Part of Thomas Jefferson’s plan, when sending the Corps of Discovery across the American continent, was to foster positive relationships with the American Indians they encountered along the way. Initial contact between Lewis and Clark and Native Americans would be a crucial first-step, but Jefferson hoped to further cement US-Indian relationships by inviting tribal leaders to Washington D.C. to introduce them to the wonders of American civilization and impress upon them the advisability of an alliance with the United States.
As Lewis and Clark struggled back towards St. Louis in the summer of 1806, they set the President’s plan into motion, but delays meant there was little time to convince tribal leaders to accompany them. With the oncoming winter and an outbreak of tribal warfare along the Missouri involving the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Assiniboine, Teton Sioux, and Blackfeet, the plan would be severely cut back. Thus, on this date in 1806, having already limited their ambitions, Lewis and Clark sent their interpreter and negotiator, René Jusseaume, to the Mandan nation, in the hopes of quickly convincing one of their chiefs to accompany the Corps back to Washington.
While relations with other tribes were unsteady, the Corp remained on good terms with the Mandan. Yet, given the rash of tribal warfare, a trip to the East was uncertain and potentially dangerous. The Mandan weighed the situation, and eventually Chief Sheheke agreed to make the hazardous journey. With Sheheke and his family in tow, Lewis and Clark left for the East. While the situation was tense, the party avoided open conflict, receiving only a small show of defiance from the Teton Sioux. Rowing hard for home, the Corps of Discovery reached St. Louis on September 23, 1806.
Sheheke spent the next five months as a guest of the United States. He reveled in American society and left convinced he was no longer the President’s “son,” but his “brother.” While the chief’s time in the East was the success Jefferson had hoped for, getting Sheheke back home was not a simple a matter. It would take two attempts, two years, and an armed force of 600 soldiers. Four men lost their lives, and the reputation of Meriwether Lewis suffered, but the Mandan chief did make it to his home village.
Dakota Datebook by Lane Sunwall
Sources:
Moulton, Gary E. "The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: Friday, 16th August 1806." University of Nebraska, http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/read/?_xmlsrc=1806-08-16.xml&_xslsrc=LCstyles.xsl.
The Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation. "Sheheke - Big White." http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=1025.
