Wa-Bish-Kee-Pe-Nas, or White Pigeon
Wa-Bish-Kee-Pe-Nas, a Chippewa, was chosen by Governor Cass and Henry Schoolcraft to take them to the site of a celebrated copper rock they had heard about in the Upper Lakes region. The Chippewa were uneasy because the copper boulder was sacred and it was considered a sacrilege for a white man to go there. Wa-Bish-Kee-Pe-Nas wasn’t about to offend the spirits, so he led the men in a round-about fashion, claiming to have lost his way. Cass then selected a new guide and White Pigeon returned to his village. An Indian council was held upon his return and the ironic conclusion was that White Pigeon had not only offended native spirits, but also the representatives of the Great Father in Washington! As such, he was banished from his village, and he wandered the wilderness for six years where misfortune was never far behind. His portrait reveals how malnourished and ill he was when visiting McKenney in Fond du Lac in 1826.
Portrait is a 12" x 18" unframed archival print.
