Potawatomi acculturation strategies for avoiding removal — article in archaeology journal (verbatim excerpts)

d r a f t

Good background discussion of acculturation in the context of archaeological digs at Windrose฀site฀or฀Little฀Rock฀Village฀in Kankakee River Valley; Pokegon settlement on St. Joseph River north of South Bend, Ind., and Benack Village site in Marshall County, Ind. — on Tippecanoe River https://www.potawatomiwildlifepark.com/history

Elizabeth Bollwerk, Controlling฀Acculturation:฀฀ A฀Potawatomi฀Strategy฀for฀Avoiding฀Removal,” Midcontinental฀Journal฀of฀Archaeology,฀Vol.฀31,฀No.฀1฀(Spring฀2006),฀pp.฀117-142 https://www.academia.edu/695665/Historical_Archaeology_A_Midwestern_Case_Study_Controlling_Acculturation_A_Potawatomi_Strategy_for_Avoiding_Removal

Bollwerk of the International Center for Jefferson Studies, Monticello, (Department Member)

xxx

Overview: […] relationship฀ between฀ the฀ French฀ and฀ many฀ of฀ the฀ Potawatomi฀ had฀ become฀ one฀almost฀of฀camaraderie,฀with฀the฀exchange฀of฀goods฀often฀symbolizing฀ solidarity฀ and฀ the฀ creation฀ of฀ bonds฀ between฀ the฀ two฀ groups (120)

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[117] The฀ subject฀ of฀ Native฀ American฀ and฀ European฀ contact฀ has฀ been฀ the฀ focus฀ of฀both฀anthropological฀and฀historical฀research฀for฀a฀number฀of฀years.฀Early฀ studies,฀however,฀often฀relied฀solely฀on฀historical฀written฀sources฀from฀Euro- American฀traders฀and฀missionaries฀that฀colored฀Native฀Americans’฀reactions฀ in฀ a฀ variety฀ of฀ ways.฀ The฀ resulting฀ historical฀ and฀ anthropological฀ theories฀ traditionally฀oversimplified฀Native฀Americans’฀responses฀to฀Euro-American฀ attempts฀to฀“civilize”฀them฀by฀depicting฀their฀reactions฀in฀one฀of฀two฀ways.฀ Generally฀it฀was฀argued฀that฀Native฀American฀groups฀either฀completely฀re- jected฀ Euro-American฀ culture฀ and฀ subsequently฀ vanished฀ due฀ to฀ removal,฀ or฀ that฀ these฀ groups฀ assimilated฀ all฀ aspects฀ of฀ Euro-American฀ culture฀ into฀ their฀own฀while฀completely฀abandoning฀their฀own฀traditions฀and฀beliefs฀in฀ order฀to฀avoid฀removal฀(Quimby฀and฀Spoehr฀1951).฀

[118-19]

but฀instead฀acted฀as฀selective฀consumers,฀making฀choices฀based฀on฀their฀own฀ cultural฀beliefs.฀These฀new฀studies฀demonstrated฀that฀many฀Native฀American฀ groups฀were฀not฀passive฀recipients,฀but฀manipulated฀their฀interactions฀with฀ Euro-Americans฀and฀the฀United฀States฀government฀to฀serve฀their฀own฀inter- ests฀and฀avoid฀pressure฀to฀assimilate.฀I฀seek฀to฀add฀to฀this฀facet฀of฀research฀ by฀providing฀evidence฀of฀one฀Native฀American฀group฀that฀used฀various฀tech- niques฀ to฀ avoid฀ assimilation฀ and฀ relocation฀ from฀ their฀ lands฀ in฀ the฀ Great฀ Lakes฀area฀to฀the฀West.฀The฀Potawatomi฀of฀the฀Michigan,฀Indiana,฀and฀Illi- nois฀region฀provide฀an฀interesting฀example฀of฀the฀range฀of฀measures฀utilized฀ by฀different฀groups฀in฀reaction฀to฀Euro-American฀contact.

