BOOK
AVAILABLE NOW!
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In
1838 Americans were moving west and wanted the fertile land of Northern
Indiana. The problem: the Potawatomi
Indians were in the way and owned the land by treaty. Through a series of shady deals and decisions
the government initiated the “removal” of nearly a thousand Potawatomi 660
miles to Kansas. It is called the “trail
of Death” because almost daily as they crossed Indiana and Illinois children
and old folk died.
The famous
chief Menominee who had refused to cave in and give up his land to the state
was known as the “Potawatomi preacher” insisting on twice daily Christian
worship and total abstinence from alcohol. A young Catholic Priest, Father
Petit accompanied the tribe on the journey and kept a careful diary as did the
commander of the troops.
Keith Drury, religion
professor at Indiana Wesleyan University walked the entire 660 mile route and
kept a journal as he walked of his adventures. The book integrates the history
of the event and his reflections on religion weaving the events of 1838 with
his own experiences walking for two months in May and June of 2006. It is an exciting read!
Other resources
on the “Trail of Death.”
Shirley
Willard’s TOD association pages and maps—Wonderful
source!
Fulton Co. Hist
soc. TOD pages _--Great!
The official Journal of
the detail assigned to remove the Indians
Primary sources list http://www.usd116.org/mfoley/trail/trail.html
Indiana State Library sources http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/www/isl/indiana/potawatomi.html
Macro-history of the entire tribe of Potawatomi http://www.tolatsga.org/pota.html