Clark didn't help Kaskaskia gain independence from the Brits; he and his crew overthrew the French who were working together with Kaskaskia. Clark further colonized towards the Midwest and displaced the Kaskaskia, who, I believe, went onto join the Peoria tribe. The bell was not there for the purpose of independence, it was a gift from King Louis for the Kaskaskia church. It was a gift to the tribe from King Louis long before July 4, 1778. Fun fact: Clark is my ancestry on my dad's family side, and the French and Kaskaskia are my mom's side ancestry. So, my dad's family line colonized my mom's family line... and 150 some years later, my parents would both be born in Illinois, move to separate coasts of America and meet 18 years later to elope.
This is WILD. I really appreciate the documentation of these histories. kudos!
Melissa: thank you! This is such amazing information and I’m so grateful for your comment. I’ll add a correction and direct people to it from the body of the post. Also: what an amazing family story. Incredible. Many thanks. I appreciate you!
I've always loved saying it, too! I knew the Kaskaskia River before I knew of the village (I lived in Okawville, IL for a short blip, and the river runs through town). It's well worth a visit. It really feels like a place out of time, because you have to take a pretty meandering path to get there. We have some friends who took a little camper trailer there a few weeks ago and made a weekend of it. The first time I visited, it was during the 2017 eclipse, so I suppose Kaskaskia is always going to feel a little uncanny/magical to me.
It was a beautifully haunting retelling. We often don't handle truths well, my friend. We bury many of these in platitudes and nicknames because it's too painful to reckon with otherwise.
Thanks, Brian! And yes, you are right. Platitudes, euphemisms, nicknames — it reminds me of those pinhole cameras you use in elementary school to look at an eclipse, but never directly.
This is a fascinating post. A question: did you have specific sources for the "elderflowers fried in bear fat" and the "muskrat capes with silk slippers"?
Clark didn't help Kaskaskia gain independence from the Brits; he and his crew overthrew the French who were working together with Kaskaskia. Clark further colonized towards the Midwest and displaced the Kaskaskia, who, I believe, went onto join the Peoria tribe. The bell was not there for the purpose of independence, it was a gift from King Louis for the Kaskaskia church. It was a gift to the tribe from King Louis long before July 4, 1778. Fun fact: Clark is my ancestry on my dad's family side, and the French and Kaskaskia are my mom's side ancestry. So, my dad's family line colonized my mom's family line... and 150 some years later, my parents would both be born in Illinois, move to separate coasts of America and meet 18 years later to elope.
This is WILD. I really appreciate the documentation of these histories. kudos!
Melissa: thank you! This is such amazing information and I’m so grateful for your comment. I’ll add a correction and direct people to it from the body of the post. Also: what an amazing family story. Incredible. Many thanks. I appreciate you!
there should be a song "gazoontite in Kaskaskia"
Ha ha! I might have to write that one!
I’ve never been to Kaskaskia, but crossing the Kaskaskia River on the way to Chicago is always a high point because I really like saying Kaskaskia.
I've always loved saying it, too! I knew the Kaskaskia River before I knew of the village (I lived in Okawville, IL for a short blip, and the river runs through town). It's well worth a visit. It really feels like a place out of time, because you have to take a pretty meandering path to get there. We have some friends who took a little camper trailer there a few weeks ago and made a weekend of it. The first time I visited, it was during the 2017 eclipse, so I suppose Kaskaskia is always going to feel a little uncanny/magical to me.
It was a beautifully haunting retelling. We often don't handle truths well, my friend. We bury many of these in platitudes and nicknames because it's too painful to reckon with otherwise.
Thanks, Brian! And yes, you are right. Platitudes, euphemisms, nicknames — it reminds me of those pinhole cameras you use in elementary school to look at an eclipse, but never directly.
This is a fascinating post. A question: did you have specific sources for the "elderflowers fried in bear fat" and the "muskrat capes with silk slippers"?