(also cites use of “savages” by champlain in 1616 on p. 119)

[119-20]

Colonial฀offi- cials฀sent฀two฀French฀traders,฀Pierre-Espirit฀Radisson฀and฀Medart฀Chouart฀de฀ Groseillers,฀to฀Wisconsin฀where฀they฀spent฀several฀months฀in฀a฀Potawatomi฀ village.฀This฀visit฀introduced฀the฀Potawatomi฀to฀the฀fur฀trade฀and฀initiated฀ what฀was฀to฀be฀a฀long฀trading฀relationship฀between฀them฀and฀the฀French.฀

120 Elizabeth฀Bollwerk In฀ addition,฀ the฀ arrival฀ of฀ Jesuit฀ missionary฀ Father฀ Claude฀ Allouez฀ to฀ the฀ Green฀Bay฀area฀in฀the฀1660s฀opened฀contact฀between฀the฀Potawatomi฀and฀ French฀missionaries฀that฀would฀last฀for฀generations฀and฀ultimately฀lead฀to฀ the฀religious฀conversion฀of฀many฀members฀of฀the฀tribe฀(Edmunds฀1978:5).฀ Thus,฀ while฀ the฀ French฀ created฀ a฀ strong฀ bond฀ with฀ the฀ Potawatomi,฀ their฀ agents฀undoubtedly฀arrived฀in฀the฀region฀with฀distinct฀goals฀and฀reasons฀for฀ interacting฀with฀the฀natives.

[120-21]

he฀ British,฀unlike฀the฀French,฀failed฀to฀understand฀the฀manner฀in฀which฀both฀ the฀Native฀Americans฀and฀the฀French฀viewed฀commodity฀exchange.฀The฀re-

121 A฀Potawatomi฀Strategy฀for฀Avoiding฀Removal lationship฀ between฀ the฀ French฀ and฀ many฀ of฀ the฀ Potawatomi฀ had฀ become฀ one฀almost฀of฀camaraderie,฀with฀the฀exchange฀of฀goods฀often฀symbolizing฀ solidarity฀ and฀ the฀ creation฀ of฀ bonds฀ between฀ the฀ two฀ groups฀ (Edmunds฀ 1978:75;฀ Wagner฀ 1998:433).฀ English฀ officials,฀ however,฀ either฀ overlooked฀ or฀chose฀to฀ignore฀this฀important฀component฀of฀the฀trade฀relationship฀and฀ often฀failed฀to฀offer฀gifts฀of฀friendship฀and฀solidarity฀when฀trading฀with฀the฀ Potawatomi฀and฀other฀tribes.฀This฀clash฀of฀viewpoints฀between฀the฀Potawa- tomi฀and฀the฀English฀demonstrates฀that฀although฀the฀materials฀the฀Potawa- tomi฀were฀using฀in฀their฀daily฀lives฀might฀have฀changed,฀the฀ideas฀and฀beliefs฀ they฀associated฀with฀them฀did฀not.฀As฀a฀result,฀the฀Potawatomi฀were฀less฀in- clined฀to฀abandon฀the฀French,฀who฀had฀adopted฀a฀similar฀attitude฀in฀regard฀ to฀trade,฀in฀favor฀of฀the฀British฀whose฀practices฀differed฀so฀radically.

[120] revulutionary war period]

The฀ British฀discarded฀their฀policy฀of฀thrift฀towards฀native฀groups,฀and฀the฀St.฀Jo- seph฀Potawatomi฀came฀to฀view฀the฀Americans฀as฀a฀more฀concerted฀threat฀to฀ their฀lands฀and฀way฀of฀life.฀As฀a฀result,฀the฀bands฀of฀Potawatomi฀in฀Michigan฀ came฀ collectively฀ to฀ support฀ the฀ British฀ crown฀ (Edmunds฀ 1978:100).฀ The฀ western฀villages฀in฀Illinois,฀however,฀remained฀suspicious฀of฀the฀British฀and฀ the฀ Americans,฀ and฀ kept฀ their฀ ties฀ with฀ the฀ French฀ (Edmunds฀ 1978:119).฀ These฀tribal฀divisions฀would฀endure฀even฀as฀the฀war฀drew฀to฀a฀close.฀These฀ various฀alliances฀with฀the฀French฀and,฀eventually,฀the฀Americans฀would฀play฀ a฀significant฀role฀in฀defining฀the฀ways฀in฀which฀different฀groups฀of฀Potawa- tomi฀reacted฀to฀assimilation฀pressure.

