Senachwine ( Potawatomi: ''Znajjewan'', "Difficult Current") or Petchaho (supposedly from Potawatomi: "Red Cedar") (c. 1744-1831) was a 19th-century Illinois River Potawatomi chieftain. In 1815, he succeeded his brother

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as chieftain of their band and was one of the last major Potawatomi chieftains to live in the region. A number of places in Illinois are named in his honor including Senachwine Township in

Putnam County, Illinois Putnam County is the least extensive county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 6,006. The county seat is Hennepin. The county was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County and named after Israel Putn ...

, Senachwine Creek, Senachwine Lake and the Lake Senachwine Reservoir.

Biography

In April 1812, he and other Potawatomi chieftains met with Governor

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was a founding political figure of the State of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory was dissolved in 1818. He was then one of ...

Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...

to discuss relations between the Potawatomi and the United States. Although opposed to an offensive war, Senachwine sided with Black Partridge during the

Peoria War During the War of 1812, the Illinois Territory was the scene of fighting between Native Americans and United States soldiers and settlers. The Illinois Territory at that time included the areas of modern Illinois, Wisconsin and parts of Minneso ...

and commanded a sizable force during the conflict. He later accompanied the Potawatomi peace delegation who were escorted by Colonel

George Davenport Colonel George Davenport, born George William King (1783 – July 4, 1845), was a 19th-century English-American sailor, frontiersman, fur trader, merchant, postmaster, US Army soldier, Indian agent, and city planner. A prominent and well-known ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

where a peace treaty was eventually signed. Around 1814, a mysterious

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

preacher and missionary known as Wigby lived in his village. Wigby was allowed to

baptize Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

him and later converted Senachwine to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. However, despite Wigby's attempts to dissuade him, Senachwine refused to give up

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

and retained his several wives. After Wigby's death, he was buried on a high bluff overlooking Senachwine's village. He succeeded his brother

as head chieftain of the Illinois River band and was a signatory of several treaties between the Potawatomi and the United States during the 1810s and 1820s. He and Black Partridge would remain the leading chieftains of the Potawatomi for over a decade before their positions of authority and influence were assumed by

Shabbona Shabbona (or Sha-bon-na), also known as ShaboneeNative Americans, would eventually become extinct. His son, Kaltoo (or Young Senachwine), succeeded him as chieftain after his death in the summer of 1831. He was buried on a high bluff overlooking the village, like the missionary Wigby years before, and a wooden monument was placed on his grave. A black flag was also flown from a high pole placed next to the monument and could be seen from the gravesite for several years afterwards. Two years later, his band were removed to the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

and eventually settled in western

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

.Matson, Nehemiah, Matson. ''French and Indians of Illinois River''. Princeton, Illinois: Republican Job Printing Establishment, 1874. (pg. 262-264) In the summer of 1835, 23 Potawatomi warriors traveled over 500 miles to visit the gravesite of Senachwine. Their faces blackened and their heads wrapped in blankets, they performed a ritual invoking the

Great Spirit The Great Spirit is the concept of a life force, a Supreme Being or god known more specifically as Wakan Tanka in Lakota,Ostler, Jeffry. ''The Plains Sioux and U.S. Colonialism from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee''. Cambridge University Pres ...

to protect the gravesite and remains of the chieftain. According to a local resident observing the ceremony, the warriors spent several hours knelt around the gravesite as ''"their wails and lamentations were heard far away"''. The following morning they performed the "dance of the dead" which continued for several days before departing. A short time after, Senachwine's grave was robbed of its valuables including his

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, rifle, several

medals A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

and other personal effects. The chieftains bones had also been scattered around the site. Members of his band returned to the site to rebury his remains and again placed a wooden monument over his grave. James R. Taliaferro, who had been present at the reburial, later built a cabin near the gravesite and claimed that ''"Indians from the west at different times made a pilgrimage to the grave"''.Watson, Nehemiah, Watson. ''French and Indians of Illinois River''. Princeton, Illinois: Republican Job Printing Establishment, 1874. (pg. 262-264) The

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chapter in Peoria, Illinois placed a bronze

memorial plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

, engraved with his speech to Black Hawk pleading for peace prior to the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

, at the supposed burial spot of Senachwine north of present-day

on June 13, 1937. During the ceremony, an address was given by author P.G. Rennick. Five tribal members of the Potawatomi from Kansas were also in attendance during the ceremony.State Historical Society of Wisconsin. ''The Wisconisin Magazine of History''. Vol. XXI. No. 1. (September 1937): 124.

Biography

See also

References

Further reading