Potawatomi Trail of Death
The Potawatomi Trail of Death stands as a somber testament to the forced removal of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands in the 19th century. In September 1838, a tragic chapter unfolded as 859 Potawatomi Indians were forcibly displaced from their homeland near Plymouth, Indiana, and compelled to march 660 miles westward to present-day Osawatomie, Kansas. This arduous journey, undertaken at gunpoint, became known as the Potawatomi Trail of Death, a name that poignantly reflects the suffering and loss endured by the Potawatomi people.
The impetus behind this forced removal stemmed from the Indian Removal Act of 1830, a piece of federal legislation that authorized the displacement of Native American tribes from their eastern territories to lands west of the Mississippi River. Driven by the relentless westward expansion of European immigrants, the U.S. government sought to acquire Native American lands, paving the way for white settlement and agricultural development. The Potawatomi Trail of Death is a stark reminder of the human cost associated with this policy of displacement.
The Indian Removal Act initially targeted the "Five Civilized Tribes" of the southeastern United States, but its reach soon extended to other tribes east of the Mississippi, including the Potawatomi. Negotiations with various Potawatomi bands began in 1832, aiming to persuade them to relocate from their Indiana homelands to designated lands in Kansas. While some Potawatomi groups complied with these treaties over the ensuing years, Chief Menominee and his band, residing near Twin Lakes, Indiana, steadfastly refused to relinquish their ancestral territory.
Chief Menominee’s unwavering resistance attracted other Potawatomi individuals and families who shared his determination to remain on their native lands. By August 1838, Menominee’s band had grown significantly, swelling from a modest four wigwams in 1821 to a substantial 100 wigwams. This defiance prompted Indiana Governor David Wallace to order General John Tipton to mobilize the state militia, initiating a forceful removal of the tribe. The events leading up to the Potawatomi Trail of Death underscored the clash between the government’s expansionist agenda and the Potawatomi people’s deep-rooted connection to their homeland.
On August 30, 1838, General Tipton and his contingent of 100 soldiers arrived at the Twin Lakes Village, commencing the roundup of the Potawatomi people. Homes were ransacked and burned to discourage any attempt to return. Five days later, on September 4, the forced march began, with more than 850 Potawatomi Indians and a caravan of 26 wagons to transport their belongings. Chief Menominee, along with two other chiefs, No-taw-kah and Pee-pin-oh-waw, were confined to a horse-drawn jail wagon, while their people walked or rode horseback behind them. Each day, the arduous trek commenced at 8:00 a.m. and continued until 4:00 p.m., when they rested for the evening and were provided with their only meal of the day. The conditions surrounding the start of the Potawatomi Trail of Death were harsh and unforgiving.
Accompanying the Potawatomi on this tragic journey was Father Benjamin M. Petit, a young Catholic priest. Throughout the ordeal, Father Petit provided spiritual, emotional, and physical support to the tribe, tending to the sick and offering solace to the suffering. However, a severe drought gripped the region that fall, and the limited water sources available were often stagnant, leading to widespread illness, likely typhoid fever. As the death toll mounted, Father Petit baptized the dying children, blessed each grave, and conducted Mass daily, even as he himself succumbed to illness. Father Petit’s selfless dedication during the Potawatomi Trail of Death is a testament to his compassion and unwavering faith.
On October 13, 1838, while traversing the Osage River in Missouri, Father Petit penned a letter to Bishop Simon Brute in Vincennes, Indiana, providing a firsthand account of the march. His words paint a vivid picture of the suffering and hardship endured by the Potawatomi people:
"The order of march was as follows: The United States flag, carried by a dragoon; then one of the principal officers, next the staff baggage carts, then the carriage, which during the whole trip was kept for the use of the Indian chiefs, then one or two chiefs on horseback led a line of 250 to 300 horses ridden by men, women, children in single file, after the manner of savages.
On the flanks of the line at equal distance from each other were the dragoons and volunteers, hastening the stragglers, often with severe gestures and bitter words. After this cavalry came a file of forty baggage wagons filled with luggage and Indians. The sick were lying in them, rudely jolted, under a canvas which, far from protecting them from the dust and heat, only deprived them of air, for they were as if buried under this burning canopy – several died."