[122-23]

Furthermore,฀it฀should฀be฀noted฀that฀the฀types฀of฀interactions฀between฀ the฀Potawatomi฀and฀Euro-Americans฀during฀the฀Removal฀period฀range฀across฀ a฀wide฀spectrum.฀When฀studying฀relationships฀in฀this฀region,฀it฀is฀critical฀to฀ note฀that฀multiple฀groups฀of฀Euro-Americans฀were฀interacting฀with฀the฀Po- tawatomi฀until฀the฀time฀of฀removal.฀The฀arrival฀of฀explorers฀in฀the฀early฀part฀ of฀the฀seventeenth฀century฀opened฀avenues฀for฀fur฀traders,฀missionaries,฀and฀ eventually฀government฀officials.฀Furthermore,฀all฀of฀these฀groups฀had฀sepa- rate฀agendas฀that฀shaped฀their฀views฀and฀interactions฀with฀the฀Potawatomi.฀ The฀diverse฀types฀of฀relationships฀between฀the฀Potawatomi฀and฀Euro-Ameri- cans฀meant฀that฀the฀native฀groups฀throughout฀the฀Michigan/Indiana/Illinois฀ region฀were฀exposed฀to฀Euro-American฀culture฀in฀a฀variety฀of฀ways฀with฀vary- ing฀degrees฀of฀intensity,฀that฀can฀be฀characterized฀as฀directed฀and฀nondirect- ed฀contact฀situations.฀Wagner฀contends฀that฀the฀Potawatomi฀were฀exposed฀ to฀“both฀directed฀and฀nondirected฀forms฀of฀culture฀contact฀via฀the฀fur฀trade฀ and฀the฀United฀States฀government-sponsored฀mission฀program฀respectively”฀ (1998:431).฀With฀this฀in฀mind,฀it฀should฀not฀come฀as฀a฀surprise฀that฀the฀re- lationships฀between฀the฀Potawatomi฀and฀Euro-Americans฀are฀expected฀to฀be฀ diverse฀and฀multifaceted.฀Different฀groups฀within฀the฀Potawatomi฀cultural฀ framework฀had฀various฀goals฀in฀mind฀when฀forming฀associations฀with฀Euro- Americans฀to฀serve฀their฀particular฀interests,฀and฀exhibited฀varying฀degrees฀ of฀acceptance฀and฀resistance฀during฀their฀interactions.฀These฀diverse฀histories฀ provide฀evidence฀that฀“people฀sharing฀the฀same฀cultural฀orientation฀did฀not฀ necessarily฀respond฀to฀“‘others’฀in฀a฀prescribed,฀uniform฀manner”฀(Lightfoot฀ et฀ al.฀ 1998:202).฀ Contact฀ relations฀ must฀ be฀ studied฀ with฀ this฀ principle฀ in฀

123 A฀Potawatomi฀Strategy฀for฀Avoiding฀Removal mind,฀and฀Native฀Americans฀should฀be฀viewed฀as฀active,฀socially฀motivated฀ consumers฀who฀engaged฀in฀various฀forms฀of฀contact฀in฀order฀to฀serve฀their฀ own฀interests฀(Cook฀et฀al.฀1996:50–51). The฀ acknowledgment฀ of฀ these฀ differing฀ interests฀ and฀ needs฀ also฀ high- lights฀ another฀ problematic฀ aspect฀ of฀ previous฀ acculturation฀ studies:฀ the฀ tendency฀to฀create฀models฀of฀so-called฀traditional฀societies฀that฀are฀seen฀as฀ lacking฀ internal฀ dynamism฀ and฀ agency.฀ Research฀ in฀ recent฀ decades,฀ how- ever,฀ has฀ strived฀ to฀ make฀ both฀ archaeologists฀ and฀ the฀ public฀ conscious฀ of฀ the฀fact฀“that฀all฀societies฀.฀.฀.฀already฀had฀their฀own฀long,฀complex,฀dynamic฀ histories฀that฀were฀very฀much฀in฀motion฀at฀the฀moment฀of฀contact”฀(Dietler฀ 1998:289).

[123-4]

Given฀

124 Elizabeth฀Bollwerk that฀there฀is฀strong฀evidence฀of฀diversity฀in฀the฀prehistoric฀record,฀the฀vary- ing฀reactions฀of฀the฀historic฀Potawatomi฀toward฀Europeans฀and฀their฀goods฀ discussed฀below฀is฀not฀surprising.฀While฀the฀social฀transformations฀incited฀ by฀historic฀contact฀between฀natives฀and฀Europeans฀were฀certainly฀unique฀in฀ terms฀of฀the฀groups฀and฀goods฀involved,฀they฀should฀be฀recognized฀as฀part฀ of฀ a฀ continual฀ process฀ of฀ cultural฀ change฀ that฀ has฀ roots฀ reaching฀ far฀ back฀ into฀prehistory.

