Chief History
We are a proud group of students here at Kickapoo High School. From the stands, opponents can hear our battle cry: “We Are Kickapoo! We Are Chiefs!” We may in fact be Kickapoo Chiefs, but do we know where the alleged Kickapoo name comes from? How did we get to be chiefs?
The Kickapoo Tribes date back to 1667, where they lived between Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. In Algonquin, the tribal language used, Kickapoo means, ‘he stands out’ or ‘he moves about.’ Another Algonquin word is Kehcimaneto, and is the Kickapoo name for the Creator (god). The culture hero of The Kickapoo was Wiza’ka’a or “transformer.” The Kickapoo people are very closely related to The Shawnee Tribe in language. It is rumored that they were once one, but after a disagreement the tribes split up. These two tribes share an almost identical language and some cultural resemblances.
The Kickapoo build summer and winter homes. During winter, the tribe would split up and go off to separate camps. Within the village, the Kickapoo people were very skilled. Buffalo hunting was the sport to play in the winter, especially with the arrival of the horse. The main crops grown in the village included corn, squash, and beans.
In 1684, French traders came in contact with the Kickapoo. The French estimated there to be about 2,500 Kickapoo living in the area between Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. They had been invaded in 1650 by other tribes who had moved into the Great Lakes area. The Iroquois, a fearsome enemy, eventually attacked the Kickapoo Tribe. They were forced to leave their homeland and travel to the Mississippi River in Wisconsin.
During the 1750’s, the Kickapoo left Wisconsin and went south to the prairies of Illinois and Indiana. There was easier access to The British Trade here, and better Buffalo hunting. Around this time, the Kickapoo became two separate tribes. One tribe was called The Prairie Band moved in Northern Illinois and became friends with the Sauk and Fox. The other tribe was The Vermillion Band who went down south and was a very peaceful group.
During the Little Turtle’s War, many of the Kickapoo women and children were captured. Thus Kickapoo signed the Treaty of Fort Greenville in 1795, which gave all their territory in Ohio away. Further similar instances forced the Kickapoo west of the Mississippi to Missouri. The Kickapoo were unhappy with this and soon rebelled against American government to no avail. It took thirty-five years for the American Army to round up all the Kickapoo to their new Missouri homes. The Kickapoo were then moved on to Kansas and given some territory in Oklahoma where the majority of them live today.
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