Shabbona was born around 1775 of the Odawa (Ottawa) tribe either on the Maumee River in Ohio, in Ontario or in a Native American village in Illinois.

Once in Michigan, the tribe aligned with The Council of Three Fires (Ojibwa, Odawa and Potawatomi) and moved further south across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

[4] Shabbona helped persuade many Native Americans in the Northwest Territory to oppose the white settlers and side with Tecumseh and the British in an all-out war.

[4] Following Tecumseh's death, Shabbona abandoned his stance against the United States and allied himself with them permanently, feeling that fighting was in vain.

He readily agreed with Tecumseh and joined his recruiting party to visit the Potawatomi, Sac, Fox, Winnebago, and Menominee of Northern Illinois and Wisconsin.

Their journey returned them home via Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, down the Mississippi to Rock Island and then east to Chicago.

Harrison marched north to Prophetstown on the Tippecanoe in November 1811, Shabbona was there with Waubansee and Winamac to lead the Potawatomi warriors against the Americans.

In this way, Shabbona reached his own village with his escort, while Caldwell, Robinson, and Shamagaw returned quietly to Chicago and reported to the Americans.

At the Treaty of Prairie du Chien (June 1829), Shabbona received a grant of land for his service during the Red Bird uprising.

[5] On May 16, 1832, Shabbona, knowing he could not control all Potawatomi, rode across northern Illinois to warn the settlers of impending danger.

[7] Shabonna died at his home in section 20, Norman Township, Grundy County, Illinois, on July 17, 1859, at the age of 84 and, in 1903, a large granite boulder was erected as a monument on his gravesite in Evergreen Cemetery.

However, in 2001 the Solicitor wrote an opinion that concluded that the grove was indeed a reserve and the ownership was vested to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

[citation needed] In 2007, an opposing group funded a study[11] into the history of Shabbona's grove and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has submitted volumes of legal and historical documents.