Kennekuk

Kennekuk, known as " The Kickapoo Prophet" (* 1790, † 1852 in Kansas ) was a spiritual chief of the Kickapoo.

Legend

Kennekuk was the chief of a settlement on the Osage River in what is now the U.S. state of Illinois. He encouraged his tribe to adopt agricultural practices of the arable land of the Euro - Americans. In 1816 he had a the followers of his tribe in a kind of new religion, which meant a mixture of the old Kickapooritualen and the Roman Catholic ceremonies of European settlers. The new doctrine of faith most radically from the old traditional Kickapoo rituals is to move towards the approximately similar sermons of the Old Testament.

Approximately 400 Kickapoos and 100 members of the neighboring Potawatomi tribe converted to this "new" faith, though still the " Kickapoo Prophet" worshipful, but was touted Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary at the same moment. The associated belief in heaven, hell and purgatory begat of the inner turmoil of tribal believers.

The Indians, who by setbacks such as Loss of land were marked spiritually and morally, also attended on Sundays and public holidays on religious commemorations. Sinful Indians, the award gave their iniquities public, the punishment willingly agreed to by flogging. Some white spectators of these public punishments later reported that Kennekuk was visible scars of such punishment.

The Kickapooanführer instructed his followers the " foolish and wicked " whims of the " prairie - gang", he meant the warlike Indian tribes against each other to leave, and for ever to make peace with the warring tribes. He also implored his people to take care of the clothes culture as well as other external signs of the white settlers. He preached them to stay sober, not to indulge in alcohol but to focus on hard physical work.

In July 1819 the Kickapoo signed two contracts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs who forced them west of the Mississippi to settle. These were negotiated after land-hungry residents of Illinois ' tough with stakeholders through continued successfully to refer all the Indians of the state. The state representative persuaded the Prairie Kickapoos with the agreement that they annual cash bonuses, instant cash, as well as new residential land in Missouri would receive for the assignment of 56656 km ² of land, in return. Within a few years most Kickapoo Indians had disappeared from Illinois.

In August 1819 signed remaining Kickapoos to be the alleged Vermillion Kickapoo Chiefs, a similar agreement.

In an apparently striking distance of the long-held traditions, however, the Kickapoomänner began with the women to sow the fields and harvest. The them so assured success was not long in coming: One produced in this way a certain surplus of corn and other crops, which was sold for good money at local merchants. The Vermillion Kickapoos were so successful that William Clark, then regional director of Indian Affairs, the Kickapoos bedrängelte not meet the deadline of the negotiated contracts. In other words, they wanted to keep them there longer because of the profitable cultivation success of the Indians.

Many Indians wanted their settlement area still does not leave and so Kennekuk was a teacher of delaying tactics. For almost two decades, he managed to turn the state officials. However, 1833 was an end to the stalling tactics. Between 300 and 400 members of the Kickapoo tribe had to leave Illinois toward Kansas.

Kennekuk died in 1852 of smallpox.