African Americans and Indians have had a strong association and connection that dates back many decades. Many Indians became leaders and chiefs of their own tribes including a Negro-Indian named Chief Oshkosh in the late 1700s into the early 1800s. He was a part of the Pawnee and Menominee Indians from Wisconsin.
According to Gabriel Scott, a respected lecturer and historian, the U.S. government attempted to force Chief Oshkosh and his tribe off their many acres of land to relocate to Minnesota. They did lose some land but not all of it, thanks to Chief Oshkosh not giving up. By Chief Oshkosh not giving up, the U.S. government had no choice but to let it go. His tribe sided with Britain in the War of 1812 but then sided with the Americans in the 1832 Black Hawk War. At the time of his death, he weighed 400 lbs due to being an alcoholic.The city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin is named after him. Some of you might be familiar with a popular apparel children's clothing store called "Oshkosh B'Gosh". They sell a variety of clothes, mainly for toddlers. Who would've known that Oshkosh B'Gosh was named after an unsung Negro, Chief Oshkosh? One of the company's corporate offices is also located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The Trail of Tears was a very brutal and crucial movement during the 1830s that involved five Indian Tribes. Those tribes included Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muskogee, and Seminole. They were forced out of their homelands by the United States government to relocate to modern-day Oklahoma.
