Waukon Decorah Waukon Decorah ( c . 1780 – 1868 ) , also known as Wau - kon - haw - kaw or " Snake - Skin " , was a prominent Ho - Chunk ( Winnebago ) warrior and orator during the Winnebago War of 1827 and the Black Hawk War of 1832 . Although not a hereditary chief , he emerged as a diplomatic leader in Ho - Chunk relations with the United States . Family and early life . Waukon Decorah came from a prominent Ho - Chunk family in what is now the U . S . state of Wisconsin . He was the son of Buzzard Decorah , who was in turn the son of a French trader named Sabrevoir De Carrie and a Ho - Chunk woman named Glory of the Morning . Waukon Decorah ' s brother was known as Big Canoe or One - Eyed Decorah ( c . 1772 – 1864 ) . Early historical accounts sometimes confused the brothers with each other , or with their uncle Spoon Decorah ( c . 1730 – c . 1816 ) or with their cousin Old Decorah ( c . 1746 – 1836 ) and Old Decorah ' s sons Little Decorah ( 1797 – 1887 ) and Spoon Decorah ( c . 1805 – 1889 ) . Some early histories state that Waukon Decorah was also known by the nickname " Washington Decorah " , because he had visited Washington , D . C . in the 1820s . However , in June 1832 , Indian agent Joseph M . Street wrote in a letter that he had met with Waukon Decorah and his brothers One - Eyed Decorah and Washington Decorah , implying that Washington and Waukon were two different men . According to historian Ellen M . Whitney , it is not clear which member of the Decorah family was called " Washington " . Waukon Decorah and One - Eyed Decorah had an older brother named Mau - wah - re - gah , who became an outcast after killing their father in a drunken brawl . Black Hawk War . In 1829 , Waukon Decorah ' s daughter , who had married a Dakota man , was killed in Iowa by Sauk and Meskwaki raiders , part of ongoing hostilities between Dakotas and the Sauks and Meskwakis . Decorah wanted to mount a retaliatory raid against the Sauks and Meskwakis , but he was discouraged from doing this by United States officials , who were trying to negotiate an end to the hostilities . When the Black Hawk War erupted in 1832 , Decorah eagerly joined the American war against Black Hawk ' s band of Sauks and Meskwakis , hoping to finally avenge his daughter ' s death . Although some Ho - Chunks were sympathetic to Black Hawk ' s efforts to resist American expansion , Decorah was able to recruit warriors from his followers on the Wisconsin River , and was joined by One - Eyed Decorah and his followers from Prairie la Crosse . After the war , on November 5 , 1834 , Meskwaki raiders killed ten women and children from Decorah ' s family , including his wife . Decorah believed that the attack was meant as retaliation for his role in the Black Hawk War . Later life and legacy . In 1837 , Decorah was part of a Ho - Chunk delegation that went to Washington , D . C . to seek redress for American encroachment on their land . Even though the delegates had been U . S . allies during the Black Hawk War , they were pressured to sign a removal treaty ceding all Ho - Chunk land west of the Mississippi River to the United States . Decorah signed this treaty as " Wa - kaun - ha - kah ( Snake Skin ) " . The delegates thought that the treaty gave the Ho - Chunks eight years to leave Wisconsin , which would leave them time to negotiate a new treaty , but the wording on the document gave the tribe eight " months " to vacate Wisconsin and resettle on reservations in Iowa and Minnesota . Ho - Chunks who refused to leave were rounded up by General Henry Atkinson and escorted west , though many later returned . Decorah ' s family moved across the Mississippi River into the " Neutral Ground " of northeast Iowa . Later he moved to Long Prairie , Minnesota , and by 1855 he was living in Blue Earth County , Minnesota . Some older histories state that Decorah died in Minnesota at the Blue Earth Indian Agency , but he evidently returned to Wisconsin in the last years of his life . In 1868 , the " Mauston Star " of Mauston , Wisconsin , reported that he died on July 18 while living next to the Lemonweir River near Mauston . Two Iowa cities , Decorah and Waukon , are often said to be named for him , although Waukon is also said to be named for his son Chief John Waukon . There are other place names , such as Dekorra , Wisconsin , and Decoria Township , Blue Earth County , Minnesota , that are named for his relatives . In 1859 , citizens of Decorah , Iowa , exhumed the remains said to be of " Chief Decorah " , believed to be the man for whom the city was named , to make way for the city ' s expansion . The body was re - interred on the grounds of the county courthouse . However , as was rumored at the time , Waukon Decorah was still living in 1859 ; it is unclear who was actually buried there . The remains of the unknown Native American were exhumed again in 1876 during court house renovations ; some of the relics buried with the body were stolen before the remains were re - interred . Waukon Decorah ' s son John Waukon is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Waukon . A new headstone was placed at the grave in November 2007 .