Tragedy of the Siskiwit
Encyclopedia
The Tragedy of the Siskiwit was an event that took place in the pre-contact history of the Ojibwe and Meskwaki
(Fox) Indian nations in present-day Wisconsin
. As part of an ongoing series of conflicts between the two nations, a chief's son was kidnapped, and both groups had their camps destroyed.
as early as the 15th century, but were prevented from expanding onto mainland present-day Wisconsin by the Dakota
. The Meskwaki arrived in the 17th century, pushed west by the disturbances caused in their homelands by the French and Iroquois Wars. During this time period, the Ojibwe, Dakota, and Meskwaki all competed for control of northern Wisconsin.
dates the Tragedy of the Siskiwit to the time between 1612 and 1671. Though centered at La Pointe
on Madeline Island, the Ojibwe maintained seasonal camps along the south shore of Lake Superior. One such camp was at Siskiwit Bay near present-day Cornucopia
in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Warren calls the bay in question Kah-puk-wi-e-kah, located forty miles west of La Pointe.
The Ojibwe spring camp at the Siskiwit was attacked by the Meskwaki while Chief Bi-aus-wah was away hunting. Upon his return, the chief found all the people had been killed except for his young son and an old man. The two captives were brought to the Meskwaki camp to be tortured and executed. Bi-aus-wah followed the group, watched as the old man was killed and saw his son being readied to burn. The father, seeing it as the only way to save his son, offered himself in exchange. The Meskwaki, moved by the old man's actions released the son. In one version of the story, Bi-aus-wah went to his death fighting and had to be taken down by several men.
The son, meanwhile, returned to the main body of Ojibwe at La Pointe and began to raise a war expedition composed of Ojibwes from bands all around Lake Superior. This large force marched against the Meskwaki, destroyed six villages, and pushed the Meskwaki further inland.
. Among his other accomplishments was the abolition of torture among the Great Lakes tribes.
Immediately after the expedition to avenge the elder Bi-aus-wah, a small part of the war party under the leadership of Wa-me-gis-ug founded an Ojibwe village at Fond du Lac
.
The Tragedy of the Siskiwit was a major event in the Ojibwe penetration of mainland Wisconsin. This and other conflicts between the two tribes would not end until the early 18th century, when the French
supported their Native allies in two wars of extermination
with the Meskwaki that drove them out of northern Wisconsin and decimated their numbers to the point where they had to seek refuge with the Sauk Nation.
and Bad River
Ojibwe bands, and two written accounts from the 1850s. William Whipple Warren
describes the tragedy in his 1851 History of the Ojibway People. In an 1859 account by German
adventurer Johann Georg Kohl
the author describes having the story related to him by a descendent of the men involved through the reading of birch bark scrolls
. A historical marker in Cornucopia, Wisconsin
commemorates the tragedy.
Meskwaki
The Meskwaki are a Native American people often known to outsiders as the Fox tribe. They have often been closely linked to the Sauk people. In their own language, the Meskwaki call themselves Meshkwahkihaki, which means "the Red-Earths." Historically their homelands were in the Great Lakes region...
(Fox) Indian nations in present-day Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. As part of an ongoing series of conflicts between the two nations, a chief's son was kidnapped, and both groups had their camps destroyed.
Background
The Ojibwe occupied Madeline IslandMadeline Island
Madeline Island is an island of the U.S. state of Wisconsin located in Lake Superior approximately two miles northeast of Bayfield, Wisconsin, and connected to that town seasonally by a 20 minute ferry ride or an ice road. It is the largest of the Apostle Islands, although it is not included...
as early as the 15th century, but were prevented from expanding onto mainland present-day Wisconsin by the Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
. The Meskwaki arrived in the 17th century, pushed west by the disturbances caused in their homelands by the French and Iroquois Wars. During this time period, the Ojibwe, Dakota, and Meskwaki all competed for control of northern Wisconsin.
The story
William Whipple WarrenWilliam Whipple Warren
William Whipple Warren was a mixed-blood Ojibwe historian, interpreter, and legislator in the Minnesota Territory. He moved from Wisconsin to Crow Wing in the fall of 1845. Warren suffered from lung problems for many years and died as a young man of 28 from tuberculosis on June 1, 1853.-Early life...
dates the Tragedy of the Siskiwit to the time between 1612 and 1671. Though centered at La Pointe
La Pointe, Wisconsin
La Pointe is a town in Ashland County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The town includes all of the Apostle Islands. There is also an unincorporated community named La Pointe on Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands . The population was 246 at the 2000 census...
on Madeline Island, the Ojibwe maintained seasonal camps along the south shore of Lake Superior. One such camp was at Siskiwit Bay near present-day Cornucopia
Cornucopia, Wisconsin
Cornucopia is an unincorporated census-designated place in the Town of Bell in northern Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on Lake Superior at the northern end of the Bayfield Peninsula, on Wisconsin Highway 13. As of the 2010 census, its population was 98. The community...
in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Warren calls the bay in question Kah-puk-wi-e-kah, located forty miles west of La Pointe.
