Glory of the Morning

Who is 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 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 Menasha. 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.