nebraska
Howard County, Nebraska
-History:Howard County was formed in 1871. It was named after the Union General Oliver Otis Howard.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,567 people, 2,546 households, and 1,797 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile . There were 2,782...
. A young farm boy, Olando Thompson, dug up the medal at the former site of a Skidi village. By the 1920s, the American Numismatic Society
American Numismatic Society
The American Numismatic Society is a New York City-based organization dedicated to the study of coins and medals.-Introduction:...
in New York had purchased the medal for its collection.
Earlier sources often confused Petalesharo with two other 19th-century Pawnee with the same name. A second Petalesharo also accompanied the 1821 delegation to Washington. A third Petalesharo was the head chief of the Grand Pawnees in the 1860s.
External links
- Detailed biography w/color lithograph, History of North American Indians, 1910
- Indian Oratory: Famous Speeches by Noted Indian Chieftains
- "Petalesharro", University of California,
- GIPS.org