The Ojibwe spring camp at the Siskiwit was attacked by the Meskwaki while Chief Bi-aus-wah was away hunting. Upon his return, the chief found all the people had been killed except for his young son and an old man. The two captives were brought to the Meskwaki camp to be tortured and executed. Bi-aus-wah followed the group, watched as the old man was killed and saw his son being readied to burn. The father, seeing it as the only way to save his son, offered himself in exchange. The Meskwaki, moved by the old man's actions released the son. In one version of the story, Bi-aus-wah went to his death fighting and had to be taken down by several men.
The son, meanwhile, returned to the main body of Ojibwe at La Pointe and began to raise a war expedition composed of Ojibwes from bands all around Lake Superior. This large force marched against the Meskwaki, destroyed six villages, and pushed the Meskwaki further inland.
Aftermath
The son, after the defeat of the Meskwaki, became a respected leader and took his father's name Bi-aus-wah. Bi-aus-wah the younger led several wars against the Dakota that allowed the Ojibwe to move into present-day MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Among his other accomplishments was the abolition of torture among the Great Lakes tribes.
Immediately after the expedition to avenge the elder Bi-aus-wah, a small part of the war party under the leadership of Wa-me-gis-ug founded an Ojibwe village at Fond du Lac
Fond du Lac Indian Reservation
The Fond du Lac Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in northern Minnesota near Cloquet in Carlton and St. Louis counties, with off-reservation holdings in Douglas County in Wisconsin...
.
The Tragedy of the Siskiwit was a major event in the Ojibwe penetration of mainland Wisconsin. This and other conflicts between the two tribes would not end until the early 18th century, when the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
supported their Native allies in two wars of extermination
Fox Wars
The Fox Wars were two 18th-century wars between the Fox Indians and the French , which occurred in territories that are now the states of Michigan and Wisconsin, U.S.A.. The First Fox War broke out with the French when the Fox numbered some 3,500. After the Second Fox War , the remaining 1,500...
with the Meskwaki that drove them out of northern Wisconsin and decimated their numbers to the point where they had to seek refuge with the Sauk Nation.
Accounts
Knowledge of the event comes from the oral history of the Red CliffRed Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is a band of Ojibwe Indians. The Red Cliff Band is located on the Red Cliff Indian Reservation, on Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Red Cliff, Wisconsin, is the administrative center...
and Bad River
Bad River Chippewa Band
The Bad River LaPointe Band of Chippewa Indians is located on a reservation on the south shore of Lake Superior. The reservation, which has a land area of 497.477 km² , is in northern Wisconsin straddling Ashland and Iron counties. The band has approximately 7,000 members, of whom about 1,800...
Ojibwe bands, and two written accounts from the 1850s. William Whipple Warren
William Whipple Warren
William Whipple Warren was a mixed-blood Ojibwe historian, interpreter, and legislator in the Minnesota Territory. He moved from Wisconsin to Crow Wing in the fall of 1845. Warren suffered from lung problems for many years and died as a young man of 28 from tuberculosis on June 1, 1853.-Early life...
describes the tragedy in his 1851 History of the Ojibway People. In an 1859 account by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
adventurer Johann Georg Kohl
Johann Georg Kohl
Johann Georg Kohl was a German travel writer, historian and geographer.- Life :Son of a wine merchant, he attended a gymnasium in Bremen, and then studied law at the universities of Göttingen, Heidelberg and Munich. When his father died in 1830, he had to break off his studies, and spent six...
the author describes having the story related to him by a descendent of the men involved through the reading of birch bark scrolls
Birch bark scrolls
Wiigwaasabak are birch bark scrolls, on which the Ojibwa people of North America wrote complex geometrical patterns and shapes. When used specifically for Midewiwin ceremonial use, these scrolls are called mide-wiigwaas...
. A historical marker in Cornucopia, Wisconsin
Cornucopia, Wisconsin
Cornucopia is an unincorporated census-designated place in the Town of Bell in northern Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on Lake Superior at the northern end of the Bayfield Peninsula, on Wisconsin Highway 13. As of the 2010 census, its population was 98. The community...
commemorates the tragedy.