Mecosta was a 19th-century

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

chief. His name in the

Potawatomi language Potawatomi (, also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi Bodwéwadmimwen, or Bodwéwadmi Zheshmowen, or Neshnabémwen) is a Central Algonquian language. It was historically spoken by the Pottawatomi people who lived around the Great Lakes in wha ...

was ''Mkozdé'', meaning "Having a Bear's Foot" but the name was recorded in English to mean "Big Bear." Mecosta County
Clarke Historical Library Mecosta was born near what is today

Big Rapids, Michigan Big Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,601 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mecosta County. The city is located within Big Rapids Township, but it is politically independent. Big Rapids is home o ...

Mecosta County, Michigan Mecosta County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 39,714. The county seat is Big Rapids. The county is named after Chief Mecosta, the leader of the Potawatomi Native American trib ...

is named for him.Mecosta County, Michigan
InfoMI Mecosta is best known as a signer of the

Treaty of Logansport A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

() on April 22, 1836, which ceded lands reserved in the

Treaty of Tippecanoe The Treaty of Tippecanoe was an agreement between the United States government and Native American Potawatomi tribes in Indiana on October 26, 1832. Treaty On October 26, 1832, the United States government entered negotiations with the Native ...

, and began the removal of Mecosta's band of Potawatomi from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

to lands west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, as part of the

Potawatomi Trail of Death The Potawatomi Trail of Death was the forced removal by militia in 1838 of about 859 members of the Potawatomi nation from Indiana to reservation lands in what is now eastern Kansas. The march began at Twin Lakes, Indiana (Myers Lake and Cook ...

. The following places in Michigan are directly or indirectly named for the chief: * Lake Mecosta in Mecosta County, Michigan *

Mecosta, Michigan Mecosta is a village in Mecosta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 457 at the 2010 census. The village is within Morton Township. Mecosta Township, which is also in Mecosta county, is located several miles to the west. Ge ...

Mecosta Township, Michigan Mecosta Township is a civil township of Mecosta County in Michigan. The population was 2,435 in accordance with the 2000 census. The Village of Mecosta, which is also in Mecosta County, is in Morton Township, several miles to the east. Geograp ...

Notes

Native American leaders Potawatomi people People from Mecosta County, Michigan 19th-century Native Americans Native American people from Michigan {{NorthAm-native-stub