When a young Potawatomi boy is transported 47 years in the future, he finds himself in 1835 on the brink of his people’s forced removal. Desperate to help, a teenage Settler boy is transported to 1788, when the Potawatomi thrived. The boys must navigate worlds new and old, and make a choice that could change the course of history.

SYNOPSIS:

Act 1: Sands of Time

1788, Potawatomi Territory: Sam Wapuka, a young Potawatomi, stalks a deer near a lake. He pulls an arrow from his quiver. The deer looks up, chewing grass. An arrow pierces the deer’s shoulder. He runs. Sam watches. The deer runs into the lake. Sam follows. The deer drowns. While retrieving the deer, Sam finds a shallow sand bar. He goes through it.

1835, The Brink of Removal: Isaac Baker, a young settler boy, skips rocks in the lake. A boy surfaces and gasps for air. Isaac rushes to rescue him. He swims the young Potawatomi to shore. They have trouble communicating. Isaac knows very little of the language. Isaac quickly realizes the boy is in distress and needs help, but where did he come from? Confused and frightened, Wapuka finds himself in a drastically altered landscape. The Potawatomi are no longer thriving, and settlers dominate the region. Isaac realizes Wapuka is not from “these times”. He calls him Sam.

1788: Chief Wabki’s son Wapuka is missing, but where did he go? The noble and trustworthy leader of the Potawatomi tribe wants to seek the Menominee for help, but Manwa, a critic of Chief Wabki, rejects the idea. He feels the Menominee will only alert white men.

1835: Isaac finds a Potawatomi dictionary. The settlers organize and complain about the Indians. a plan is put into place to round up the remaining Potawatomi Tribe.

1788: Chief Wabki and Watosa decide to lead the search for Wapuka. He leaves Manwa in charge. A tribe member blames white settlers for taking Wapuka.

1835: Sam shows Isaac the dead deer in the lake. The boys attempt to learn each others language. Isaac warns Sam about white men rounding up Indians.

1788: Watosa and Watoma spot a young Indian near Big falls they believe to be Sam. After a raid on a settlers plot, leaving Watosa dead, they discover it is not Sam, but a young Menominee girl. Watoma brings her to Chief Wabki and informs him about the death of Watosa.

Act 2: Friendship and Discovery

1835, A Region in Conflict: Isaac’s father, Jonathan Baker, is a local government official involved in enforcing the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Isaac questions his family’s role. Sam learns the Potawatomi are being forced to cede their land through treaties and face removal. Sam teaches Isaac the language and Potawatomi way of life. Isaac, in turn, shares the settler view and teaches Sam to read and write in English.

1788: Chief Wabki returns the Menominee girl (Mosnee) to Chief Wasaw near Big Falls. She wants to honor Watosa’s life. They feast in his name. Chief Wasaw is grateful, but offers no clues on the whereabouts of Wapuka.

1835: Jonathan Baker hears of Chief Wapuka in the area. Isaac mentions Sam Wapuka is lost. Isaac searches for Sam. A few settlers follow.

1788: Watoma and a few Menominee retrieve Watosa’s body. Chief Wabki and the others return to the village of Wapahkoh. The tribe mourns the loss of Watosa.

1835: Isaac returns to the lake where he found Sam. Curious how Sam got here, Isaac finds the portal. He goes through it.

Act 3: Searching for Home

1788: Isaac surfaces and gasps for air. He swims to shore. He quickly realizes he is in another time. The Potawatomi are thriving. Someone snatches Isaac.

1835: Sam wanders. Jonathan Baker’s son is missing, but where did he go? Isaac’s parents blame the Potawatomi tribe. Settlers find Sam and turn him over to Alexis Coquillard, a fur trader and Indian remover.

1788: Isaac is captured by Manwa and brought to Chief Wabki.

Isaac convinces Chief Wabki he is from the future and he knows where Sam is. Isaac leads Chief Wabki to the portal.

1835: Far from home Sam escapes the trail of death. On a long journey home, Sam is captured near Wapahkoh by the notorious ‘Indian Removers,’ the Ewing brothers.

Act 4: The Rescue

1788: Chief Wabki finds Sam’s bow and quiver. When Isaac and Chief Wabki reach the portal it doesn’t work. Chief Wabki doubts Isaac. Remembering conversations with Sam, Isaac re-calls the time of day the transport occurred and convinces Chief Wabki to be patient.

1835: On a wagon headed for Kansas, Sam doubts he will ever see home again. Isaac and Chief Wabki arrive through the portal. When Isaac is found safe with Chief Wabki, Jonathan Baker is thankful, and Isaac convinces him to authorize the release of Sam, so he can go home.

1835/1788: Sam and Chief Wabki spot a dead deer in the water in 1835. Sam and Chief Wabki arrive in 1788 and swim to shore.

Epilogue:

1851: Chief Wapahkoh (Sam) and Isaac Baker prevent a massacre of white settlers. Chief Wapahkoh dies on his horse. Isaac, his wife Mosnee, and Chief Wapahkoh’s son’s bury him in modern day Waupaca, WI.

1976: The Chief Waupaca Paddle wheeler roams the lakes. A boat sinks. Two people go missing. The boat covers the portal.

SONS OF WAPAHKOH