Chief Pontiac-- Murder and Burial

Though it might seem strange that this stop takes you to a parking garage in downtown St. Louis, MO, the history of this area proves vital to Native culture; it is believed that Chief Pontiac is buried beneath the current structure. A memorial plaque detailing his history is found on the outside of the garage at the intersection of North Broadway and Walnut Street, on the left when traveling south on North Broadway.

Historical records suggest that in 1769, near the present-day town of Cahokia, unknown assailants murdered the legendary and fearless Ottawa (Odawa) Chief Pontiac.

Pontiac, or Obwaandi'eyaag (c. 1714/20 – April 20, 1769), was a dynamic and charismatic leader of the Ottawa Nation who struck fear in the hearts of white settlers in British Colonial America. In 1747, Pontiac’s strength as a leader among the Ottawa Nation grew as he made alliances with the French. During the French and Indian War/Seven Years’ War (1754–1763), Britain and France fought over control of the Ohio Territory, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River Valley, including present-day Illinois. Unlike the British, who after the war treated Native Americans as subjugated people, the French had long nurtured Native American alliances. Under Pontiac’s leadership, the French supported Indigenous people in their battle against the British colonists. When the British ultimately prevailed in the French and Indian War, the French relinquished its control to all territory in North America. In claiming all of the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys, England demanded that the Indian Nations recognize the authority of the British Crown.

Pontiac rallied a number of Indian Nations in an armed fight against the British in the Great Lakes region between 1763-1765. Known as Pontiac’s Rebellion, Pontiac’s War, or Pontiac’s Uprising, the war spread from the Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes west into Illinois. Unparalleled in size, this broad and well-coordinated uprising involved at least 14 nations: the Ottawa, Delaware, Potawatomie, Shawnee, Mingo (Seneca), Wyandot, Ojibwe, Huron, Choctaw, Piankashaw, Kickapoo, Tunica, Peoria, and Mascouten.

The Native American resistance to British rule led by Pontiac spread and resulted in widespread attacks on British forts and settlements. Though tribal nations were unsuccessful in removing the British from the Great Lakes region, the rebellion proved the capability of Native nations to effectively battle against European-American colonization. A negotiated settlement to the war came on July 25, 1766. In 1768, the Ottawa forced Pontiac to relinquish his position as Chief.

Little detail remains concerning Pontiac’s final years. A great deal of uncertainty and speculation surrounds the circumstances of his death and burial. However, documents indicate that in 1766, Pontiac engaged in a dispute with Peoria Chief Black Dog that resulted in Black Dog’s death. It has been postulated that a nephew of Black Dog killed Pontiac as retribution after a Peoria council sanctioned his killing. Another interpretation suggested that his murder resulted from long term animosity between eastern tribes and those of the Illinois Territory. It has even been speculated that the British may have hired a killer. Pontiac may have been in St. Louis in April 1769, invited to attend the wedding of the nephew of a French Captain, Louis St. Ange de Bellerive. After the wedding, Pontiac traveled to Cahokia. Another explanation for his presence in Illinois was that he had come to visit the brothers of his wife and to trade. Regardless of the reason for being in Cahokia, Pontiac died on April 20, 1769, when leaving a French trading post. His burial place is uncertain, but researchers believe that his body, once moved to St. Louis from Cahokia, lies at the intersection of Walnut and South Broadway where a memorial plaque was placed in 1900.

Written by Reed Richardson, Edited by Jessica Guldner

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