Leopold Pokagon

Leopold Pokagon (c1775-1841), a Potawatomi chief from the region at the extreme southern part of Michigan and northern Indiana, is not listed in the 1907 Wooster Roll since he was not part of the migrating group although he was present for the signing of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. The portrait of Leopold Pokagon used in his profile is from http://www.earlychicago.com/encyclopedia.php?letter=p, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26664317

Wikipedia describes the Pokagon story as follows: "Pokagon emerged as a very successful tribal leader after 1825. In the last decade of his life, Pokagon sought to protect and promote the unique position of the Potawatomi communities living in the St. Joseph River Valley. He traveled to Detroit in July 1830, where he visited Father Gabriel Richard to request the services of a "black robe" (makatékonéya, literally "dressed in black," referring to the black robe (cassock) traditionally worn by priests). He believed that affiliation with the Catholic Church represented an important political alliance in the struggle to avoid removal. That same year, Pokagon and his wife Elizabeth were baptized by Father Frederick Rese, the vicar general of the Detroit Diocese, along with numerous fellow band members. In August 1830, Father Stephen Badin arrived to establish a mission to serve the Pokagon Potawatomi. By converting to Catholicism, the Potawatomi of the St. Joseph River Valley affirmed a new identity as the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.

In 1833, Pokagon negotiated an amendment to the Treaty of Chicago (1833) that allowed Pokagon's Band to remain on the land of their ancestors in Michigan. Nearly all the rest of the Potawatomi were to be moved west of the Mississippi River by the federal government following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. By abstaining from alcohol at the treaty negotiations held in Chicago in 1833, and emphasizing his and his followers' conversion to Catholicism, Pokagon secured a special provision in the 1833 Treaty" [data from Mumford, Lou (2011-09-23). "Events Today, Saturday Celebrate Sovereignty". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-27].