Peter Marksman was a Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 Methodist

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 minister, active in Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 among the Potawatomi

Potawatomi

The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...

 Indians. He was member of the L'Anse Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

L'Anse Indian Reservation

The L'Anse Indian Reservation is the land base of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of the Lake Superior Bands of Chippewa Indians . It is located primarily in two non-contiguous sections on either side of the Keweenaw Bay in Baraga County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan...

. His Indian name was Ma-dwa-gwun-a-yaush, from the Ojibwe Madwegwaneyaash, meaning "[Arrow]-Freathers Are Heard in the Breeze," which is an indicator of an expert archer

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

/marksman

Marksman

A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...

. Consequently, when he converted to Christianity, he chose "Marksman" as his surname. As a chief, he was a signatory to the 1847 Treaty of Fond du Lac

Treaty of Fond du Lac

The Treaty of Fond du Lac may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in Duluth, Minnesota between the United States and the Ojibwe Native American peoples.-1826 Treaty of Fond du Lac:...

 and the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe

Treaty of La Pointe

The Treaty of La Pointe may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in La Pointe, Wisconsin between the United States and the Ojibwe Native American peoples...

. His wife's name was "Hannah", to which the Hannahville Indian Community

Hannahville Indian Community

The Hannahville Indian Community is a federally recognized Potawatomi Indian tribe residing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, approximately 15 miles west of Escanaba. The reservation, at , lies mostly in eastern Menominee County, but a small section is located in adjacent southwestern Delta County...

 chose to be named after her in honor of both Marksman and his wife. He died March 28, 1892, aged about 75 years.

External links

• Brief biography of Peter Marksman
• Brief history of Potawatamie in Hannahville, Michigan.
• The Indian Convert, a letter from Peter Marksman to Bishop Morris. The Ladies' Repository
  The Ladies' Repository
  The Ladies' Repository was a monthly periodical based in Cincinnati and produced by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. From 1841 to 1876, the magazine devoted itself to literature, arts and doctrines of Methodism, containing articles, poetry, fictions, engravings, and notes of interest to...
  
  . Cincinnati: December, 1842. P. 361.