Shabbona
Encyclopedia
Shabbona also known as Shabonee and Shaubena, (c. 1775–1859) was an Ottawa
tribe member who became a chief within the Potawatomi
tribe in Illinois
during the 19th century.
Zhaabne or the Potawatomi
Zhabné meaning "indomitable" or "hardy" in both languages, but was recorded to mean "built strong like a bear" or "built like a bear") was born around 1775 of the Odawa (Ottawa)
tribe either on the Maumee River
in Ohio
, in Ontario
or in a Native American village in Illinois. The Ottawa are an Algonquian
-speaking tribe that was driven out of Ontario, Canada by the Iroquois
and moved west into Michigan
. Once in Michigan, the tribe aligned with The Council of Three Fires
(Ojibwa
, Odawa and Potawatomi) and moved further south across Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois. The Odawa became very closely intermixed with the Potawatomi at this time. Shabbona was the grandnephew of Pontiac
, considered the greatest chief of the Ottawa tribe. Shabbona was granted his chief status at a very young age.
The son of an Ottawa warrior who had fought with Pontiac during Pontiac's Rebellion
, Shabbona himself would become a lieutenant under Shawnee chieftain Tecumseh
and, during the War of 1812
, later participated in the Battle of the Thames
where Tecumseh was killed.
to oppose the white settlers and side with Tecumseh and the British in an all-out war. Following Tecumseh's death, Shabbona abandoned his stance against the United States and allied himself with them permanently, feeling that fighting was in vain.
In 1810, Tecumseh visited Shabbona’s village west of Chicago. He readily agreed with Tecumseh and joined his recruiting party to visit the Potawatomi, Sac, Fox, Winnebago, and Menominee of Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Their journey returned them home via Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, down the Mississippi to Rock Island and then east to Chicago. When Gov. Harrison marched north to Prophetstown on the Tippecanoe in November 1811, Shabbona was there with Waubansee and Winamac to lead the Potawatomi warriors against the Americans. The defeat of the Indian confederacy scattered the tribes to their home villages. Then in 1812, Shabbona joined with Main Poc in a move to Canada to join the British during the War of 1812. In September 1813, when Captain Perry defeated the British fleet on Lake Erie, the British began their evacuation of Detroit. Shabbona, Mad Sturgeon, and Billy Caldwell accompanied Tecumseh and the British into Canada. On September 27, at the Battle of the Thames, the American overtook the retreating British and Indian forces. As the pitch of battle swirled around Tecumseh, the British troops were the first to quit the battle. When Tecumseh fell, the warriors dispersed through the forest and made their way back to their villages in Indiana and Illinois.
crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois, the move triggered a war in Illinois and present-day southern Wisconsin. During the first phase of the Black Hawk War
Shabbona met with Black Hawk at Saukenuk, a Sauk village, where he warned Black Hawk not to resist white settlement. On May 16, 1832 Shabbona, knowing he could not control all Potawatomi, rode across northern Illinois to warn the settlers of impending danger. During this ride Shabbona warned settler William Davis and the others at his settlement of the danger. Davis and the other settlers would become the victims of the Indian Creek massacre
on May 21, 1832. During the short war he also acted as a guide for the white militia in its many marches across Illinois.
Shabonee would warn settlers on several occasions of hostile tribes, including one incident where he rode from Princeton
to Chicago, Illinois in one night to warn residents of an impending attack.
September 1836 saw the removal of the Potawatomi from northern Illinois. The trek west was plagued by rain. At Quincy, Illinois, Shabbona and Waubonsie
's party joined with the main group moving west and they traveled together to join Billy Caldwell’s people in the Platte country of Nebraska. The story is told around Peru, Illinois on the Illinois River that Shabbona returned from the west and died in that area. In Peru is Shabbona’s rock, where he is said to have spent his days watching the seasons change. He is known in that area as a firm friend of the whites, counseling peace, and cooperation.
Shabonna died in Morris, Illinois
on July 17, 1859, at the age of 84 and, in 1903, a large granite boulder was erected as a monument on his gravesite in Evergreen Cemetery
. Shabbona's wife, whom he married around 1800, was Coconako (or Pokanoka, Pokenoquay), daughter of Chief Spotka. She is also buried at Morris, Illinois
, having died in 1864, five years after her husband.
was established in the 1950s by Troop 25, featuring a variety of woodland habitats. The trail is Nationally Approved by the Boy Scouts of America and follows the paths that Shabbona was known to have walked. The trail is 20 miles in length extending from Joliet, Illinois to Morris, Illinois. Chief Shabbona Trail Flyer is a printable trail Map.
