Chief Big Elk of the Omaha's, Fabians Great Grand Father going back three generations.
Birth: 1770
Death: 1846
Native American Chief. He was known as Ong-pa-ton-ga to the Omaha Tribe. As a youngster, the Pawnee Tribe was the enemy of the Omaha people, and Big Elk earned a reputation as a warrior fighting skirmishes with them. Within his own tribe he was known for his courage in battle and for his fairness in making decisions. When Chief Washinggusaba (Black Bird), who was known as a tyrant by the Omaha people, died in 1800, Big Elk was chosen as the new principal chief. About this time the white folks began to pass through and settle in the land that the Omaha considered as theirs. In 1821 and again in 1837 he traveled to Washington DC to negotiate treaties for his people and became known as an accomplished orator and a brilliant negotiator. He continued to lead his people until a fever killed him in 1846. He was buried in Bellevue, Nebraska, at a site called Elk Hill, but known to the Omaha people as Ong-pa-ton-ga Xiathon, meaning, "the Place Where Big Elk Is Buried." (bio by: Tom Todd)
