A treaty is not solely words of agreement on parchment but rather an ongoing relationship in which both parties continue to have their concerns openly discussed and considered.
The Treaty of Fort Wayne, 1809—a treaty that led to war—goes on exhibitIn 1809, nearly 1,400 Potawatomi, Delaware, Miami, and Eel River Indians and their allies witnessed the Treaty of Fort Wayne, ceding 2.5 million acres of tribal lands in present-day Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio in exchange for a peace that did not last. This September, representatives of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi saw the treaty go on view at the National Museum of the American Indian. “It is an honor to come full circle to an article that our ancestors signed,” Tribal Chairman John P. Warren said. “I hope we are fulfilling their hopes and dreams by being here.” Dennis Zotigh September 29th, 2017. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIANSMITHSONIAN VOICESfrom the Smithsonian Museums in Smithsonian Magazine.
In 1809, at the military installation of Fort Wayne, the United States negotiated a treaty with "chiefs" of various tribes including the Miami and Potawatomi to transfer approximately 3 million acres of land to the United States. The actual authority of these chiefs is much in question as many seem to have been self-appointed or even US Government appointed chiefs carrying little authority with the tribes they represented.
Officially this treaty is known as the Fort Wayne Treaty but unofficially it is known as the Whiskey Treaty as the natives were plied with whiskey in order to coerce their signatures to the treaty.
News of this meeting is received angrily by natives who were not present as it is their land that has been signed away by treaty without their approval. The map attached illustrates the various Indian Reservations of Allen County, Indiana as they still existed for the later treaties of October 1818 and October 1826.
WILLIAM WELLS AND THE MIAMI INDIANS
It's difficult to do Wells any justice in a few sentences but he was a larger-than-life character who had been captured by Miami in Kentucky as a young boy and was adopted into the Miami tribe, eventually becoming a Miami warrior.
Wells must have been an intimidating sight as a battle-painted warrior with bright red hair, pale skin with his tomahawk in one hand and a scalping knife in the other. Unfortunately for many Americans, this was the last sight they would ever see. He fought against the Americans at a battle known as St. Clair's Defeat on November 4, 1791 – in defense of the Miami homelands. Wells is said to have swung his tomahawk that day until he could barely lift his arms. The American casualty rate at St Clair’s Defeat was nearly 98% and fully one-quarter of the entire US Army was wiped out on that day. The battlefield is largely intact and can still be visited today at Fort Recovery, Ohio.
Wells later switched sides to become a scout for Anthony Wayne for his 1794 campaign against the Northwest Indians. At the Treaty of Greenville, Wells was given a large tract of land near Fort Wayne as a preemption for his service. Captain Wells would then serve as an Indian Agent at Fort Wayne for several years. Wells could speak many native languages, and mainly treated the natives fairly although he was not completely trusted by either side due to his history of divided allegiances.
WILLIAM WELLS’ PREEMPTION (RESERVATION)
Near downtown Fort Wayne reservation #12 (map enclosed) was the preemption for Captain William Wells. It is from Wells and his preemption from which we draw the name Wells Street and Spy Run Avenue.
Wells' home was on his preemption, and he occupied a two-story log cabin at what is today at the rear of 1410 Spy Run Avenue in Fort Wayne. Wells was the son-in-law of Chief Little Turtle who died in July 1812. Little Turtle was interred at a small burial ground which was lost to history and unknown until 1912 when his grave was again discovered during construction of what is today 634 Lawton Place in Fort Wayne. Among his effects was a sword gifted him by George Washington – currently preserved at the Allen County History Center.
THE WAR OF 1812 COMES TO FORT WAYNE
In an 1810 meeting at Vincennes, an enraged Shawnee Chief Tecumseh tells future-President and then Indiana Territory Governor, William Henry Harrison in a speech that, "11 debt-ridden, whiskey-soaked ’treaty chiefs’ do not have the authority to sign agreements for lands they do not own or have authority over.”
Tecumseh insisted that the Treaty of Fort Wayne be rescinded, and Harrison and Tecumseh almost come to blows. This will directly lead to a war between Tecumseh's Confederacy (supported by the British) and the United States and intersect with the War of 1812. Tecumseh, in concert with the British, led attacks on US installations along the frontier. On July 18, 1812, British and native Warriors take control of Fort Mackinaw. When word reaches Wells in Fort Wayne, he feared for the installation at Fort Dearborn at modern-day Chicago.