The journey across the vast prairies of Illinois, the Mississippi River crossing at Quincy, Missouri, and the passage through Missouri rivers led them to the Kansas Territory south of Independence, Missouri. By the time the Potawatomi reached present-day Osawatomie, Kansas, on November 4, 1838, 42 of the original 859 had perished. Despite government promises, winter was fast approaching, and adequate housing was nowhere to be found. The Potawatomi were understandably disheartened, and Father Petit, despite his own failing health, remained with them for several weeks. He arranged for the Potawatomi to relocate to St. Mary’s Sugar Creek Mission, operated by Jesuit Father Christian Hoecken, approximately 20 miles south of Osawatomie, near present-day Centerville, Kansas. This mission had been established the previous year for a group of Potawatomi, including Chiefs Kee-wau-nay and Nas-waw-kay, who had voluntarily relocated. The destination point for the Potawatomi Trail of Death provided little comfort for the survivors.
A few weeks later, on January 2, 1839, Father Petit, accompanied by Abram "Nan-wesh-mah" Burnett, embarked on a journey back to Indiana. Burnett had to physically support Petit on his horse due to the priest’s debilitating illness. Upon reaching Jefferson City, Missouri, Petit was too weak to continue riding and had to travel in a wagon. The pair arrived at the Jesuit seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 15, but Father Petit was too ill to travel any further. He died at the seminary on February 10, 1839, at the young age of 27. Initially buried in the Jesuit Cemetery in St. Louis, his remains were later re-interred at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, in 1856. Today, many Potawatomi people consider Father Petit to be a saint.
St. Mary’s Sugar Creek Mission marked the end of the Potawatomi Trail of Death. Despite the lack of proper housing, the Potawatomi found shelter along the steep, rocky walls of the creek bank, using blankets and campfires to ward off the cold. They spent their first winter in Kansas in this manner, later constructing wigwams and log cabins and residing at the mission for the next decade.
Three years after their arrival, in 1841, Mother Rose Philippine Duchesne arrived at the mission, where she taught school to the young Potawatomi children. She established the first Indian school for girls west of the Mississippi River. Despite being 72 years old and in declining health, she dedicated herself to a contemplative prayer ministry, urging the Potawatomi to call her Quah-kah-ka-num-ad, meaning "Woman-Who-Prays-Always." She was canonized in 1988 as the first female saint west of the Mississippi River.
The Potawatomi of the Woods Mission Band remained in eastern Kansas for ten years. In 1848, they moved further west to St. Marys, Kansas, close to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation at Mayetta, Kansas. During their time at the mission, over 600 Potawatomi died, many shortly after their arrival. Chief Alexis Menominee passed away on April 15, 1841, at the age of 50. All are buried at the site.
In 1861, the Potawatomi were offered a new treaty that granted them land in Oklahoma. Those who signed this treaty became the Citizen Band Potawatomi, receiving U.S. citizenship. Today, their headquarters is located in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Although the mission is no longer present, the site now serves as a memorial to the Potawatomi struggle at the St. Philippine Duchesne Memorial Park. In the 1980s, the Eastern Kansas Diocese acquired 450 acres where the original Sugar Creek Mission stood. The St. Philippine Duchesne Memorial Park was dedicated in 1988, featuring a large circular altar and a 30-foot tall metal cross. The park also includes seven wooden crosses with metal plaques honoring those who died there and several interpretive signs providing information about the Potawatomi Indians and the original mission buildings.
Today, the Potawatomi Trail of Death has been designated as a Regional Historic Trail. Since 1988, a commemorative caravan has retraced the trail every five years, commencing at the Chief Menominee statue south of Plymouth, Indiana, and concluding at the St. Philippine Duchesne Memorial Park near Centerville, Kansas. This solemn journey serves as a reminder of the injustices suffered by the Potawatomi people and a call for remembrance and reconciliation.
