Senachwine

Senachwine
Born	c. 1744 near the Illinois River
Died	1831 near Putnam County, Illinois, United States
Nationality	Potawatomi
Other names	Petchaho
Known for	Potawatomi chieftain and ally of Black Partridge during the Peoria War.
Title	Chieftain of the Illinois River Potawatomi
Term	1815-1831
Predecessor	Gomo
Successor	Kaltoo
Children	Kaltoo, son
Relatives	Gomo, brother

Senachwine (Potawatomi: Znajjewan, "Difficult Current") or Petchaho (supposedly from Potawatomi: "Red Cedar") (c. 1744-1831) was a 19th-century Illinois River Potawatomi chieftain. In 1815, he succeeded his brother Gomo as chieftain of their band and was one of the last major Potawatomi chieftains to live in the region.

A number of places in Illinois are named in his honor including Senachwine Township in Putnam County, Illinois, Senachwine Creek, Senachwine Lake and the Lake Senachwine Reservoir.

In April 1812, he and other Potawatomi chieftains met with Governor Ninian Edwards at Cahokia to discuss relations between the Potawatomi and the United States. Although opposed to an offensive war, Senachwine sided with Black Partridge during the Peoria War and commanded a sizable force during the conflict. He later accompanied the Potawatomi peace delegation who were escorted by Colonel George Davenport to St. Louis where a peace treaty was eventually signed.

Around 1814, a mysterious Baptist preacher and missionary known as Wigby lived in his village. Wigby was allowed to baptize him and later converted Senachwine to Christianity. However, despite Wigby's attempts to dissuade him, Senachwine refused to give up polygamy and retained his several wives. After Wigby's death, he was buried on a high bluff overlooking Senachwine's village.

He succeeded his brother Gomo as head chieftain of the Illinois River band and was a signatory of several treaties between the Potawatomi and the United States during the 1810s and 1820s. He and Black Partridge would remain the leading chieftains of the Potawatomi for over a decade before their positions of authority and influence were assumed by Shabbona. A year before his death, Senachwine believed that the Potawatomi nation, and eventually all Native Americans, would eventually become extinct. His son, Kaltoo (or Young Senachwine), succeeded him as chieftain after his death in the summer of 1831. He was buried on a high bluff overlooking the village, like the missionary Wigby years before, and a wooden monument was placed on his grave. A black flag was also flown from a high pole placed next to the monument and could be seen from the gravesite for several years afterwards. Two years later, his band were removed to the Indian Territory and eventually settled in western Kansas.

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Wikipedia