Margaret Poisal facts for kids

Margaret Poisal (born around 1834, died between 1883 and 1892) was a very important woman in American history. She was known as "Walking Woman" and was the only woman to officially serve as a witness, interpreter, and advisor at many meetings and treaty councils. These important gatherings took place near the Santa Fe Trail.

Margaret's father was John Poisal, a French Canadian trapper, and her mother was Snake Woman, an Arapaho woman. Margaret received a special education at a convent school. She married Thomas Fitzpatrick, who was a government official called an "Indian agent." Together, they worked to create peace between Native American tribes and the United States government. After Thomas Fitzpatrick passed away, Margaret continued her important work as an interpreter and peacemaker.

Life on the Great Plains

1845 Santa Fe Trail and Native tribal lands

Margaret grew up during a time when the Arapaho and Cheyenne people lived across the Great Plains. In the early 1800s, fur trappers and traders began to explore the Western frontier. The Arapaho and Cheyenne formed partnerships with these traders. They exchanged goods for buffalo pelts along the Santa Fe Trail and other routes.

Starting in 1842, American pioneers began moving west to California and Oregon. This movement led to fewer buffalo and changes to the land. Other tribes, like the Lakota Sioux, also moved into new areas, which meant fewer resources for everyone. Because hunting became harder, the Arapaho and other Native Americans had to find new ways to get food. They traded with merchants, talked with Indian agents for supplies, or asked for food from pioneers crossing their lands.

The Gold Rush Era

Many more white people came west during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1859. This followed the earlier California Gold Rush (1848–1855). Buffalo hunters, gold prospectors, homesteaders, and railroad builders all traveled westward. European Americans crossed Native American hunting and ceremonial lands on trails like the Oregon Trail. To try and find a way for everyone to live together, the United States government and Native Americans negotiated many treaties.

The Arapaho people, who were allies with the Cheyenne, lived on lands north of the Arkansas River. Their territory stretched from the Rocky Mountains to the Central and Southern Plains. They became familiar with white traders along the Santa Fe Trail. They traded goods, including guns, for fur pelts. The Arapaho people believed that men and women were equal partners in family matters, sacred ceremonies, and tribal decisions.

Margaret's Early Life and Family

Margaret Poisal, also known as Walking Woman, was born in 1834. Her father was John Poisal, a French Canadian hunter and trapper. Her mother was Snake Woman, who was the niece of Chief Niwot (also called Left Hand). Her father worked for the Bent brothers, who owned Bent's Fort on the Santa Fe Trail in Colorado.

The Poisal family had five children who lived in both European-American and Arapaho societies. These children were Margaret (born 1834), Mary (born 1838), Robert (born 1838), Mathilda (born 1845), and John, Jr. Margaret was one of the first Arapaho girls to receive a formal American education. She attended a convent school in St. Louis, Missouri.

Cherry Creek and South Platte River in 1859, in what is now Denver

In 1857, Margaret's father raised cattle and horses near Cherry Creek. By 1860, John Poisal was a trader living where Cherry Creek meets the South Platte River. This area is now part of Denver, Colorado. Snake Woman, their sons, and daughters Mary and Matilda lived with him. The family faced challenges and was attacked at least once by some white men. John Poisal bravely protected Snake Woman from harm during one of these incidents.

Margaret's brother, John, was also educated and worked as a trader. He could speak English, Arapaho, and Spanish. Margaret's father passed away in 1861 in a cabin on Cherry Creek. Snake Woman and her remaining children joined the Arapaho people at Sand Creek in Colorado. The Poisal children survived the terrible Sand Creek massacre. Later, they each received 640 acres of land as compensation from the Treaty of the Little Arkansas in 1865.

Marriages and Family Life

Thomas Fitzpatrick (1799–1854), a trapper and Indian Agent

Margaret married Thomas Fitzpatrick (known as Broken Hand) in November 1849. He was a fur trader, scout, and an Indian agent for the Southern Arapaho and Cheyenne people. They had two children: Andrew Jackson (Jack) Fitzpatrick, born in 1850, and Virginia Tomasine Fitzpatrick, born in 1854. The Fitzpatricks worked together to build peaceful relationships between the Arapaho and white Americans.

