Glory of the Morning Glory of the Morning was the first woman ever described in the written history of Wisconsin , and the only known female chief of the Hocąk ( Winnebago ) nation . At least one source has rendered her name as " Hopokoekau " , which is a corruption of " Hąboguwįga " , from " hąp " , " day " ; " ho - " , " the time at which " ; " gu " , " to come arriving " ; " - wį " , an affix indicating the feminine gender ; and " - ga " , a definite article used for personal names . The name is conventionally translated as , " Glory of the Morning " or " The Coming Dawn . " She was the daughter of the chief of the tribe , and therefore a member of the Thunderbird Clan who lived in a large village on Doty Island in what is now Neenah . Sometime before 1730 , the French — in connection with their development of the vast territory of Louisiana ] ] — renewed contact with the tribe . A small force of French troops under the command of Sabrevoir De Carrie visited the Hocągara and established cordial relations . The opportunities of this contact impressed themselves upon De Carrie , who resigned his commission to become a fur trader among the tribe . It was around this time that he married Glory of the Morning . It cannot be established whether she was made chief before or after this marriage . Her marriage seems to have enhanced her status , as De Carrie is remembered very favorably in the Hocąk oral tradition , which says , " in his affairs he was most emphatically a leader of men . " Glory of the Morning bore him two sons and a daughter . [ [ File : Battle of Sainte - Foy . jpg | thumb | right | 300px | George B . Campion , " The Battle of Sainte - Foy " . The eldest son was " Cugiga " , " Spoon , Ladle " , known to history as " Spoon Dekaury " . The younger son was known as " Cap ’ osgaga " , " White Breast " , also called " Buzzard Decorah " . In time the marriage dissolved , and De Carrie returned to his residence in Quebec , taking his little daughter with him . When she grew up , she married Laurent Fily , an Indian trader in Quebec . When the [ [ French and Indian War ] ] broke out , De Carrie resumed his commission in the French army , and during the [ [ Battle of Sainte - Foy ] ] ( April 28 , 1760 ) was mortally wounded and later died in the hospital in Montreal . As the French struggled with the Fox over the fur trade , Glory of the Morning firmly allied herself with her husband ' s people , precipitating seven years of war with their neighbors . In the end , she was instrumental in bringing peace . Later she allowed renewed warfare against the [ [ Illinois Confederation | Illini ] ] , her braves falling upon the Michigamea and the Cahokia . When war between France and England broke out in 1754 , the Hocak warriors attacked the English settlements far to the east . However , when the British overcame the French , Glory of the Morning established friendly relations with them and refused to tread the war path of [ [ Chief Pontiac | Pontiac ] ] . Three years later Capt . [ [ Jonathan Carver ] ] , a Connecticut [ [ Yankee ] ] in the service of the Crown , paid a visit to her village in 1766 , and gives an interesting account of her . The day after my arrival I held a council with the chiefs , of whom I asked permission to pass through their country , in my way to more remote nations on business of importance . This was readily granted me , the request being esteemed by them as a great compliment paid to their tribe . The Queen sat in ( 33 ) the council , but only asked a few questions , or gave some trifling directions in matters relative to the state ; for women are never allowed to sit in their councils , except they happen to be invested with the supreme authority , and then it is not customary for them to make any formal speeches as the chiefs do . She was a very ancient woman , small in stature , and not much distinguished by her dress from several young women that attended her . These her attendants seemed greatly pleased whenever I showed any tokens of respect to their queen , particularly when I saluted her , which I frequently did to acquire her favour . On these occasions the good old lady endeavoured to assume a juvenile gaiety , and by her smiles showed she was equally pleased with the attention I paid her . . . . Having made some acceptable presents to the good old queen , and received her blessing , I left the town of the Winnebagoes on the 29th of September . . . Nothing is heard of her until the Kinzies visited her in 1832 . She had lived to an unheard of age . [ [ Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie | Mrs . Kinzie ] ] paints a portrait of her : There was among their number , this year , one whom I had never before seen — the mother of the elder Day - kau - ray . No one could tell her age , but all agreed that she must have seen upwards of a hundred winters . Her eyes dimmed , and almost white with age — her face dark and withered , like a baked apple — her voice tremulous and feeble , except when raised in fury to reprove her graceless grandsons , who were fond of playing her all sorts of mischievous tricks , indicated the very great age she must have attained . She usually went upon all fours , not having strength to hold herself erect . On the day of the payment , having received her portion , which she carefully hid in the corner of her blanket , she came crawling along and seated herself on the door step , to count her treasure . . . In spite of their vexatious tricks , she seemed very fond of them , and never failed to beg something of her Father , that she might bestow upon them . She crept into the parlor one morning , then straightening herself up , and supporting herself by the frame of the door , she cried in a most piteous tone , — “ Shaw - nee - aw - kee Wau - tshob - ee - rah Thsoonsh - koo - nee - noh ! ” [ " Žuniya - ąké ho ( kik ) čąbira čųšgunįno " ] ( Silver - man I have no looking glass . ) My husband smiling and taking up the same little tone , cried , in return , — “ Do you wish to look at yourself mother ? ” The idea seemed to her so irresistibly comic that she laughed until she was fairly obliged to seat herself upon the floor and give way to her enjoyment . She then owned that it was for one of the boys that she wanted the little mirror . When her Father had given it to her , she found that she had “ no comb , ” then that she had “ no knife , ” then that she had “ no calico shawl , ” until it ended , as it generally did , by Shaw - nee - aw - kee paying pretty dearly for his joke . She must have died soon afterwards . Hocąk lore has filled in the details . The tradition says that when she was out among the pines , an [ [ owl ] ] , a creature of ill omen , perched nearby and uttered her name . That night , wrapped in her furs with a smile on her face , she died . Strangely , during the raging blizzard that engulfed the village that night , the rare sound of thunder could be heard , as the patron deities of her clan called her home . Her offspring flourished as the famed Decorah family , who supplied countless chiefs to the nation . Her grandson was [ [ Chief Waukon Decorah ] ] , the eponym of two cities in Iowa , [ [ Waukon , Iowa | Waukon ] ] and [ [ Decorah , Iowa | Decorah ] ] . Notes . [ [ Category : Pre - statehood history of Wisconsin ] ] [ [ Category : Ho - Chunk people ] ] [ [ Category : Native American women in warfare ] ] [ [ Category : People from Wisconsin ] ] [ [ Category : 18th - century female rulers ] ] [ [ Category : Women in 18th - century warfare ] ]