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Hanging Cloud | |
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| Ojibwe:Ah-shah-way-gee-she-go-qua,Aazhawigiizhigokwe, ("Goes Across the Sky Woman") | |
 Aazhawigiizhigokwe | |
| Full warrior,Makwa-doodem (Bear Clan), of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band ofLake Superior Chippewa | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1835 (1835) |
| Died | 1919 (aged 83–84) |
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| Nickname(s) | Ojibwe:Ashweia,Ashwiyaa, ("Arms oneself") |
Hanging Cloud (known inOjibwe asAazhawigiizhigokwe meaning "Goes Across the Sky Woman" or asAshwiyaa meaning "Arms oneself") was anOjibwe woman who was a full warrior (ogichidaakwe inOjibwe) among her people, and claimed by theWisconsin Historical Society as the only woman to ever become one. She was the daughter ofChiefNenaa'angebi (Beautifying Bird) and his wifeNiigi'o.Aazhawigiizhigokwe was of theMakwa-doodem (Bear Clan), and was born and lived most of her life atRice Lake, Wisconsin. Her community became part of theLac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians after the 1854Treaty of La Pointe.
According to Morse,Aazhawigiizhigokwe worewar paint, carried full weapons, and took part in battles, raids and hunting parties.[1] She was a full member of the war council, performed war dances, and participated in all warrior ceremonies. Shortly after father's death in 1855, her village was ambushed by herMdewakanton uncle,ChiefShák'pí. In this ambush, she defended her village and killed a son of ChiefShák'pí, her cousin. Armstrong recorded how she was very proud of that period of her life.
Aazhawigiizhigokwe was married three times: all to non-Native Americans. Her first marriage was toTaylors Falls, Minnesota lumberman Joe Koveo. A daughter was born from this marriage,Ogimaabinesiikwe, known as Julia Quaderer, after she married John Quaderer Jr. However, Koveo was already married and abandonedAazhawigiizhigokwe shortly after their marriage ceremony. Her next marriage was to Rice Lake's first mayor, James Bracklin. Three children were born from this union: Nellie, Thomas, and James Jr. Bracklin left Aazhawigiizhigokwe for a white woman, Minnie Russell.Aazhawigiizhigokwe's last marriage was to lumberman Samuel Barker, which produced two children, Mary and Edward. Barker also leftAazhawigiizhigokwe for a white woman. In her later years,Aazhawigiizhigokwe lived in the Whitefish community of the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation with son Thomas Bracklin.
Aazhawigiizhigokwe was the sister ofWaabikwe (the grey haired), who according to Benjamin Armstrong, became the wife of Edward Dingley in 1857, and had a son. Her husband served in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War but when assumed dead, she remarried. After the War, when her first husband returned to Wisconsin and heard of his wife's remarriage, they made arrangements to meet with each other and agreed to let her maintain her second marriage. She died in 1919.