.png)
Who is not on the register?
​
Some HoocÄ…k tribal members are missing from this register. Whatever the reason for their non-attendance or removal from the 1832 register, they represent families who were also fully a part of the HoocÄ…k Nation. While the below categories fail to capture the uniqueness of every non-registered family's situation (ranging from sickness to insufficient notice and more), they represent the four major known reasons.
​
​
Those who declined payment​
There were at least some—perhaps many— HoocÄ…k families who declined the payment. For some, it was a matter of principle. A cession of land which many believed they had no right to sell was not made palatable by the modest sums they were offered in payment. For others, an annuity of $3 a person was not ample to cover their journey to Fort Winnebago, as some lived over 90 miles away. Travel was not always easy or desirable. Unscrupulous traders also took advantage of those who had journeyed beyond their normal supply chain, and travelers additionally risked confrontation with settlers whose experiences during the Black Hawk War of the previous summer had emboldened them against the area's Native population.
Those of the Mississippi band​
The HoocÄ…k Nation spanned an area from Lake Winnebago to the Mississippi River. The majority were geographically closer to Portage than any other agency, but an estimated 591* who were located on the lower Wisconsin River and Mississippi received their annuity at Prairie du Chien from agent Joseph Street. Major regional centers of this band were located on the Pine, Bad Axe, La Crosse, and Black Rivers. Principal leaders recorded in Kinzie's 1829 village list include Big Canoe (otherwise known as One Eyed Decorah), Wau-kaun-haw-kaw (Snake Skin), Watsh-hat-a-kaw, and Tshee-o-nuzh-ee-kaw (He Who Stands in a House). Examine the story of Walking Cloud, a young man of this Mississippi band.
*Note that this document states the number in Kinzie's agency at 3,947. This reflects a number of mathematical errors in the original document. The actual total appears to be 4,110 plus a number of individuals for whom no data is available.
Those who were prevented​
Territorial Governor George Porter was present at the 1832 annuity payment, and in his diary noted that the annuity had been distributed "to all those entitled to receive it." His wording was careful, for the previous day he had announced that the families of those who had aided Black Hawk during the summer's war would not be eligible to receive payment for their land that fall. The families of these men—now prisoners at Fort Winnebago—had traveled close to 100 miles believing they would receive promised relief and annuity funds. They left empty handed. By this order, they were consigned to endure a life-threatening winter without needed supplies.
Those who were removed​
There were a number of entries crossed off of the annuity register. It is believed that the majority of these were found to have been previously registered under another family member and when the error was discovered, the second registrant was crossed out. In a small number of cases, Kinzie annotated that a person's name was of a different tribe, perhaps leading to additional crossouts. Read a list of these people who, although removed from the 1832 register, represented HoocÄ…k families who gathered to be counted in November, 1832.