Ottawa (tribe)
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
tribe member who became a chief within 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...
tribe in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
during the 19th century.
Early life
Shabbona (from either the OttawaOttawa language
Ottawa is a dialect of the Ojibwe language, spoken by the Ottawa people in southern Ontario in Canada, and northern Michigan in the United States. Descendants of migrant Ottawa speakers live in Kansas and Oklahoma...
Zhaabne or the Potawatomi
Potawatomi language
Potawatomi is a Central Algonquian language and is spoken around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Kansas in the United States, and in southern Ontario in Canada, 1300 Potawatomi people, all elderly...
Zhabné meaning "indomitable" or "hardy" in both languages, but was recorded to mean "built strong like a bear" or "built like a bear") was born around 1775 of the Odawa (Ottawa)
Odawa people
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
tribe either on the Maumee River
Maumee River
The Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the...
in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
or in a Native American village in Illinois. The Ottawa are an Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
-speaking tribe that was driven out of Ontario, Canada by the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
and moved west into 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"....
. Once in Michigan, the tribe aligned with The Council of Three Fires
Council of Three Fires
The Council of Three Fires, also known as the People of the Three Fires, the Three Fires Confederacy, the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians, or Niswi-mishkodewin in the Anishinaabe language, is a long-standing Anishinaabe alliance of the Ojibwe , Ottawa , and Potawatomi...
(Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
, Odawa and Potawatomi) and moved further south across Ohio, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and Illinois. The Odawa became very closely intermixed with the Potawatomi at this time. Shabbona was the grandnephew of Pontiac
Chief Pontiac
Pontiac or Obwandiyag , was an Ottawa leader who became famous for his role in Pontiac's Rebellion , an American Indian struggle against the British military occupation of the Great Lakes region following the British victory in the French and Indian War. Historians disagree about Pontiac's...
, considered the greatest chief of the Ottawa tribe. Shabbona was granted his chief status at a very young age.
The son of an Ottawa warrior who had fought with Pontiac during Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's War, Pontiac's Conspiracy, or Pontiac's Rebellion was a war that was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of elements of Native American tribes primarily from the Great Lakes region, the Illinois Country, and Ohio Country who were dissatisfied with British postwar policies in the...
, Shabbona himself would become a lieutenant under Shawnee chieftain Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
and, during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, later participated in the Battle of the Thames
Battle of the Thames
The Battle of the Thames, also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was a decisive American victory in the War of 1812. It took place on October 5, 1813, near present-day Chatham, Ontario in Upper Canada...
where Tecumseh was killed.
War of 1812
Shabbona was an accomplished warrior who fought alongside Tecumseh during the War of 1812 while aligned against the United States. Shabbona helped persuade many Native Americans in the Northwest TerritoryNorthwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
to oppose the white settlers and side with Tecumseh and the British in an all-out war. Following Tecumseh's death, Shabbona abandoned his stance against the United States and allied himself with them permanently, feeling that fighting was in vain.
In 1810, Tecumseh visited Shabbona’s village west of Chicago. He readily agreed with Tecumseh and joined his recruiting party to visit the Potawatomi, Sac, Fox, Winnebago, and Menominee of Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Their journey returned them home via Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, down the Mississippi to Rock Island and then east to Chicago. When Gov. Harrison marched north to Prophetstown on the Tippecanoe in November 1811, Shabbona was there with Waubansee and Winamac to lead the Potawatomi warriors against the Americans. The defeat of the Indian confederacy scattered the tribes to their home villages. Then in 1812, Shabbona joined with Main Poc in a move to Canada to join the British during the War of 1812. In September 1813, when Captain Perry defeated the British fleet on Lake Erie, the British began their evacuation of Detroit. Shabbona, Mad Sturgeon, and Billy Caldwell accompanied Tecumseh and the British into Canada. On September 27, at the Battle of the Thames, the American overtook the retreating British and Indian forces. As the pitch of battle swirled around Tecumseh, the British troops were the first to quit the battle. When Tecumseh fell, the warriors dispersed through the forest and made their way back to their villages in Indiana and Illinois.
