Yellow Thunder
Encyclopedia
Yellow Thunder was a chief of the Ho-Chunk
(or Winnebago) tribe. He signed two treaties with the United States in which his Ho-Chunk name was given as Wa-kun-cha-koo-kah and Waun-kaun-tshaw-zee-kau.
In 1837, Yellow Thunder was part of a Ho-Chunk delegation headed by principal chief Carrymaunee and including noted leader Waukon Decorah, that went to Washington, D.C. to seek redress for American encroachment on their land in Wisconsin
. Even though many of the delegates had been U.S. allies during the 1832 Black Hawk War
, they were pressured to sign a removal treaty ceding all Ho-Chunk land west of the Mississippi River to the United States. The delegates thought that the treaty gave the Ho-Chunks eight years to leave Wisconsin, which would leave them time to negotiate a new treaty, but the wording on the document gave the tribe eight months to vacate Wisconsin and resettle on reservations in Iowa
and Minnesota
.
In 1840, U.S. Army General Henry Atkinson was assigned to round up the Ho-Chunks who refused to leave. Two chiefs, Yellow Thunder and Little Soldier, were arrested. Realizing that further resistance would lead to violence against their people, the chiefs agreed to cooperate and were released. Yellow Thunder eventually moved off the Iowa reservation and returned to a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) farm in Wisconsin, where he died in 1874.
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
(or Winnebago) tribe. He signed two treaties with the United States in which his Ho-Chunk name was given as Wa-kun-cha-koo-kah and Waun-kaun-tshaw-zee-kau.
In 1837, Yellow Thunder was part of a Ho-Chunk delegation headed by principal chief Carrymaunee and including noted leader Waukon Decorah, that went to Washington, D.C. to seek redress for American encroachment on their land in 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...
. Even though many of the delegates had been U.S. allies during the 1832 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....
, they were pressured to sign a removal treaty ceding all Ho-Chunk land west of the Mississippi River to the United States. The delegates thought that the treaty gave the Ho-Chunks eight years to leave Wisconsin, which would leave them time to negotiate a new treaty, but the wording on the document gave the tribe eight months to vacate Wisconsin and resettle on reservations in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
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...
.
In 1840, U.S. Army General Henry Atkinson was assigned to round up the Ho-Chunks who refused to leave. Two chiefs, Yellow Thunder and Little Soldier, were arrested. Realizing that further resistance would lead to violence against their people, the chiefs agreed to cooperate and were released. Yellow Thunder eventually moved off the Iowa reservation and returned to a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) farm in Wisconsin, where he died in 1874.
External links
- Yellow Thunder Monument, Sauk County (Wisconsin) Historical Society
- Text of the 1829 treaty signed by Yellow Thunder
- Text of the 1837 treaty signed by Yellow Thunder