2. Warriors of Peace - Chief Shabbona

"There are many ways to fight for peace, and there are many kinds of peace to fight for.  There are those who try to prevent a battle from starting.  There are those who, in the midst of battle, will seek to find ways to end the hostility.  There are those who, after the fighting has ended, will fight popular opinion to honestly chronicle the events, giving all sides their say and perspective."

T. Jansen

Shabbona was born to the Odawa (Ottawa) tribe, around the year 1775. The Ottawa were an Algonquin-speaking tribe who were relocated to Michigan, where they aligned with the Council of Three Fires, comprised of the Odawa, the Ojibwa, and the Potawatomi.  Shortly thereafter, the tribes were moved further south across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois; during which time, the Odawa became highly mixed with the Potawatomi.  Shabbona, said to be the grand-nephew of the great Odawa leader Pontiac, was granted Chief status at a very young age, being the son of a warrior who fought with Pontiac during Pontiac’s War (a.k.a. Pontiac’s Conspiracy).  Shabbona himself joined Shawnee chieftain Tecumseh and participated in the Battle of the Thames where Tecumseh was killed.

In the War of 1812, Shabbona was an accomplished warrior who fought alongside Tecumseh while aligned against the United States.  Shabbona helped persuade many Native Americans in the Northwest Territory to oppose the white settlers and side with Tecumseh and the British in an all-out war.  Following Tecumseh's death, Shabbona abandoned his stance against the United States and allied himself with them permanently, feeling that fighting was in vain.

Shabbona earned his reputation as a peace-maker among the whites (and a traitor among many of his Native bretheren) in 1825, when he aligned himself with the Americans during the Ho-Chunk Red Bird Uprising in the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin area.  Shabbona volunteered with Caldwell, Robinson, and Shamagaw (from Kankakee) to go to Big Foot's village on Geneva Lake to determine if any of the Potawatomi were involved.  Once there, they discovered that the chiefs were all at the Ho-Chunk village on Lake Koshkonong.  Shabbona entered the Ho-Chunk village alone in the hope that his singular presence would not upset the village; however, he was immediately confined as a spy for the Americans.  They agreed to release Shabbona if he would return directly to his village and not report to the Americans in Chicago.  Not trusting him, the Winnebago provided an escort.  As this group passed the hiding place of Caldwell, Robinson, and Shamagaw, Shabbona loudly complained of the incident.  This way, while he was escorted to his own village, Caldwell, Robinson, and Shamagaw returned quietly to Chicago and reported to the Americans.  At the Treaty of Prairie du Chien (June 1829), Shabbona received a grant of land from the Americans for his service during the Red Bird uprising.

When Black Hawk’s band crossed into Illinois in April of 1832, Shabbona rode to meet with him in Saukenuk, warning Black Hawk not to resist white settlement.  In response to Black Hawk's request to join him in his move against the whites, the Potawatomie held council.  Many wished to ally with the Sauk/Fox; others wished to avoid the conflict they knew was coming.  Chief Shabbona dominated the council and argued for a peaceful resolution.  After long deliberation, the Potawatomie council decided to declare passive friendship with Black Hawk, yet declared that should any Potawatomie join Black Hawk's band, they would be regarded as traitors.  Sympathy for Black Hawk was strong among a few of the council and some Potawatomie left to assist Black Hawk.

Later, when news of the May 14th Battle of Sycamore Creek reached Shabbona, he took action.  He had no desire to bring ruin to Black Hawk, but Shabbona also did not support ongoing war with the whites, and felt it his duty to warn white settlers of possible attacks.  On May 15th, he sent his son Pypegee and nephew Pypes to warn the settlers at the Fox River and Holderman Grove settlements while he himself warned the settlements of Bureau Creek and Indian Creek.

Shabbona spent his entire life counseling peace and cooperation, even after being forcefully removed from his lands in September of 1836 and relocated to the Platte country in Nebraska.  He remained true to his desire for peace, even though it brought him the disdain of his fellow Indians, many of whom hold him in little regard to this day.

When first I heard the story of Shabbona, I was delighted to hear about an Indian who went to such lengths to befriend and protect whites, in the same way I delighted in hearing about white settlers who put themselves at risk to protect Indians.  It troubled me at times to read how Shabbona went beyond the limits of neutrality, sometimes assisting Whites in their fighting against Native tribes, but in the end, I believe he was showing extreme courage, trying to find a way for all people of this land to live in peace with one another.

There are many excellent online resources remembering the life of Shabbona.  Here is an online reproduction of a Nature Bulletin released in 1964 entitled, “SHABBONA: Friend of the White Men”.

Another fine recollection is that of Laura Allen Bowers, entitled, ‘Some Things I Remember of Chief Shabbona’, which was published in The History of Kane County, IL, Volume 1.

There is also an extensive life history, published in 1915 by Mrs. L. A. Hatch, of DeKalb, Illinois.  Click here. (Note: scroll down the page a bit)


As a final thought, I offer this quote.

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends." 

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Return to The Warriors of Peace - Introduction

Return to Table of Contents

(Key Terms: Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak, Black Sparrow Hawk, Black Hawk, 1767, Saukenuk, Pyesa, Rock Island, Black Hawk’s Watch Tower, Black Hawk State Historic Site, Hauberg Museum, Sauk, Sac, Meskwaki, Fox, Rock River, Sinnissippi River, Mississippi River, War of 1812, British Band, Great Britain, Treaty of 1804, Treaties, Ceded Land, William Henry Harrison, Quashquame, Keokuk, Fort Armstrong, Samuel Whiteside, Black Hawk War of 1832, Black Hawk Conflict, Scalp, Great Sauk Trail, Black Hawk Trail, Prophetstown, Wabokieshiek, White Cloud, The Winnebago Prophet, Ne-o-po-pe, Dixon’s Ferry, Isaiah Stillman, The Battle of Stillman’s Run, Old Man’s Creek, Sycamore Creek, Abraham Lincoln, Chief Shabbona, Felix St. Vrain, Lake Koshkonong, Fort Koshkonong, Fort Atkinson, Henry Atkinson, Andrew Jackson, Lewis Cass, Winfield Scott, Chief Black Wolf, Henry Dodge, James Henry, White Crow, Rock River Rapids, The Four Lakes, Battle of Wisconsin Heights, Benjamin Franklin Smith, Wisconsin River, Kickapoo River, Soldier’s Grove, Steamboat Warrior, Steamship Warrior, Fort Crawford, Battle of Bad Axe, Bad Axe Massacre, Joseph M. Street, Antoine LeClaire, Native American, Indian, Michigan Territory, Indiana Territory, Louisiana Territory, Osage, Souix, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Ho-Chunk)