Nay-go-wun-ay-be-quay 'Magwon'

Nay-go-wun-e-be-quay (aka Magwon) was a Chippewa woman of the Removal Leech Lake Pillager Chippewa band.

FamilySearch lists 27 different major bands of Chippewa!
The Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians (or simply the Pillagers is a historical band of Chippewa (Ojibwe) who settled at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in present-day Minnesota. Drained by the headwaters of the Mississippi River, the area is generally swampy, ith some 40 wild rice-producing lakes...

Through the treaty process with the United States, the Pillager Band was settled on reservations in north-central Minnesota. A majority were placed on the following three reservations, established under the 1855 Treaty of Washington

• Cass Lake Reservation
• Lake Winnibigoshish Reservation
• Leech Lake Reservation

The successors apparent of the Pillagers are:

• Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
• White Earth Band of Ojibwe

Ojibwe lodge at Leech Lake c. 1900 Copyright Minnesota Historical Society

"Wild rice harvesting and processing," Minnesota Agency, 1915

The Leech Lake area was originally settled by the Sioux Indians, who were driven out of the territory by the Chippewa (Ojibwe) in the 1700’s. The first Europeans to settle in the area were French fur traders. The Northwest Company established trading posts on Ottertail Point and Oak Point in 1785 and started an influx of settlers to the area in the 1800’s.

The Army Corps of Engineers built the Federal Dam on the Leech River in 1882. It was originally built to control river flows at the lumber and flour mills in Minneapolis. The dam was only the second one built in the federal system and also has the longest span in the system at 3500 feet bank to bank. The dam raised the water level on the lake by approximately four feet and made for easier navigation into Walker Bay. This was also beneficial for floating logs to the railroad in Walker.

The Battle of Sugar Point in 1898 between U.S. Federal troops and the resident Chippewa (Ojibwe) Indians was the last true Indian battle in the United States. This is largely ignored in history, quite likely because the Indians won the battle. The battle began a chain of events that eventually led to government control of national forest lands and the creation of the Chippewa National Forest.

Biography:
Born c. 1812 to unknown parents, census reports show her living alone most of her life as a widow, reported as early as 1885. Nay-go-wun-e-be-quay lived on both the White Earth Agency and then on the Leech Lake Agency.

According to Carla Joinson in her book Vanished in Hiawatha, she was admitted to the Canton Asylum on June 30, 1905, and diagnosed with senile dementia, revised in June 1910 to senile psychosis, dementing. (Senile dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes cognitive decline, particularly memory loss. It's also known as senility, which is now more commonly referred to as dementia. Senile psychosis is another name for dementia of the aged, which is a mental deterioration caused by brain degeneration. Dementia-related psychosis is a mental state that can be a complication of dementia, and it's characterized by a decline in thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as delusions or hallucinations.)

According to the letter dated February 17, 1934, from Dr. L.L. Culp to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Nay-go-wun-e-be-quay was admitted from Leech Lake, died at the Canton Asylum on March 23, 1912, and was buried in the Canton Hiawatha Cemetery tier 5 plot 18.

Her profile is part of the The Canton Asylum One Place Study.

Research Notes:
-Carla Joinson in her book Vanished in Hiawatha has May-go-wun-e-be-quay and Magwon as two separate women, but with overlapping data points, 84 and 87 in 1910. Dr. Culp in 1934 lists only May-go-wun-e-be-quay at 87. The 1905 Indian census reports Nay-Go-Wun-Ay-Be-Quay as 97, if she died March 23, 1912, she could be 104! There is much confusion regarding her age between the various reports, likely because of her mental state dates were when repeated, often confused.
-Nay-go-wun-e-be-quay appears to have lived at the White Earth Agency until 1900 when she relocated, still a widow, to the Leech Lake Agency.
-The name Magwon seems to be an invention of the Canton Asylum, she is NOT identified in census records with that name, and seems to be a contraction of the first three syllables, May-go-wun of a variation of her given name May-go-wun-e-be-qua.
__________
Sources:

