In 1838, about 900 Pottawatomie Indians were rounded up from their homes in northern Indiana and forced to march 681 miles in 61 days to re-settle at the Sugar Creek Mission. Thirty-nine Pottawatomies, mostly children, died on this “Trail of Death.” In 1841, several nuns of the Sacred Heart order, including 72-year-old Sister Phillipine Duchesne, came to teach the children. Sister Duchesne was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
