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A photograph taken by Ruth Landes of James Wahbnosah (Pam-Weh-Tuk) son of Potawatomi Holy man and last known Thunder Clan Chief, Chief Wiskigeamatyuk and Rosan Lasley (Keokomoquah) holding what was known to Potawatomi elders as the pipe of Topinebee, one of the original Three Fires Confederacy pipes marked with the ancient burns resembling that of a hearth fire board. The pipe was protected by Mr. Wahbnosah's father who was a grandson of Chief Senachwine. For decades, the pipes seen in this picture remained within the Nation of the Prairie Band Potawatomis of Kansas. Placed before him is the Fire Keeper pipe of the Ottawa tribe, originally in guardianship of Shobbona, grandnephew of Chief Pontiac, who later in life became a Potawatomi Chief. This pipe was recovered and absorbed by the Potawatomis from Shobbona due to conflict and tribal politics which caused it to remain in Kansas within the Prairie Band Potawatomis. Also placed before him is a Greenville Treaty pipe used by the Potawatomis in the 1795 signing of the Treaty of Greenville at Fort Greenville in Ohio. It is noted by Ruth Landes from information gathered by James Wahbnosah that one of the three Fire Confederacy pipes in guardianship by tribal member and elder Joe Stoddard of the Ojibwe tribe was stolen in 1948 from the Bad River community in Northern Wisconsin and was never recovered. The photograph was taken near Mayetta, Kansas.
Creator: Landes, Ruth, 1908-
Date: 1951
Item Number: 305686
Call Number: E99 P8.I Wah *1
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 305686
Collections - Photograph
Date - 1950s - 1951
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Photograph
People - American Indians - Tribes - Potawatomi
People - Notable Kansans - Wiskigeamatyuk, Chief, 1840-1923
Places - Counties - Jackson
Places - Indian reservations - Potawatomi
Type of Material - Photographs
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/305686