1885 Aug 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll649unit/page/n36/mode/1.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 37/906, line 101 (age 73), census of the Leech Lake Pillagers (Chippewa), White Earth Agency, Minnesota

1887 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll649unit/page/n696/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 697/906, line 106 (age 75), census of the Leech Lake Pillagers (Chippewa), White Earth Agency, Minnesota

1890 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll650unit/page/n63/mode/1.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 64/819, line 104 (single age 78), census of the Leech Lake Pillagers (Chippewa), White Earth Agency, Minnesota

1891 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll650unit/page/n489/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 490/819, line 100 (single age 79), census of the Leech Lake Pillagers (Chippewa), White Earth Agency, Minnesota

1892 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll650unit/page/n623/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 624/819, line 101 (single age 80), census of the Leech Lake Pillagers (Chippewa), White Earth Agency, Minnesota

1894 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll651unit/page/n166/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 167/567, line 103 (widow age 82), census of the Leech Lake Pillagers (Chippewa), White Earth Agency, Minnesota

1895 Jun 29 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll651unit/page/n312/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 313/567, line 101 (widow age 82), census of the Leech Lake Pillagers (Chippewa), White Earth Agency, Minnesota

1896 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W7RX-732M : Sat Mar 09 10:53:35 UTC 2024), Entry for , 1896, pg. 297/738, line 108 (widow age 84), census of the Leech Lake Pillager Chippewa, White Earth Agency, Minnesota

1900 Jul 1 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll243unit/page/n198/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 199/608, line 414 (age 88), census of the Leech Lake Pillager Chippewa, Leech Lake Agency, Minnesota

1900 Jun 11-12 - "United States Census, 1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSTC-L2B : Tue Mar 05 14:55:29 UTC 2024), Entry for Nay Go Woun Ay Be Quay, 1900, pg. 609/1244, line 39 (age 87), census of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, Cass County, Minnesota

1901 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll243unit/page/n317/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 318/608, line 519 (age 89), census of the Leech Lake Pillager Chippewa, Leech Lake Agency, Minnesota

1904 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP73-QV6Z : Sat Mar 09 00:05:16 UTC 2024), Entry for Nay Go Wun Ay Be Quay, 1904, pg. 539/728, line 35 (widow age 92), census of the Removal Leech Lake Chippewa, White Earth Agency, MInnesota

1905 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W26S-QQW2 : Sun Mar 10 17:44:12 UTC 2024), Entry for , 1905, pg. 33/872, line 36,(age 93), census of the Removal Leech Lake Pillager Chippewa, White Earth Indian Agency, Minnesota

1910 Jul 2 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1910-22, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408, Ltr H. Hummer to Commissioner of Indian Affairs reporting annual asylum census, line 46 as Magwon, widow age 84

1910 Aug 12 - Camp Verde School: 1910-27; Canton Insane Asylum: 1910-22, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155854182?objectPage=674, line 49, Table 7 Form of mental disease of those admitted since opening of Asylum, Canton

1910 Aug 12 - Camp Verde School: 1910-27; Canton Insane Asylum: 1910-22, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155854182?objectPage=677, line 18, Table 8 Form of mental disease of those in Asylum, June 30, 1910, revised

1911 Jul 3 - Canton Insane Asylum: 1910-22, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408, Ltr H. Hummer to Commissioner of Indian Affairs reporting annual asylum census, line 28 as Magwon, widow age 85

1912 Mar 23 - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14491706/--magwan: accessed March 13, 2024), memorial page for - Magwan (unknown–23 Mar 1912), Find a Grave Memorial ID 14491706, citing Hiawatha Asylum Cemetery, Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, USA; Maintained by Graveaddiction (contributor 46528400).

1912 Mar 23 - Hilton, M. (Ed.). (2023, July 10). Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians Historical Marker. Historical Marker. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=183486 Photo by Ruth VanSteenwyk, July 10, 2023, courtesy of HMdb.org

Emma Gregory 3-12-12 · Magwon 3-23-12 · Kay-Ge-Gay-Aush-Eak 3-12-13