Kihegashugah (c. 1791 – c. 1840) or "Little Chief" was a chief of the

Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage". Osage can also refer to: * Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation * Osage (Unicode b ...

Nation in central Missouri. Tribal folklore said that he was the great-grandson of an Osage man who visited France in 1725. Kihegashugah was said to be one of the most distinguished of the Osage Indians. He was one of six members of his tribe to travel to France in the 1820s.

Journey to France

Kihegashugah was in his late 30s when he made a long journey to France along with his two wives, Hawk Woman and

Sacred Sun Sacred Sun (Mohongo) (1809–1836) was an Osage woman who lived on Osage land in what is now Missouri, US. She took a journey all throughout Europe, and tales of her trip were recorded in French and American newspapers and pamphlets of that age. ...

, Frenchman

David DeLaunay David de Launay was a French-born resident of St. Louis who led a group of Osage people to France in 1827. History De Launay led a group of eleven Osage men and one Native American woman, Sacred Sun, to France in 1827. Whilst leaving St. Louis ...

, and four other Osage Indians in 1827. They faced many hardships on the way to France and when in France. The Osage were led to believe that they were traveling with DeLaunay to

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to meet the president. However, DeLaunay actually took them to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

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where he displayed them in a Wild West show for European entertainment. While in France Little Chief and his band met King Charles. While there Little Chief took a ride in a hot air balloon. The hot air balloon was a recent invention of the French Montgofier brothers, and a popular attraction in France during the period.

Return to America

Early sources conflated Little Chief Kihegashugah with a fellow tribesman, Little Soldier, and reported that he died of smallpox while aboard a ship when returning to America after the voyage. In fact, Kihegashugah was on the Fort Gibson Indian Territory tribal councils of 1833 and 1839.

References

Native American history of Missouri Osage people {{native-american-stub