Joseph LaFlesche

Who was Joseph LaFlesche?

Joseph LaFlesche, also known as E-sta-mah-za or Iron Eye, was the last recognized head chief of the Omaha tribe of Native Americans who was selected according to the traditional tribal rituals. The head chief Big Elk had adopted LaFlesche as an adult into the Omaha and designated him in 1843 as his successor. LaFlesche was of Ponca and French-Canadian ancestry; he became a chief in 1853, after Big Elk's death. An 1889 account contends that he had been the only chief of any European ancestry among the Omaha.

In 1854 LaFlesche was among the seven Omaha chiefs in the delegation who went to Washington, DC for final negotiations and signed the treaty with the United States by which they ceded most of the Omaha territory. About 1856, he led his people in relocating to the Omaha reservation in what is now northeastern Nebraska. LaFlesche served as principal chief until 1888. He led during the Omaha transition to the reservation and other major social changes.