Indian Removals - A Memorial

Indian Removals - A Memorial. . From 1818 through 1851 groups of American Indians were forcibly removed from states on the east side of the Mississippi River to territories on the west side. One of these removals was the Potawatomi Trail of Death, conducted by William Polke, Rochester, Indiana, and escorted by soldiers from Indiana to Kansas: 850 Indians, 396 horses and 52 wagons crossed the river on a steam ferry boat Oct. 8-9, 1838. They were accompanied by Father Benjamin Petit from Indiana and attended Mass at St. Boniface Church, Quincy. Many Indians died on the removals and were buried along the trail. The Trail of Death lost 41 to death, mostly elders and babies. About 60 deserted and went back to Indiana or north to Wisconsin and Canada and some went to Texas and Mexico. In 1840 500 Potawatomi from Indiana and Michigan, conducted by Alexis Coquillard, passed through Quincy and attended Mass at St. Peter Church, having been accompanied by Father Stephen Bernier of Indiana. Abram Burnett, a full blood Potawatomi, acted as interpreter for both 1838 and 1840 groups. Today their descendants live in all 50 states., "Let us tell the stories of the past and vow never more."