FORT DEARBORN CHICAGO – A PRELUDE TO THE SIEGE OF FORT WAYNE
William Wells quickly assembled a relief of 30 Miami warriors to march from Fort Wayne and support Fort Dearborn. Wells is seen as a traitor by the Potawatomi and is killed on August 15, 1812 while escorting evacuees from Fort Dearborn for Fort Wayne. Various accounts of his death agree that he was shot and pinned under his horse. From there the versions vary as to what happened next – whether kind words or insults were exchanged – but eventually he is killed, and some gruesome accounts say that his heart was cut from his chest and devoured by his enemies. Wells remains are interred at the Massacre site to this day.
After the Siege of Fort Mackinaw and Fort Dearborn, one of the next installations to be attacked is Fort Wayne itself.
THE SIEGE OF FORT WAYNE
From September 5-12, 1812, approximately 500 warriors led by Winamac and Five Medals would lay siege to the Fort Wayne’s Garrison of approximately 100 men. Fort Commander, Captain James Rhea, immediately sent letters to ask for reinforcement.
A relief force of 3,000 under William Henry Harrison, marched from Newport, Kentucky. Captain Rhea is able to get news that a reinforcement is in route and continues to hold the fort. On September 12th, knowing a relief force is approaching, Winamac is forced to break off his siege of Fort Wayne and retreat.
The War with Tecumseh continued until 1813 when Tecumseh is eventually killed in Canada, and his Confederacy defeated.
THE REMOVAL OF REMAINING NATIVES FROM THE REGION
In 1820 Andrew Jackson was elected President and his administration did not believe native and white populations could live side-by-side peacefully. In 1823, at a treaty in St Mary's, Ohio it was designated that all the native populations would be removed to reservations in the west by August 1, 1844.
The most notable removal effort was in 1838 when Governor Wallace appointed General John Tipton to round up the natives and remove them to a reservation in Kansas in what is today referred to as the Trail of Death. The trail of death was a forced march of some 600 miles and a two-month trek during December and January, to Kansas. 42 died – half of them children –in route.
This was the same year in which the Cherokee were forced on the Trail of Tears from North Carolina to Oklahoma.
Forcible removals continued in Indiana until 1846 when remaining natives were hunted down, their homes and villages burned and the last taken west.
Treaties and Reservations
Page 239 lists twenty-nine INDIAN RESERVATIONS IN ALLEN COUNTY. The outline map of Allen county shows the location of the several reservations granted to the Indians and whites by the United States at the time of the treaties of October. 1818, and October. 1826. The reservations are as follows, the numbers corresponding to the figures of the map: 1 — Pipe-ne-wav. 2 — Jack Hackley. 3 — Joseph Park. 4 — Ann Hackley. 5 — John B. Bourie. 6, 7, 8. 9 — Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville and Joseph Richardville, his son. 10 — Maria Christiana DeRome. 11 — LaGros. 12 — Captain William "Wells. 13 - John B. Bourie. 14 — Eliza C Kercheval. 15 — LaVenture. 16 — James Knaggs. 17 — Old Raccoon. 18 — Chopine. 19 — Ne-ah-long-quah. 20 — Wa-pa-se-pah. 21 — To-pe-ah. 22 — Branstetter. 23 — Seek. 24. 25, 26 — Chief Francis LaFontaine. 27 — Josette Beaubien. 28 — The son of George Hunt. 29 — White Loon. From The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs, Publication date 1917 on Archive.org.
U.S. Statutes at Large, Volume 7. Treaties Between the United States and the Indian Tribes (1789-1845). Official Title: The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. Arranged in Chronological Order. With References to the Matter of Each Act and to the Subsequent Acts on the Same Subject, and Copious Notes of the Decisions of the Courts of the United States Construing those Acts, and Upon the Subjects of the Laws. Vol. VII. At The Library of Congress.
