Which One: Winnemac of the Potawatomi

The story of the two tense meetings between William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh is a dramatic set-piece featured in paintings, prints, novels and even movies.  Around these two more prominent characters were a host of others, not as well known, but playing vital parts in the story.  Today we're focusing on two such men, both Potawatomi leaders and both named Winnemac.  There is often confusion between the two, but we'll sort it out here.

The name Winnemac, meaning "Catfish", was a common name among men of the Fish Clan of the Potawatomi.  The first recorded Winnemac was an Eastern Algonquian Native named Wilamet, no one is sure of which tribe he was from, who in in 1681 accompanied La Salle's expedition to the Great Lakes area.  The name Wilamet also means "Catfish".  Catfish was adopted into the Potawatomi tribe and appointed by the French as a liaison between them and the tribes of the Great Lakes area.  Though he was not a chief in the traditional sense as being one because of descent or merit, he was a chief because the French appointed him as such.  French, British and Americans often interfered in tribal governance in this way, reaching over traditional methods of appointing leaders and picking out men with whom they thought they could deal.  Some sources call these leaders "alliance chiefs" for that very reason.  Wilamet, or Winnemac, as he came to be called by the Potawatomi, appears as a leader for the Potawatomi villages along the St. Joseph River in what is now Michigan. Probably this same man led thirty Potawatomi warriors against the Iroquois in 1694, and either he, or a descendant similarly named, was a signatory to the Treaty of Montreal which ended the Beaver Wars discussed in a previous post.  Yet another Wilamet/Winnemac was a leader of the Fish Clan during the Fox Wars (1712-1733), to be discussed in a later post.  Sources disagree on whether this might have been the same man, now very old, a descendant, or even a Sauk and Fox person adopted into the Potawatomi Tribe.  In 1719, this Wilamet/Winnemac traveled to Montreal in a delegation to seek peace with the Meskwakis.  His son was later captured by them but released. 

Fast forward almost one hundred years, to the War of 1812.  There were two distinct individual leaders of the Potawatomi, both named Winnemac, on opposite sides of Tecumseh's Revolt and the War of 1812.  The split between these men, who may have been relatives and/or descendants of the man or men above reflected the split in the larger Potawatomi Tribe, where some bands supported Tecumseh and the British, some supported the Americans, and others wished to remain neutral.  First, we focus on the Winnemac who was pro-Tecumseh.  He was recorded in 1810 as being among the suspects for stealing a Setller's horses on return from a raid against the Osage.  The Governor of Illinois demanded that the Potawatomi surrender Winnemac and the other suspects for trial but was informed that they had gone to Prophetstown in Indiana.  Along with Shabbona, whom we've previously met, Winnemac led the Potawatomi contingent at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.  Later, after that defeat, he organized his warriors to besiege Fort Wayne in 1812.  Winnemac and his men tried several ruses to gain entry to the Fort and either kill the commander or take it from within but were rebuffed each time.  Harrison arrived and broke the siege in September, 1812.  Later, Winnemac served under British Agent Matthew Elliot.  On November 22, 1812, Winnemac was on a scouting party that encounter men under Shawnee Chief Logan (Spemica Lawba), a leader of a Shawnee band who did not support Tecumseh.  Winnemac was killed in the exchange of gunfire.

Meanwhile, another Winnemac of the Potawatomi was a staunch ally of the Americans.  He first appeared in the record in 1807, asking the government for farming implements so that his people could learn to farm.  The plan never went anywhere, as the Potawatomi at that time were not traditional farmers.  Also, in 1807, the Jefferson Administration waned to acquire more land in Indiana and Illinois.  A council was called at Fort Wayne to discuss the matter and Winnemac led the Potawatomi delegation.  While the Miami and leaders of other tribes were adamant against ceding any more land, Winnemac persuaded them to grant the cession.  When the land cessions were agreed, none included lands of the Potawatomi.  Winnemac received an annuity from the US government for his assistance.  With the thanks of the Americans came the disapproval and distrust of Native leaders against Winnemac for his willingness to help the Americans.

The showdown came in 1810, when Harrison and Tecumseh met at Grouseland in the first of two failed efforts to halt the impending war between the pan-Indian Confederacy and the United States.  During the heated exchanges, Tecumseh referred to Winnemac as a "black dog".  Not losing his cool, Winnemac held back until the climactic moment when Harrison and Tecumseh physically confronted each other and called for their respective followers to draw or load their weapons.  Winnemac stepped between the two men and separated them, then turned his attention to Tecumseh and his men, speaking directly to them.  Gradually, the tension lessoned.  Tecumseh and his men left the conference.  Later, as raids by anti-American Natives increased in the area, councils were called at Cahokia and Vincennes.  Winnemac was at pains to assure the Americans that no Potawatomi were involved in the raiding, thus sparing his people reprisals for the time being.  Reproached by Tecumseh again for not controlling his warriors, Winnemac's calm reply once more defused a tense situation between him and Harrison.  Winnemac's men were with Harrison's forces at Tippecanoe in 1811.  Harrison dispatched him to go into Prophetstown ahead of the main force and try to talk to Tenskwatawa, but to no avail.  On his way back from Prophetstown, Winnemac passed Harrison's force without rejoining it (this was the age before cell phones, walkie talkies and other communication), and was not present at the actual battle.  Nevertheless, Winnemac was vilified by both sides.  To the Potawatomi who had remained loyal to Tecumseh, he was a traitor.  To the Americans who were angry at the Natives, no matter which side they were on, he would have been a convenient target.

Winnemac was now a laughingstock among his own people.  He continued to support the Americans, leading delegations to various villages seeking the warriors responsible for raiding American settlements.  He was laughed out of each village and ultimately unsuccessful.  It was Winnemac who conveyed Governor William Hull's order to Captain Nathan Heald to evacuate Fort Dearborn in August, 1812, as discussed in a previous post.  Winnemac pleaded with Heald to leave the Fort as soon as possible, something which Heald at first was reluctant to do.   Winnemac did not participate in the attack led by Mad Sturgeon and Black Partridge on August 15, 1812 that led to the Battle of Dearborn.  He was a signatory to the Treaty of Fort Meigs in 1817 and died in 1821. 

The State of Winnemac, used by Upton St. Clair as a fictionalized version of Illinois in his novels, is named for the pro-American Potawatomi leader.  So, too, is Winnemac Avenue and Winnemac Park in Chicago, and Winamac, Indiana.