The Native American Mother Who Met A French King

Mohongo

She was born around 1809 along the Missouri River, and named Mi-hoñ-ga, recorded in history as Mohongo, Sacred Sun, belonged to the Little Osage band of the Ni-U-Kon-Ska, which translates to "Children of the Middle Waters." Her youth coincided with heavy American territorial expansion, as government treaties and frontier pressures steadily disrupted ancestral lands. Raised in the traditions and ceremonies of the Ni-U-Kon-Ska, her life took an unexpected turn when foreign opportunists targeted her community.

In 1827, a French adventurer named David Delaunay recruited a small party from the Ni-U-Kon-Ska with promises of legitimate trade and diplomatic prestige in Europe. In reality, the expedition was an unauthorized commercial scheme. After surviving a river disaster that destroyed their valuable cargo of furs, Mohongo, her husband, and four tribal companions sailed from New Orleans aboard a vessel bound for France. Arriving at Le Havre in July 1827, they were greeted by curious crowds, paraded through the streets of Paris, and granted an audience with King Charles X at the royal palace of Saint-Cloud.

The royal novelty soon gave way to exploitation. Delaunay toured the travelers across France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany as public spectacles. When public interest faded and ticket sales dwindled, Delaunay was arrested and sent to a Paris debtors' prison, leaving the travelers stranded thousands of miles from home without money, food, or language skills. While wandering through Liège, Belgium, in early 1828, Mohongo gave birth to twin daughters. Facing starvation, one infant was placed in the care of a local benefactor, while Mohongo fought to protect the other.

Their desperate plight eventually reached the French press, catching the attention of the Marquis de Lafayette, the hero of the American Revolution. Moved by their ordeal, Lafayette organized emergency relief funds and secured their passage home. The Atlantic crossing brought further tragedy when an outbreak of smallpox swept through the ship, claiming several lives, including Mohongo's husband. Mohongo and her surviving infant daughter fought off the infection and landed at Norfolk, Virginia, in late 1829.

In early 1830, Mohongo traveled to Washington, D.C., where Superintendent of Indian Affairs Thomas L. McKenney commissioned Charles Bird King to paint her portrait. The resulting artwork captured Mohongo holding her child, who held a silver presidential peace medal. Later that summer, Mohongo returned west to rejoin the Ni-U-Kon-Ska in their new lands in Indian Territory. She lived among her people until her death around 1836, remembered as a woman of quiet courage who crossed an ocean and survived immense tragedy to bring her child home.