Old Wild Rice is the “George Washington” of the Pembina Band of Chippewa. He was frequently mentioned in the Northwest Company fur trade journals of Charles Jean-Baptiste Chaboillez and his successor, Alexander Henry.
The name “Wild Rice” was recorded in English, French, and Chippewa versions. Also called “The Old Man,” or “Old Manomine,” Wild Rice, his astute judgment and tenacity were respected by other hunt leaders and the young men in his charge.
On this date in 1797, Pembina fur trader Charles Jean-Baptiste Chaboillez noted the arrival of Old Wild Rice at the post. Chaboillez called him the “great chief,” attributing to him a greater degree of leadership than other headmen, who had only a few young men along. Old Wild Rice had influence among a band of men, some of whom were themselves tent leaders. They hunted across an astonishing fourteen-hundred-mile radius of the Pembina fur trade post through harsh winter conditions.
Chaboillez also mentioned Animiikance, Little Thunder, son of Old Wild Rice. Animiikance became well known throughout the territory after surviving a desperate fight with three grizzly bears near Pembina.
In 1800, Alexander Henry came to establish fur trade posts at Park River and later at Pembina, where Chaboillez had previously operated. Henry’s Red River brigade included three canoes of non-Indian post personnel, while Old Wild Rice led a brigade of forty-five canoes carrying Chippewa hunters from the headwaters of the Mississippi and Leech Lake.
Ethnohistorian Harold Hickerson wrote that “Old Manomine” was a prominent Chippewa chief, his name appearing first on Henry’s roster of Chippewa hunters. Henry identified him as Old Wild Rice, or Vieux Folle Avoine.
Henry’s roster named forty-one Chippewa in French, English, and Native versions. The names are recognizable today and include important figures in tribal history such as Little Shell the First, Tabashaw, Flat Mouth, Buffalo, and Cottonwood, father of Henry’s informal Native wife, by whom he had three children.
The post workers and Chippewa hunters were on constant lookout for the Dakota people, longtime rivals of the Chippewa. Henry was alarmed by three gunshots heard at a distance from the fort. He soon heard Old Wild Rice shouting the news that some Chippewa had been murdered elsewhere and learned that three gunshots were the customary announcement of death to inform relatives and associates.
Old Wild Rice had a young wife whose name translates to “Little Boy Woman.” They are the ancestors of the Turtle Mountain Gourneau lineage.
Dakota Datebook by Lise Erdrich
Sources:
- Cambridge Library Edition, 2015: New Light on the Early History of the Greater Northwest: The Manuscript Journals of Alexander Henry and of David Thompson, 1799-1814, Volume I. Edited by Elliot Coues. Roster of Red River Brigade: List of the Indians, page 53.
- Indiana University: Genesus of a Fur Trade Band: Journal of Charles Jean Baptiste Chaboillez, 1797-1798. Harold Hickerson, Editor. Date unknown.
- Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembina_Band_of_Chippewa_Indians
- Patrick "Au-nish-e-nau-bay" Gourneau, historical writings, letters, and conversations 1952-1973