45 Miami Indian Treaties at IDA Treaties Explorer The Indigenous Digital Archive states: While treaties between Indigenous peoples and the United States affect virtually every area in the USA, there is as yet no official list of all the treaties. The US National Archives holds 374 of the treaties, where they are known as the Ratified Indian Treaties. Here you can view them for the first time with key historic works that provide context to the agreements made and the histories of our shared lands. It has links to images of the actual treaties.
THIS APPEARS TO BE THE PLACE TO START: Tribal Treaties Database is at Oklahoma State University Libraries linked to The National Archives. They have Miami Indian Treaties from 1795 to 1867. The Description states: This database includes agreements between tribal nations and the United States (1778-1886) published in the 1904 work “Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties” (Volume II), compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. As you view the treaties in this database, editorial margin notes are included. Links to Kappler’s original text and digitized treaties held at the National Archives can also be found throughout the site. Finally, a recently updated, comprehensive index complements this work. This database is in high demand by Indigenous people, researchers, journalists, attorneys, legislators, educators and others of both Native and non-Native origins. This site links to the Kappler files in the Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Kapplers - About this collection: Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, this historically significant, seven volume compilation contains U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII). This digitization project was made possible by significant gifts from the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Foundation and the Angie Debo estate. at OSU Digital Collections OKState Library.
Supplementary Treaty With The Miami, Etc., 1809 at Oklahoma State University Libraries has links to both page scans from the Kappler files and copies of the actual treaty at The National Archives. Sept. 30, 1809. | 7 Stat., 115. | Proclamation Jan. 16, 1810. A separate article entered into at Fort Wayne, on the thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nine, between William Henry Harrison, commissioner plenipotentiary of the United States for treating with the Indian tribes, and the Sachems and chief warriors of the Miami and Eel river tribes of Indians, which is to be considered as forming part of the treaty this day concluded between the United States and the said tribes, and their allies the Delawares and Putawatimies.
1809, September 30 at Fort Wayne - A separate article entered into at fort Wayne, on the thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nine, between William Henry Harrison , commissioner plenipotentiary of the United States for treating with the Indian tribes, and the Sachems and chief warriors of the Miami and Eel river tribes of Indians, which is to be considered as forming part of the treaty this day concluded between the United States and the said tribes, and their allies the Delawares and Putawatimies. On page 103 of the Supplementary Treaty with the Miami, etc., 1809 from Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Kapplers - About this collection: Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, this historically significant, seven volume compilation contains U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII). This digitization project was made possible by significant gifts from the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Foundation and the Angie Debo estate. at OSU Digital Collections OKState Library.
1818, October 6 - Treaty With The Miami, 1818 Oct. 6, 1818. | 7 Stats., 189. | Proclamation Jan. 15, 1319 [1819]. Articles of a treaty made and concluded, at St. Mary’s, in the State of Ohio, between Jonathan Jennings, Lewis Cass, and Benjamin Parke, Commissioners of the United States, and the Miame nation of Indians. From Tribal Treaties Database at Oklahoma State University Libraries has links to both page scans from the Kappler files and copies of the actual treaty at The National Archives.
1818, October 6 - Articles of a treaty made and concluded, at St. Mary's in the State of Ohio, between Jonathan Jennings, Lewis Cass, and Benjamin Parke, Commissioners of the United States, and the Miami Nation of Indians. beginning on page 171 of Treaty with the Miami, 1818 from Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Kappler - About this collection: Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, this historically significant, seven volume compilation contains U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII). This digitization project was made possible by significant gifts from the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Foundation and the Angie Debo estate. at OSU Digital Collections OKState Library.
1826, October 23 - Treaty with the Miami, 1826 from Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Kappler - About this collection: Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, this historically significant, seven volume compilation contains U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII). This digitization project was made possible by significant gifts from the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Foundation and the Angie Debo estate. at OSU Digital Collections OKState Library.
Treaty With The Miami, 1826 Oct. 23, 1826. | 7 Stat., 300. | Proclamation, Jan. 24, 1827. Articles of a treaty made and concluded, near the mouth of the Mississinewa, upon the Wabash, in the State of Indiana, this twenty-third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, between Lewis Cass, James B. Ray, and John Tipton, Commissioners on the part of the United States, and the Chiefs and Warriors of the Miami Tribe of Indians. at Oklahoma State University Libraries Tribal Treaties Database .
