Pekachuk attended the Toledo Indian School beginning on September 1, 1899. Her mother, Na-wau-ke-kee, was reluctant to enroll Pekachuk in the boarding school and negotiated for her daughter's leave to support the harvest. When Pekachuk failed to return, superintendent George Nellis and Meskwaki
Indian agent, W.G. Malin, kidnapped Pekachuk and forcibly brought her to the boarding school. Several days later, Pekachuk ran away from the Toledo Indian School with a companion, Mas-kwa-see. on October 29, 1899. A week later, during a visit to
Toledo, Iowa to be a witness in a trial, Pekachuk was abducted again and brought to the boarding school. In November 1899, a group of Meskwaki men and E.I. Wilcox traveled to
Des Moines, Iowa and petitioned
governor of Iowa L. M. Shaw for Pekachuk's release. After Shaw declined to assist, Wilcox filed for a writ of
habeas corpus for Pekachuk in the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. While judge
Oliver Perry Shiras denied the writ, he found parental consent was necessary for boarding school enrollment, and based his decision on the 1881 case
Young v. Imoda. Pekachuk was released from the Toledo Indian School after Shiras' December 29, 1899 ruling. Pekachuk died of
smallpox in November 1901. == Legacy ==