Red Bird Uprising
In 1815, with the treaty ending the war, Shabbona and Senachewine were supported by the Indian Agent at Peoria as the tribal leaders against the Fort Wayne Agents selection of Five Medals and Metea and the Chicago Indian Agents support of Topinbee and Chebass. The confusion caused by these separate designations of tribal leaders began confusion among the Americans who sought to designate a single chief. During the Winnebago Red Bird uprising of 1825 north of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Shabbona volunteered with Caldwell, Robinson, and Shamagaw (from Kankakee) to go to Big Foot’s village on Geneva Lake to determine if any of the Potawatomi nation were involved. They discovered that the chiefs were all at the Winnebago village on Lake Koshkonong. Here, he entered the village alone in the hope that his lone presence would not upset the village. He was immediately confined as a spy for the Americans. They agreed to release Shabbona if he would return directly to his village and not report to the Americans in Chicago. Not trusting him, the Winnebago provided an escort. As this group passed the hiding place of Caldwell, Robinson, and Shamagaw, he loudly complained of the incident. This way, he was escorted to his own village, while Caldwell, Robinson, and Shamagaw returned quietly to Chicago and reported to the Americans. At the Treaty of Prairie du Chien (June 1829), Shabbona received a grant of land for his service during the Red Bird uprising.Black Hawk War
On April 5, 1832 Sauk Chief Black HawkBlack Hawk (chief)
Black Hawk was a leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the United States. Although he had inherited an important historic medicine bundle, he was not one of the Sauk's hereditary civil chiefs...
crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois, the move triggered a war in Illinois and present-day southern Wisconsin. During the first phase of the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
Shabbona met with Black Hawk at Saukenuk, a Sauk village, where he warned Black Hawk not to resist white settlement. On May 16, 1832 Shabbona, knowing he could not control all Potawatomi, rode across northern Illinois to warn the settlers of impending danger. During this ride Shabbona warned settler William Davis and the others at his settlement of the danger. Davis and the other settlers would become the victims of the Indian Creek massacre
Indian Creek massacre
The Indian Creek massacre occurred on May 21, 1832, when a group of United States settlers in LaSalle County, Illinois, were attacked by a party of Native Americans. The massacre was sparked by the outbreak of the Black Hawk War, but it was not directly related to Sauk leader Black Hawk's conflict...
on May 21, 1832. During the short war he also acted as a guide for the white militia in its many marches across Illinois.
Shabonee would warn settlers on several occasions of hostile tribes, including one incident where he rode from Princeton
Princeton, Illinois
Princeton is a city in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,501 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bureau County.Princeton is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
to Chicago, Illinois in one night to warn residents of an impending attack.
Late life
Waubonsie
Waubonsie was a leader of the Potawatomi Native American people. His name has been spelled in a variety of ways, including Wabaunsee, Wah-bahn-se, Waubonsee, Waabaansii in the contemporary Ojibwe language, and Wabansi in the contemporary Potawatomi language.-Biography:The documentary record of...
's party joined with the main group moving west and they traveled together to join Billy Caldwell’s people in the Platte country of Nebraska. The story is told around Peru, Illinois on the Illinois River that Shabbona returned from the west and died in that area. In Peru is Shabbona’s rock, where he is said to have spent his days watching the seasons change. He is known in that area as a firm friend of the whites, counseling peace, and cooperation.
Shabonna died in Morris, Illinois
Morris, Illinois
Morris is a city in Grundy County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,636 at the 2010 census.Morris is home to the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant, which provides a substantial portion of the electricity supply for the Chicago metropolitan area...
on July 17, 1859, at the age of 84 and, in 1903, a large granite boulder was erected as a monument on his gravesite in Evergreen Cemetery
Evergreen Cemetery
Evergreen Cemetery may refer to:In the United States* Evergreen Cemetery * Evergreen Cemetery , listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Cochise County, Arizona...
. Shabbona's wife, whom he married around 1800, was Coconako (or Pokanoka, Pokenoquay), daughter of Chief Spotka. She is also buried at Morris, Illinois
Morris, Illinois
Morris is a city in Grundy County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,636 at the 2010 census.Morris is home to the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant, which provides a substantial portion of the electricity supply for the Chicago metropolitan area...
, having died in 1864, five years after her husband.
Chief Shabbona Historical Trail
The Shabbona TrailShabbona Trail
The Chief Shabbona Trail is a hiking, bicycling and canoeing trail, located between Joliet and Morris, Illinois. The Shabbona Trail is a part of the long National Park Service Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor....
was established in the 1950s by Troop 25, featuring a variety of woodland habitats. The trail is Nationally Approved by the Boy Scouts of America and follows the paths that Shabbona was known to have walked. The trail is 20 miles in length extending from Joliet, Illinois to Morris, Illinois. Chief Shabbona Trail Flyer is a printable trail Map.