1930 photograph of the monument at KIN-COM-A-UNG better known as PARADISE SPRING. This is the site of the treaty with Miami and Pottawotomie Indians signed in 1826 called the Treaty of Mississinewa. In 1916 the DAR contracted with Homer Showalter to set a granite marker at the Paradise Spring site. On Sept. 4, 1916, as part of the Indiana Centennial celebration the memorial was dedicated. Rev. Charles Little gave a talk and Janet Jones great great grandaughter of Hugh Hanna unveiled the marker. In 1970 the frame of the marker was damaged and it was removed. In 1972 the Wabash County Historical Society commissioned Showalter to reset the marker. This time the frame of native Indiana limestone came from a building dating back to canal days. The marker was later moved to the east after the park was established. Trisha Metz Licari adds “Paradise Spring holds a special place in the hearts of the Metz family. In the late 80s, our dad Don Metz was very active in helping develop the park. We spent many hours there cleaning up the area.” Deanna Unger says “Thank you SO much for sharing all the history of Wabash! Paradise Spring is near and dear to our hearts! Paradise Spring Board.”
ARTISTS RENDITION OF THE TREATY OF MISSISSINEWA 1826 held at present day Wabash. Back in 1988, HEATHER MALOTT MIDDAUGH drew this lithograph showing her interpretation of the treaty held at the Treaty Grounds in Wabash. She spent 2 years researching her project and was able to find 43 portraits of those who attended the treaty. Her limited edition lithograph was limited to 150 copies and were exclusively sold by Borders and Beyond. Middaugh used the treaty commissioners, John Tipton, James B. Ray and Lewis Cass, to separate the two tribes that attended. On their left were Miami chiefs and to their right Potawatomi chiefs. Middaugh choose to place Chief LeGros in the forefront while the principal chief John B. Richardville (Peshewa) is in the fourth row. One participant said that Richardville was the last to sign, yet his signature was at the top. According to the copy of the treaty I have in my abstract Charley also called (Charley's son and Little Charley) was present at the treaty, signed it (Charley's Son his X mark) and received several sections of land both on the Wabash and the Eel River. One section given to him included 640 acres from Cass St through the city park and on westward. In the background were the cabins of the three government commissoner's at the bottom of the hill north of the treaty grounds. Lori Elliott adds “I have Heather’s Battle of the Mississinewa, 1812 framed in my guest bedroom.”
Photos in the Comments show the recent Indiana Historical Society Bureau historical marker commemorating the site of the treaty in which Miami and Potawatomi tribes gave up lands in northern Indiana.
Treaty Between the United States and the Eel River or Thorntown Party of Miami Indians Signed at the Wyandot Village Near the Wabash, Indiana, on February 11, 1828.
Treaty Between the United States and the Eel River or Thorntown Party of Miami Indians Signed at the Wyandot Village Near the Wabash, Indiana
Record Group 11: General Records of the United States Government
Series: Indian Treaties
File Unit: Ratified Indian Treaty 151: Miami (Eel River or Thorntown Party) - Wyandot Village Near the Wabash, Indiana, February 11, 1828
Transcription:
[left page blank]
[right page]
Articles of a Treaty made and concluded at the
Wyandot village, near the Wabash in the State of
Indiana, between John Tipton Commissioner for that
purpose on the part of the United States, and the
chiefs, head-men & Warriors of the Eel River, or Thorntown
party of Miami Indians. -
Art. 1. The Chiefs, head-men & Warriors of the Eel River or
Thorntown party of Miami Indians, agree to cede
and by these presents do cede and relinquish to the
United States all their right, title and claim to a
reservation of land about ten miles Square, at their
village on Sugar tree Creek in Indiana, which was
reserved to said party by the 2d article of a treaty
between Commissioners of the United States, and the
Miami nation of Indians made and entered into
at St. Mary's in the State of Ohio on the sixth
day of October One thousand eight hundred and
eighteen. -
It is understood and agreed on by said Indians
that they will not burn or destroy the houses [insert] or fences [/] on said
reservation, and that they will leave them in as good
condition as they now are; and remove to the five
mile reservation on Eel River by the fifteenth day of
October next. -
Art. 2. The Commissioner of the United States has
delivered to said party of Indians, Goods to the
[page 2]
[left page]
value of Two Thousand dollars in part consid-
-eration for the Cession herein made, and it is agreed
that in case this treaty should be ratified by the
President and Senate of the United States, that
the United States shall pay said party an additional
sum of Eight Thousand [bracket] Dollars in Goods next summer,
build twelve log houses, Ten on the five mile reservation,
and two on the Wabash; Clear [insert] and fence [/] forty acres of Land on the
five mile reservation, furnish them One Waggon [sic] and
two Yoke of Oxen, furnish two hands to work three
months in each year for two Years, Five hundred
dollars worth of provisions delivered on the Wabash,
furnish them five horses, five Saddles and five y
Bridles. -
Provided however that if this Treaty should
not be ratified by the President and Senate of the
United States, that said party agree to pay for the
Goods this day received, Two thousand Dollars, to be
deducted from their annuity for this present year. -
Art. 3. At the request of the Indians, and in part
consideration for the Cession aforesaid, the United
States agree to pay Peter Langlois, One thousand
Dollars in Silver, and Three thousand Dollars
in Goods next summer, for Provisions & Goods
heretofore delivered to said party.
