Sunday, November 3, 2024

Chief Waupaca never existed

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South of Marion on State Highway 110 is a small wayside with a Wisconsin Historical Society marker about Chief Waupaca.

Erected in 1957, the sign was taken down and replaced with another.

“It was a myth. There never was a Chief Waupaca,” said Tracy Behrendt, director of the Waupaca Historical Society.

Taking down the sign was not taken lightly. Months of research backed the decision with partners from the Forest County Potawatomi, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The old sign implied that there was a man known as Chief Waupaca and the city of Waupaca derived its name from him. The word “Waupaca” is a Menominee word that translates to “Place of Tomorrow Seen Clearly.” It is written and pronounced as “Wāpahkoh” and that is the title of the new sign, along with the subtitle, “Digging Further Into the Past.”

The sign clears up the misunderstood history about the Chief Waupaca legend and tells about the history of Native Americans in the area.

The old sign read: “Chief Waupaca, better known as Sam Wapuka, was a friendly Potawatomi Indian who lived in this vicinity about the time the first white men arrived.
Although he was friendly to the settlers, his tribesmen were bitterly opposed to the invasion of the white man. Once on a trip with several of his warriors, they stopped where the present city of Waupaca is located. His men were eager to massacre the entire small settlement and Waupaca talked long and eloquently to prevent it.

He succeeded but when he remounted his pony to continue on his way, he suddenly fell dead from his horse. His companions hurriedly buried him almost where he fell. Later relatives purchased several acres of land, including this site, and brought the body here. His sons Shopodock and Hongkoot, stepson Jake and at least sixteen other relatives are buried here with him.”

Behrendt pointed out that the last two sentences of the old sign are true and the Shopodock family has ties to that land. The Shopodocks are the family of Chief Wabki.

The wayside with the new marker – which is a county park – is a micro park that is also home to the Shopodock family cemetery. A stone marks this spot and it is inscribed: “Chief Waupaca –Tribe of Potawatomis—Erected May 1926.”

The Waupaca Historical Society will be working with its partners to determine if a marker should be installed to mark the cemetery and also to identify a proper location for a future historic marker that will focus on the area’s indigenous history.

The full inscription of the new sign can be read at the Historical Marker Database (www.hmdb.org) and typing “Waupaca” in the search bar.

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