Oshkosh, Chief (1795-1858), was a leader of the Menominee, a Native American people of northeastern Wisconsin. He led the Menominee through a difficult time in the tribe’s history. During his time as chief, the tribe faced a number of conflicts and threats on their land. Oshkosh negotiated treaties that kept the Menominee from being moved away from their traditional homeland.
Oshkosh was born in Old King Village, near what is now Marinette, Wisconsin, in 1795. The village stood on the banks of the Menominee River. His grandfather Chawanon was a Menominee chief. Oshkosh joined his grandfather and his grandfather’s adviser Tomah at important gatherings and in battle. Tomah led Oshkosh and other warriors during several battles of the War of 1812 (1812-1815). During that war, the Menominee joined the British in attacking several American forts.
In 1827, Oshkosh and Tomah’s son Josette represented the tribe in treaty negotiations with the United States government. The Americans recognized Oshkosh as the tribe’s leader, and he served as the Menominee chief for the remainder of his life. Later in 1827, Oshkosh and the Menominee joined the U.S. Army in its war against the Winnebago people. The Menominee also allied with the U.S. Army during the Black Hawk War of 1832, against the Sauk.
In an 1832 treaty settled at Green Bay, Wisconsin, Oshkosh helped the Menominee retain their lands north of the Fox River. The Menominee gave up the rights to their lands, however, when they agreed to the treaty of Lake Poygan in 1848. Under the treaty, the U.S. government planned to move the tribe to an area along the Crow Wing River in what is now central Minnesota.
The Menominee had long survived by raising wild rice and hunting. However, the Minnesota lands were good for neither activity. Oshkosh argued that the Menominee had been pressured to sign the treaty. In 1850, he traveled to Washington, D.C., and asked President Millard Fillmore to reconsider the relocation of the Menominee. In 1853, the Wisconsin legislature gave its support to the location proposed for a reservation in Wisconsin.
In 1854, the U.S. government established the Menominee Reservation on the Wolf River in Wisconsin, within the tribe’s traditional homeland. Oshkosh died on the reservation in August 1858.