The Fitzpatricks lived in Westport, Missouri. From there, they often traveled to Native American villages on the Great Plains and along the Santa Fe Trail. In the fall of 1853, the Fitzpatricks traveled to Washington, D.C., with a group of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne leaders. Margaret was expecting their second child at this time. Thomas passed away in early February 1854. Their daughter, Virginia (Jennie) Tomasine, was born after his death.

Margaret inherited two lots and houses in Westport, Missouri, and more than $10,000. On February 2, 1856, she married Lucious J. Wilmot, a gardener. By 1860, they lived in Leavenworth, Kansas with Margaret's children. That year, they also lived with Snake Woman and her family in Denver for a time. Wilmot worked as a trader in Denver. Margaret and Lucious later divorced after he managed their money poorly, causing Margaret to lose most of her inheritance. By 1865, Margaret and her children lived in Leavenworth with her sister Mary (Poisal) Keith and brother-in-law B.F. Keith. Her children kept the Wilmot last name.

Jack and Jennie attended St. Mary's Mission School by 1866. Jennie later married John Meagher, an Irish immigrant. Margaret lived with her daughter in 1877. She married for a third time to a man named Adams by 1883. At that time, she was an interpreter at the Medicine Lodge treaty council. She was living on land she had received from the Arapaho people, or as compensation from the Sand Creek massacre in 1865.

Margaret's Role in Treaties

Arapaho and Cheyenne territory from the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)

Thomas Fitzpatrick helped organize the Fort Laramie Treaty Council in 1851. Margaret Poisal attended these meetings. Having women present was a sign of trust from Native Americans, showing they hoped for a peaceful outcome. Eight tribes, with about 10,000 Native Americans, attended the council. The Native Americans agreed to stop attacking travelers on trails like the Oregon Trail and to end wars with other tribes. The government promised to provide payments for 50 years. However, this treaty was never fully recognized by the federal government. The United States Senate later reduced the payments and their duration without asking the tribes involved. Both Native Americans and European Americans sometimes broke the terms of the treaty. Fitzpatrick was also important in the Fort Atkinson Treaty Council of 1853 in what is now southwest Kansas.

After Fitzpatrick's death, Margaret Poisal continued to represent the Southern Arapaho people. She attended treaty councils and other meetings near the Santa Fe Trail. She was an interpreter, witness, and advisor. She was the only woman doing this important work in the United States at that time.

After the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, white miners and settlers moved onto Native American lands. Many of these newcomers did not want to build relationships with native peoples. This led to more conflicts with the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho until 1875. Margaret's uncle, Chief Left Hand, was killed in November 1864 during the Sand Creek massacre. Snake Woman and her daughter Mary were at the camp during the massacre. Many Arapaho men were away on a hunting trip at the time.

Margaret Poisal Adams with Arapaho chiefs at the Medicine Lodge Creek treaty council, 1867. Margaret was the interpreter for Little Raven and other chiefs. She also interpreted at the 1865 treaty council. The people in the sketch are smoking a pipe, a sacred tradition for such important meetings.

In October 1865, Margaret attended the Little Arkansas Treaty Council. She worked as a translator and helped negotiate for fair treatment after the Sand Creek massacre. Samuel A. Kingman, who was at the council, described her as a person who had experienced many joys and sorrows.

Margaret worked as a negotiator and peacemaker for many years. Her efforts helped prevent conflicts in Colorado and Kansas. Eventually, many Native Americans were moved to Indian Territory (which is now Oklahoma). There, they had to change from their traditional hunting and gathering ways to become farmers.

Later Years and Passing

Margaret Poisal served as an interpreter for the Arapaho group that visited Washington, D.C., in 1883. This was her last known public appearance. She likely stopped working as an interpreter because it became easier to find others who spoke English, as a new generation of Arapaho children attended English-speaking schools. According to her brother John's estate papers, Margaret passed away by 1892.

In her later years, she may have lived with her daughter, Virginia Tomasine "Jennie" Fitzpatrick Meager, in Indian Territory. Jennie was a public school teacher in Oklahoma. This meant that children did not need to be sent away to boarding schools far from their homes.