[125]

The฀history฀of฀Euro-American฀and฀Potawatomi฀relationships,฀however,฀ meant฀that฀the฀different฀villages฀throughout฀the฀Michigan/Indiana/Illinois฀ region฀ reacted฀ to฀ this฀ policy฀ with฀ varying฀ degrees฀ of฀ acceptance฀ and฀ resis- tance.฀Tensions฀in฀the฀region฀continued฀to฀rise฀during฀the฀opening฀decades฀ of฀the฀nineteenth฀century,฀when฀it฀became฀apparent฀that฀the฀federal฀govern- ment฀ wanted฀ to฀ open฀ more฀ of฀ the฀ West฀ for฀ settlement.฀ The฀ government’s฀ land฀ accumulation฀ policy฀ was฀ especially฀ problematic฀ for฀ the฀ Potawatomi฀ and฀ other฀ tribes฀ because฀ of฀ their฀ pattern฀ of฀ seasonal฀ movement.฀ As฀ hunt- ing฀and฀gathering฀grounds฀became฀more฀limited,฀it฀was฀more฀difficult฀for฀ groups฀to฀provide฀for฀their฀villages฀and฀families.฀In฀an฀effort฀to฀address฀this฀ problem฀and฀open฀up฀more฀land฀for฀settlement,฀the฀American฀government฀ instituted฀a฀“civilization”฀policy,฀the฀goal฀of฀which฀was฀to฀convert฀the฀Indi- ans฀into฀pacific,฀yeoman฀farmers,฀with฀the฀end฀result฀of฀completely฀assimi- lating฀Native฀Americans฀into฀Euro-American฀culture฀and฀ceding฀surplus฀land฀ to฀the฀United฀States฀government฀(Secunda฀et฀al.฀2002:33).

[126 ]

Under฀the฀terms฀of฀the฀Carey฀Mission฀Treaty฀ of฀September฀20,฀1828฀and฀the฀Chicago฀Treaty฀of฀1833,฀the฀Potawatomi฀ef- fectively฀surrendered฀the฀majority฀of฀their฀lands฀to฀the฀federal฀government฀ in฀exchange฀for฀goods฀and฀annuities.฀The฀latter฀treaty฀gave฀the฀Potawatomi฀ three฀ years฀ to฀ vacate฀ their฀ lands,฀ but฀ when฀ some฀ groups฀ refused฀ to฀ move,฀ they฀were฀forced฀to฀do฀so.฀In฀1838,฀the฀majority฀of฀the฀Potawatomi฀in฀the฀ Indiana/Michigan฀ area฀ were฀ removed฀ to฀ a฀ reservation฀ in฀ Kansas,฀ traveling฀ along฀what฀would฀come฀to฀be฀known฀as฀the฀Trail฀of฀Death. Commodities฀in฀Perspective By฀the฀outset฀of฀the฀Removal฀Period,฀the฀Potawatomi฀throughout฀the฀Great฀ Lakes฀ had฀ been฀ using฀ items฀ of฀ European฀ manufacture฀ for฀ over฀ a฀ century.฀ Thus,฀ regardless฀ of฀ differing฀ interactions฀ with฀ Euro-American฀ groups,฀ the฀ consistent฀presence฀of฀commodities฀such฀as฀iron฀kettles,฀glass฀beads,฀and฀re- fined฀earthenware฀within฀archaeological฀assemblages฀of฀Potawatomi฀sites฀is฀ not฀surprising.฀Furthermore,฀it฀is฀likely฀that฀these฀items฀tended฀to฀maintain฀ similar฀ utilitarian฀ functions฀ like฀ those฀ of฀ the฀ native-manufactured฀ goods฀ they฀ were฀ chosen฀ to฀ replace.