Art. 4. The United States agree to appropriate
One thousand Dollars per year for five
[right page]
Years, and longer if congress think proper, to be
applied under the direction of the President to the
education of the youths of the Miami nation. -
Art. 5. It is distinctly understood and agreed on by
and between the contracting parties, that the President
and Senate may if they think proper, modify or
expunge from this treaty the fourth article without
affecting any other of its provisions. -
Art. 6. This treaty after the same shall be ratified
by the President and Senate of the United States
shall be binding on the contracting parties. -
In testimony whereof, the said
John Tipton Commissioner as aforesaid on the
part of the United States and the Chiefs, headmen
& Warriors, of said party have hereunto set their hands
and seals at the Wyandot village near the Wa-
-bash this Eleventh day of February In the year
of our Lord, One thousand Eight hundred and
Twenty-eight.
[signed] John Tipton
Commissioner
[left column]
Attest---
[signature] Walter Wilson
Secretary to the Commissioner
[signature] J. B. Duret
[signature] Joseph Barron
Interpreter
[signature] J. B. Boure
Interpreter
[signature] Calvin Fletcher
[right column]
Ne-go-ta-kaup-wa his x mark
Shaw-po-to-se-aw his x mark
Ntah-ko-ke-aw his x mark
Aw-waw-no-zaw his x mark
Kaw-koaw-ma-kau to aw his x mark
Aw-sawn-zaw-gaw his x mark
[page 3]
[left page]
[left column]
[signature] Saml Hanna
[signature] Allen Hamilton
[signature] Jordan Vigus
[signature] Pierre Langly
[signature] Joseph Holman
[right column]
Shin-go-aw-zaw his x mark
Oh-zau-ke-at-taw his x mark
Waw-paw-ko-se-aw his x mark
Mack-kon-zaw his x mark
Man-je-ne-ke-ah his x mark
Naw-waw-pawm-awn-daw his x mark
Ne-ah-law-naun-daw his x mark
Ke-pah-naw-mo-aw his x mark
Ke we kau taw his x mark
Pierrish Constant his x mark
Aw-wawn-saw-peaw his x mark
[right page blank]
Indian affairs: laws and treaties Vol. 2 (Treaties) Treaty with the Miami, 1838 from Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - About this collection: Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, this historically significant, seven volume compilation contains U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII). This digitization project was made possible by significant gifts from the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Foundation and the Angie Debo estate. at OSU Digital Collections OKState Library.
#OTD in 1840, the Myaamia (Miami) government agreed to exchange 500,000 acres of their Big Reserve lands in Indiana for 500,000 acres in Kansas Territory that the U. S. government would “guarranty to them forever.” Powerful Principal Miami Chief Pinšiwa, also known as Jean Baptiste Richardville, drew the treaty and controlled many of the terms, including protecting exempted Miami land in Indiana that would become the center of the sovereign Miami Nation of Indiana, which survives to this day. However, in 1840, having lost access to their independent way of life through encroachment by white settlers, forced dependence on bloated annuities, and violence from the U.S. army and state militias, most Myaamia saw no future in Indiana.
