Little Decora (abt. 1800 - 1836)

Born about 1800 in Wisconsin, New France

Ancestors

Descendants

Died Oct 1836 at about age 36 in Lower Barribault [Baraboo] Village, No. 1, Caledonia, Columbia, Wisconsin Territory, United States

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Little was Ho-Chunk.

Biography

Chagekaka's name in Catholic church records was "John Decorah." His daughter, Angelique's records show Jno. Decorah as her father.

Name

The attempted phonetic rendering of his Hocąk name Cha-ge-ka-ka is ambiguous. If the initial Cha is understood, as it often is, as an /ē/ and not an /a/ in its pronunciation, giving us Cegekaga, then the name could mean "Young New One" or "Young First One". It can be derived from cēk, "first, new", heka, "young", and -ga, a definite article suffix used in personal names. Heka is a rare word, and phonetic /a/ is more often rendered /a/ than it is /ē/. So the result must be considered speculative. However, it may explain the origins of the name "Little".

Succession and Death

"In 1836, the Indians had the misfortune of losing the best of their chiefs, Scha-chip-ka-ka [Čaxšépsgaga], or De-kau-ry. His death occurred April 20, at the age of ninety, at his village ... He was succeeded by his son, called by the whites Little De-kau-ry, whose Indian name was Cha-ge-ka-ka; and he did not long survive, dying six months after his father. He was succeeded by his brother, Ho-pe-ne-scha-ka [Xopį́nįskága], or White French." (de la Ronde, 355-356)

Sources

• John T. de la Ronde, "Personal Narrative," Wisconsin Historical Collections, 7 (1876): 345-365.