[125]

The฀history฀of฀Euro-American฀and฀Potawatomi฀relationships,฀however,฀ meant฀that฀the฀different฀villages฀throughout฀the฀Michigan/Indiana/Illinois฀ region฀ reacted฀ to฀ this฀ policy฀ with฀ varying฀ degrees฀ of฀ acceptance฀ and฀ resis- tance.฀Tensions฀in฀the฀region฀continued฀to฀rise฀during฀the฀opening฀decades฀ of฀the฀nineteenth฀century,฀when฀it฀became฀apparent฀that฀the฀federal฀govern- ment฀ wanted฀ to฀ open฀ more฀ of฀ the฀ West฀ for฀ settlement.฀ The฀ government’s฀ land฀ accumulation฀ policy฀ was฀ especially฀ problematic฀ for฀ the฀ Potawatomi฀ and฀ other฀ tribes฀ because฀ of฀ their฀ pattern฀ of฀ seasonal฀ movement.฀ As฀ hunt- ing฀and฀gathering฀grounds฀became฀more฀limited,฀it฀was฀more฀difficult฀for฀ groups฀to฀provide฀for฀their฀villages฀and฀families.฀In฀an฀effort฀to฀address฀this฀ problem฀and฀open฀up฀more฀land฀for฀settlement,฀the฀American฀government฀ instituted฀a฀“civilization”฀policy,฀the฀goal฀of฀which฀was฀to฀convert฀the฀Indi- ans฀into฀pacific,฀yeoman฀farmers,฀with฀the฀end฀result฀of฀completely฀assimi- lating฀Native฀Americans฀into฀Euro-American฀culture฀and฀ceding฀surplus฀land฀ to฀the฀United฀States฀government฀(Secunda฀et฀al.฀2002:33).

[126-7]

Windrose฀site฀or฀Little฀Rock฀Village฀(11KA326),฀which฀was฀located฀in฀ the฀ Kankakee฀ River฀ Valley฀ in฀ northeastern฀ Illinois,฀ represents฀ the฀ remains฀

127 A฀Potawatomi฀Strategy฀for฀Avoiding฀Removal of฀an฀outlying฀homestead฀of฀a฀Potawatomi฀summer฀village฀occupied฀in฀the฀ late฀1820s฀and฀early฀1830s฀(Wagner฀1998:445).฀The฀assemblage฀from฀this฀ site฀contains฀both฀European฀and฀native-manufactured฀items.฀The฀collection,฀ however,฀is฀unique฀in฀that฀Euro-American฀items,฀such฀as฀refined฀earthenware฀ dishes,฀domesticated฀animal฀remains,฀silver฀decorative฀items,฀and฀window฀ glass,฀ compose฀ less฀ than฀ five฀ percent฀ of฀ the฀ excavated฀ artifact฀ assemblage฀ from฀the฀site฀(Wagner฀1998:446).฀

[129]

The฀Pokagon฀Village฀site฀(20BE13)฀is฀located฀in฀Berrien฀County,฀Michigan,฀ about฀six฀miles฀north฀and฀west฀of฀the฀present฀city฀of฀South฀Bend,฀Indiana.฀ This฀ site฀ represents฀ the฀ remains฀ of฀ the฀ homestead฀ of฀ Chief฀ Leopold฀ Po- kagon฀and฀his฀band,฀who฀inhabited฀the฀area฀from฀approximately฀1821฀to฀ 1837.฀Land฀surveyors’฀reports฀from฀the฀1830s฀give฀the฀location฀of฀Pokagon’s฀ cabin฀ and฀ indicate฀ the฀ presence฀ of฀ a฀ Roman฀ Catholic฀ “church,฀ school,฀ or฀ mission฀house.”฀Missionary฀records฀indicate฀that฀the฀village฀also฀was฀com- prised฀of฀a฀number฀of฀traditional฀wigwams฀made฀of฀“flags฀[and]฀circular฀[in฀ shape],฀about฀ten฀feet฀in฀diameter฀and฀seven฀feet฀high฀in฀the฀center”฀(McCoy฀ 1840:139).

