The Silver Man

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The Life and Times of Indian Agent John Kinzie

Peter Shrake

The life of an Indian agent in nineteenth-century Wisconsin reveals a turbulent period of US expansion and Native American displacement and resilience.

176 pages, 6 x 9, 28 b&w photos
Paperback: $14.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-740-2
Ebook: $9.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-741-9
Publication Date: 4/11/2016

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Description

As an Indian agent at Fort Winnebago—in what is now Portage, Wisconsin—John Harris Kinzie served the Ho-Chunk people at a time when the tribe faced increasing threats to its sovereignty, its cultural existence, and its very survival during a time of rapid and violent American advancement into the Upper Midwest. In The Silver Man: The Life and Times of Indian Agent John Kinzie, readers witness the dramatic changes that swept the region in the early and mid-1800s through Kinzie's experiences.

From the War of 1812 and the monopoly of the American Fur Company, to the Black Hawk War and the focused removal of thousands of Ho-Chunk people from their native lands, John Kinzie’s experience offers a front-row seat to a pivotal time in the history of the American Midwest. Through Kinzie’s story, we gain a broader view of the world in which he lived—a world that, in no small part, forms a foundation for the world we live in today.

Author Bios

Peter Shrake

A lifelong resident of Wisconsin, Peter Shrake earned his master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, focusing on Jacksonian Indian policy in Wisconsin. He also earned a master’s degree of library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin. Shrake served as the executive director of the Sauk County Historical Museum for eight years. For three years he worked as a reference archivist for the Wisconsin Historical Society Library and Archives. Since 2011, he has been the archivist at Circus World Museum, a Wisconsin Historical Society historic site. He lives in Baraboo, Wisconsin.