Beginning of essay nIshnabe'k The People mzenegenek books bode'wadmimo speak Potawatomi

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"The Prairie Band of Pottawatomie Indians" is an extraordinary essay about the Prairie Band written by William Elsey Connelley, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society. Primarily historical in focus, it gives a clear and detailed picture of the way the allotment policy developed and played out over time, effecting the transfer of most of the reservation lands out of Potawatomi hands. It also provides some very special insights into Potawatomi culture during the nineteenth and early twentieth century and how it changed during that time period. It portrays the varying character and influence of the Indian agents.

The article is made up of three logical sections.

• The first and longest tells the story of the Prairie Band from their removal to the Kansas reservation until 1906. Connelley uses as his source documents the annual reports of the governmental agents responsible for relations with the tribes and the reports and correspondence of Indian agents and missionaries incorporated into those reports; he quotes the more interesting sections of these documents at length.


• This is followed by a detailed narrative of the funeral of Chief Kack-kack in 1907, as printed in the Topeka Daily Capital on February 24, 1907. The chief's funeral was the first traditional funeral to be held on the reservation for years; the lengthy description is invaluable to people interested in Potawatomi culture.


• The essay concludes with the complete list of members of the Prairie Band and the allotments assigned to them, as compiled by Henry J. Aten, the allotting agent from 1892 to 1897. A map of the diminished reservation, showing the individual allotments, was printed with the article. We have reproduced it here.

The essay was published in the COLLECTION OF KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, edited by Connelley, volume XIV (1918), pages 488-570. It was published by the Kansas State Historical Society, to whom we owe our thanks for making it available to you.

We have divided the article into ten sections, for your convenience.

• Introduction; the move to the Kansas reservation (1846-1848)
• Settling in (1849-1854)
• Allotment: the policy is justified (1855-1860)
• Treaty of 1861; the first allotment (1861-1870)
• The Prairie Band on its reservation (1871-1888)
• Second allotment (1889- 1897)
• Final agency reports (1898- 1906)
• Life, death and funeral of Chief Kack-kack
• List of Indian agents, notes, and conclusion
• Roll of the Prairie Band, or Pottawatomie Allottees.

• Top left section
• Top middle section
• Top right section
• Bottom left section
• Bottom middle section
• Bottom right section

Beginning of essay nIshnabe'k The People mzenegenek books bode'wadmimo speak Potawatomi

nizhokmake'wen resources/help Home Page: news & updates BWAKA - about us