[130]

Schurr฀ et฀ al.’s฀ (this฀ volume)฀ study฀ of฀ the฀ re- mains฀recovered฀from฀the฀Pokagon฀site฀indicates฀that฀domesticated฀animals฀ played฀ an฀ important฀ role฀ in฀ the฀ village’s฀ subsistence฀ patterns.฀ Unlike฀ the฀ Windrose฀site,฀cattle,฀swine,฀and฀other฀domesticates฀made฀up฀a฀significant฀ proportion,฀or฀13฀percent฀of฀the฀total฀biomass฀from฀Pokagon’s฀Village.฀In฀ contrast,฀domesticated฀animal฀remains฀(swine฀and฀sheep)฀comprised฀only฀ .01฀percent฀of฀the฀assemblage฀from฀the฀Windrose฀site;฀the฀balance฀is฀almost฀ entirely฀ wild฀ animal฀ remains.฀ Martin฀ has฀ argued฀ that฀ the฀ lack฀ of฀ domes- ticated฀ faunal฀ remains฀ at฀ the฀ Windrose฀ site฀ demonstrates฀ that฀ the฀ village฀ “retained฀a฀conservative฀economic฀orientation”฀and฀resisted฀the฀integration฀ of฀ domesticated฀ animals฀ provided฀ by฀ the฀ government฀ (Martin฀ 2001:163).฀ Pokagon฀and฀his฀people,฀however,฀apparently฀used฀a฀combination฀of฀wild฀ and฀ domesticated฀ animals฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ persuade฀ the฀ government฀ that฀ they฀ should฀remain฀in฀the฀area฀(Schurr฀et฀al.฀this฀volume). One฀of฀the฀Euro-American฀artifacts฀uncovered฀from฀Pokagon’s฀Village฀ that฀stands฀in฀stark฀contrast฀to฀those฀uncovered฀during฀investigations฀at฀the฀ Windrose฀site฀is฀a฀St.฀Benedict฀medal฀(Figure฀1).฀Whether฀this฀medal,฀which฀ features฀ an฀ image฀ of฀ St.฀ Benedict฀ on฀ the฀ front฀ and฀ a฀ cross฀ surrounded฀ by฀ lettering฀on฀the฀back,฀belonged฀to฀one฀of฀the฀members฀of฀the฀band,฀or฀even฀ Pokagon฀himself฀is฀unclear;฀however,฀it฀is฀nonetheless฀a฀strong฀indication฀of฀ the฀presence฀of฀Catholic฀missionaries฀in฀the฀area.฀Furthermore,฀it฀should฀be฀ noted฀ that฀ Catholic฀ missionaries฀ were฀ not฀ brought฀ in฀ by฀ the฀ government,฀ but฀rather฀were฀invited฀to฀live฀in฀the฀village฀by฀Pokagon.฀This฀request฀is฀itself฀ somewhat฀ unusual,฀ but฀ what฀ is฀ even฀ more฀ interesting฀ is฀ the฀ fact฀ that฀ Po- kagon฀specifically฀requested฀a฀Catholic฀priest,฀even฀though฀missionaries฀of฀ other฀faiths฀were฀already฀present฀in฀the฀St.฀Joseph฀Valley฀area.

[

Pokagon฀knew฀that฀accepting฀aid฀from฀the฀Baptists฀or฀showing฀support฀of฀ their฀missionary฀efforts฀would฀suggest฀that฀he฀and฀his฀people฀were฀accept- ing฀the฀policy฀of฀removal,฀for฀as฀Thomas฀argues,฀the฀meanings฀of฀“objects฀ are฀ never฀ quite฀ separated฀ from฀ the฀ men฀ who฀ exchange฀ them”฀ (1991:16).฀ While฀Pokagon฀refused฀to฀view฀Euro-American฀commodities฀exclusively฀as฀ a฀means฀through฀which฀his฀peoples’฀culture฀was฀being฀destroyed,฀he฀recog- nized฀ that฀ accepting฀ these฀ items฀ from฀ certain฀ people฀ could฀ have฀ negative฀ consequences.฀Pokagon฀therefore฀refused฀to฀associate฀with฀the฀Baptists฀and฀ never฀ allowed฀ members฀ of฀ his฀ band฀ to฀ send฀ their฀ children฀ to฀ the฀ school฀ maintained฀by฀the฀Baptist฀mission. Moreover,฀Pokagon฀continued฀to฀ask฀for฀a฀“black฀robe”฀for฀his฀people฀ (Buechner฀1933:297).฀Although฀this฀desire฀was฀a฀sign฀of฀his฀faith,฀it฀likely฀ was฀also฀a฀demonstration฀of฀his฀political฀insight.฀Various฀researchers฀have฀ since฀discovered฀that฀during฀the฀years฀McCoy฀was฀preaching฀to฀the฀Potawato- mi,฀he฀kept฀money฀given฀to฀him฀by฀the฀federal฀government฀that฀was฀actually฀ intended฀to฀be฀spent฀on฀annuities฀for฀the฀Native฀Americans฀(Secunda฀et฀al.฀ 2002;฀Smith฀1833).฀Whether฀Pokagon฀knew฀of฀McCoy’s฀actions฀is฀uncertain,฀ but฀he฀nonetheless฀was฀unhappy฀enough฀with฀the฀Reverend฀to฀take฀action฀ in฀1830.฀That฀year฀Pokagon฀traveled฀to฀Detroit฀to฀appeal฀to฀the฀bishop฀for฀a฀ “black฀robe”฀for฀his฀village฀(Baroux฀1913:32).฀In฀August฀of฀1830,฀a฀Roman฀ Catholic฀priest,฀Father฀Stephen฀Badin,฀was฀sent฀in฀response฀to฀his฀request. Evidence฀ of฀ Father฀ Badin’s฀ presence฀ on฀ the฀ site฀ was฀ recovered฀ in฀ the฀ spring฀of฀2000,฀when฀Schurr฀and฀his฀students฀excavated฀the฀foundation฀of฀ Figure฀1.฀St.฀Benedict฀ medallion฀front฀(left)฀and฀ back฀(right),฀from฀Pokagon’s฀ Cabin฀midden฀(20BE13).฀

