Before examining the ways in which different groups tailor Chief Oshkosh’s afterlife to suit their interests, a basic understanding of the life of Chief Oshkosh becomes necessary to fully grasp the duplicity of his character. Born in 1795, Chief Oshkosh grew up in a tumultuous period in Menominee history. The Menominees had been entrenched in battles before with rival tribes such as the Winnebago and Chippewa, but American encroachment on land increased the frequency of these clashes. While the Menominee Nation remained officially neutral in the War of 1812, a 19-year-old Chief Oshkosh fought alongside other great Native American resistance fighters such as Tomah, White Elk, and Tecumseh against the United States. But Chief Oshkosh the Brave would soon transition from a warrior to a leader.
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The Menominee tribe sent several representatives as their previous Chief, Cha-Wa-Non, had died in 1821. The Territorial Governor Lewis Cass wrote that the Menominee “appear like a flock of geese, without a leader, some fly one way and some fly another”. He then declared that “tomorrow, at the opening of the consel, we will select a principal chief of the Menominees... We shall expect the Menominee to respect him”. While eventually the Menominee would refuse the 1827 Buttes de Morts treaty negotiated, the American’s naming of a new chief became the most permanent result of the arbitration. “You”, the Head of the American Indian Office Thomas McKenney was purported to direct towards Oshkosh, “are now the great Menominee Chief… if you are a good man. If not, we will make another”. While Oshkosh had distinguished himself as a warrior before being appointed Chief, having earned the title ‘Brave’ presumably in the final battle of the War of 1812 fighting on behalf of the American government, some Menominee resisted this
The Menominee tribe sent several representatives as their previous Chief, Cha-Wa-Non, had died in 1821. The Territorial Governor Lewis Cass wrote that the Menominee “appear like a flock of geese, without a leader, some fly one way and some fly another”. He then declared that “tomorrow, at the opening of the consel, we will select a principal chief of the Menominees... We shall expect the Menominee to respect him”. While eventually the Menominee would refuse the 1827 Buttes de Morts treaty negotiated, the American’s naming of a new chief became the most permanent result of the arbitration. “You”, the Head of the American Indian Office Thomas McKenney was purported to direct towards Oshkosh, “are now the great Menominee Chief… if you are a good man. If not, we will make another”. While Oshkosh had distinguished himself as a warrior before being appointed Chief, having earned the title ‘Brave’ presumably in the final battle of the War of 1812 fighting on behalf of the American government, some Menominee resisted this