George Wakąjanįka Winneshiek (1844 - bef. 1911)

Born 1844 in Wisconsin Territory, United States

Ancestors

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Biography

George was born in 1844. He was the son of Coming Thunder Winneshiek. He passed away before 1911.

Name

The name given in the 1905 Indian Census was Wau Con Chaw Nee Kah, which is for Wakąjanįka. This name comes from Wakąja, "Thunderbird"; nįk, "Little"; and -ka, a definite article suffix used in personal names. The name therefore means, "Little Thunderbird," and is a Thunderbird Clan name.

Family

Waggoner (47, nt. 94) says, "Hounka was likely Coming Thunder Winneshiek’s brother, not son. Winneshiek’s father, who died in 1848, was Chief Mawaragah Winneshiek. He had four sons, only two of whom were well known: Coming Thunder, the eldest, and Short Wing. His other sons were probably Hounka or “Hoon kaw” and Ben Winneshiek. Coming Thunder in turn had three sons whose English names were John, George, and Little Winneshiek. Hughes thought that George might have been Hounka, but I disagree, because he was too young. The 1857 annuity rolls (101) show the following consecutive heads of family: Nau he Kaw [or fourth-born son, probably Ben Winneshiek]; Winnoshik [Coming Thunder]; Hoon Kaw; Wau sho pe we kaw [Coming Thunder’s mother]. Hau kaw kaw [or third-born son, who was probably “Ha-ya-ka-kay,” brother of “Hoon kaw,” otherwise known as Short Wing.

Sources

• 1905 Census; Roll: M595_671; Line: 6. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Receipt Roll, Winnebago 1857, Box 5, Winnebago Agency, RG75, NARA–Central Plains.
• Linda M. Waggoner, "Sibley’s Winnebago Prisoners: Deconstructing Race and Recovering Kinship in the Dakota War of 1862," Great Plains Quarterly (2013).

Acknowledgements

Thank you Richard Dieterle for the initial research into and creation of this profile.