[134]

Although฀ both฀ historical฀ documents฀ and฀ archaeology฀ were฀ used฀ to฀ inves- tigate฀ the฀ previous฀ sites,฀ the฀ Benack฀ Village฀ site฀ (12MR231)฀ provides฀ an฀ example฀of฀the฀critical฀role฀this฀dual฀approach฀plays฀in฀uncovering฀the฀com- prehensive฀history฀of฀a฀site.฀Investigations฀at฀Benack’s฀Village฀were฀conduct- ed฀by฀the฀Notre฀Dame฀Archaeological฀Field฀School฀during฀the฀summers฀of฀ 1998฀through฀2001฀(Schurr฀2001).฀Although฀excavations฀uncovered฀the฀cab- in฀area฀thought฀to฀be฀Benack’s฀residence,฀intact฀features฀were฀not฀found฀and฀ are฀thought฀to฀have฀been฀destroyed฀by฀bulldozing฀in฀the฀area฀that฀occurred฀ about฀ 30฀ years฀ earlier฀ (Schurr฀ 1997).฀ As฀ a฀ result,฀ analyses฀ focused฀ on฀ the฀ cabin฀area฀midden฀assemblage฀which,฀unlike฀the฀items฀found฀at฀Pokagon’s฀ village฀ and฀ the฀ Windrose฀ site,฀ consisted฀ entirely฀ of฀ Euro-American฀ manu- factured฀items.

132 Elizabeth฀Bollwerk the฀missionary฀cabin฀inhabited฀by฀the฀Catholic฀fathers฀during฀their฀time฀at฀ Pokagon฀ Village฀ (Schurr฀ 2000).฀ Although฀ no฀ artifacts฀ were฀ found,฀ letters฀ written฀by฀Father฀Badin฀indicate฀that฀the฀cabin฀was฀used฀for฀services฀and฀as฀ his฀ residence฀ during฀ his฀ time฀ at฀ Pokagon฀ Village฀ (Badin฀ 1832).฀ Although฀ Catholic฀ missionaries฀ arrived฀ with฀ the฀ intent฀ of฀ acculturating฀ the฀ Potawa- tomi,฀it฀can฀be฀argued฀their฀labors฀actually฀gave฀the฀band฀a฀means฀to฀escape฀ assimilation฀and฀removal.฀Father฀Badin฀and฀other฀missionaries฀played฀a฀key฀ role฀by฀educating฀Pokagon฀band฀members฀about฀the฀aspects฀of฀Euro-Ameri- can฀culture฀that฀would฀help฀them฀create฀a฀self-sufficient฀village.฀Most฀impor- tantly,฀these฀missionaries฀labored฀with฀the฀Potawatomi.฀For฀example,฀Father฀ Badin’s฀letters฀refer฀to฀his฀teaching฀the฀Pokagon฀villagers฀how฀to฀farm฀using฀a฀ Euro-American฀plow฀(Badin฀1832:311).฀Until฀this฀point,฀Potawatomi฀farm- ing฀had฀been฀limited฀to฀the฀cultivation฀of฀small฀plots฀immediately฀outside฀ their฀homes฀that฀were฀tended฀exclusively฀by฀the฀women.฀However,฀with฀Fa- ther฀Badin’s฀assistance,฀the฀villagers฀reportedly฀were฀able฀to฀grow฀more฀corn฀ than฀their฀neighbors฀did฀the฀following฀year฀(Badin฀1832:311).฀Moreover,฀Fa- ther฀Badin฀and฀other฀Catholic฀fathers฀often฀tried฀to฀fight฀the฀removal฀policy,฀ arguing฀that฀it฀would฀only฀be฀detrimental฀to฀the฀Native฀Americans฀(Badin฀ 1832:312).฀ It฀ therefore฀ appears฀ that฀ by฀ inviting฀ the฀ Catholic฀ missionaries฀ into฀his฀village,฀Pokagon฀actually฀gained฀allies฀in฀his฀fight฀against฀removal. The฀remains฀of฀Father฀Badin’s฀chapel฀and฀the฀St.฀Benedict฀medal฀point฀ to฀ a฀ strong฀ Catholic฀ presence฀ at฀ Pokagon’s฀ Village,฀ and฀ it฀ is฀ arguable฀ that฀ this฀ presence฀ played฀ a฀ large฀ role฀ in฀ helping฀ the฀ Pokagon฀ band฀ remain฀ in฀ the฀Michigan฀area.

[135]

In฀1834,฀Benack’s฀village฀is฀described฀as฀consisting฀of฀a฀cabin฀surround- ed฀by฀wigwams฀(Smith฀1954).฀In฀March฀of฀1839,฀another฀visit฀to฀Benack’s฀ Village฀is฀recorded.฀At฀this฀time,฀the฀village฀was฀said฀to฀consist฀of฀about฀50฀In- dians฀living฀on฀a฀large฀tract฀of฀land฀surrounding฀a฀good฀house฀that฀was฀well฀ furnished.฀ The฀ account฀ mentions฀ that฀ the฀ house฀ was฀ apparently฀ presided฀ over฀by฀Mary฀Ann,฀Benack’s฀daughter,฀who฀had฀been฀educated฀in฀a฀Catholic฀ school฀in฀St.฀Louis฀and฀dressed฀in฀“white฀style”฀(Schurr฀1997).฀

Select references

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• Pokagon’s฀ Cabin฀ 2000.฀ Electronic฀ document,฀ http://www.nd.edu/ ~mschurr/cabin2000.html,฀accessed฀March฀20,฀2004.฀University฀of฀Notre฀ Dame,฀Department฀of฀Anthropology.
• Pokagon’s฀ Cabin฀ 2001.฀ Electronic฀ document,฀ http://www.nd.edu/~mschurr/cabin2001.html,฀accessed฀March฀20,฀2004.฀University฀of฀Notre฀ Dame,฀Department฀of฀Anthropology.
• Notre฀Dame฀Archaeological฀Field฀School฀Investigations.฀Electronic฀docu- ment,฀ http://www.nd.edu/~mschurr/Removal_Project.html,฀ accessed฀ De- cember฀ 14,฀ 2004.฀ University฀ of฀ Notre฀ Dame,฀ Department฀ of฀ Anthropol- ogy.
• Secunda,฀William฀B.,฀Mark฀R.฀Schurr,฀and฀Michelle฀Pribbernow ฀ 2002฀ Investigations฀ of฀ Historic฀ Potawatomi฀ Village฀ Sites฀ in฀ Northern฀ Indiana.฀ Ar- chaeology฀Laboratory,฀Department฀of฀Anthropology,฀University฀of฀Notre฀ Dame,฀Reports฀of฀Investigations฀2002–1.฀Notre฀Dame,฀Indiana.
• Wagner,฀Mark฀J. ฀ 1998฀ Cultural฀Change฀and฀Continuity฀Among฀the฀Early฀Nineteenth-Century฀Po- tawatomi.฀In฀ Studies฀in฀Culture฀Contact,฀edited฀by฀J.฀Cusick,฀pp.฀430–451.฀ Southern฀Illinois฀University฀Press,฀Carbondale.

[Uplinked Dec. 6, 2025]