Still, they resisted leaving for six years, during which time more Myaamia achieved exemptions. On October 6, 1846, the U.S. Army forced hundreds of Myaamia from their wooded homelands for the alien prairielands of Kansas Territory; several Myaamia died on the journey. They arrived in winter to find the U.S. Government had provided only tents for protection from the cold.
Despite U.S. promises that this land would be permanently Miami, the federal government again forcibly migrated the Miami to Oklahoma in 1873. Like the Miami of Indiana, the sovereign nation of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma survives to this day.
The Treaty of 1840 was signed on November 28 and ceded all remaining tribal lands in Indiana to the United States, including 511,000 acres left of the Big Miami Reserve. The Miami were given $550,000 and agreed to move within five years to a 500,000 acre reservation in Kansas. Jean Baptiste Richardville received $25,000 and Francois Godfroy and his family received $15,000. The United States would pay the expenses of the removal and provide them with rations and supplies for a year. Some Miami families petitioned to stay in Indiana. In 1846 the Miami were removed by canal boat to lands in Kansas. Images from Volume II, Treaties, Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, 1904. Copied from Treaty with the Miami, 1840 at Telling Our Story: A Living History of the Myaamia which has images of each page 531, 532, 533, 534.
#OTD in 1847, Seekaahkweeta, the widow of Myaamiaki (Miami) leader Palaanswa (Francis Godfroy), penned a devastating letter to another community leader, Toohpia (Francis LaFontaine). Seekaahkweeta and her son Šiipaakana (Thomas Godfroy) had been exempted from removal and could remain in Indiana while many more members of the Myaamiaki Nation were forced to relocate West. However, sixteen-year-old Šiipaakana decided to join the removal group in order to assess the conditions in his people’s new land. According to Miami scholar Diane Hunter, it is also likely that Šiipaakana could not bear to be separated from his siblings (his father’s brother’s children and his mother’s sister’s children would not have been considered cousins, but instead siblings).
Šiipaakana became very ill on the journey and when Seekaahkweeta received the news that he would likely not recover, she wrote in her 1847 letter about the “pang” to her heart because he would die without her seeing him again. She also expressed her anger at the broken promises of the removal agent who had assured her that he would take care of the young man.
By this point, dozens of displaced Myaamiaki had died since officials forced them to leave Indiana, in large part because of the broken promises of U.S. Indian agents and officials. While the U.S. government had been orchestrating their removal for decades, they did not prepare adequate housing for their arrival on the Kansas reservation. Many Myaamiaki became ill and died during the cold winter because only tents were made available. Despite their suffering, the Miami continued as a sovereign nation in both Indiana and Oklahoma (where they were again relocated in 1867) and remain so to this day. Learn more about Myaamiaki removal and survivance through Diane Hunter’s article for the Myaamia Center’s Aacimotaatiiyankwi Blog: Removal – Day 31
Image: Map by Kristina Fox with annotations by Diane Hunter from George Strack, et al., myaamiaki aancihsaaciki: A Cultural Exploration of the Myaamia Removal Route (Miami, OK: Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, 2011), accessed Aacimotaatiiyankwi.
1840, November 28 at Forks of the Wabash - Indian affairs: laws and treaties Vol. 2 (Treaties) Treaty with the Miami, 1840 page 531-534 in a zoomable pdf file from Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Kapper - About this collection: Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, this historically significant, seven volume compilation contains U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII). This digitization project was made possible by significant gifts from the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Foundation and the Angie Debo estate. at OSU Digital Collections OKState Library.
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Kapper - Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, this historically significant, seven volume compilation contains U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII). This digitization project was made possible by significant gifts from the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Foundation and the Angie Debo estate. at OSU Digital Collections OKState Library.
List of United States treaties to which the United States has been a party or which have had direct relevance to U.S. history. Under U.S.–Native American treaties it states with references: From 1778 to 1871, the United States government entered into more than 500 treaties with the Native American tribes; all of these treaties have since been violated in some way or outright broken by the US government, Native Americans and First Nations peoples are still fighting for their treaty rights in federal courts and at the United Nations. On Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Need to find the source for: Historical Map of Indiana - Indian Lands - 1896 - This map of Indiana was included in the eighteenth annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 1896-97 under the direction of J.W. Powell. The report was printed in 1899 by the Washington Printing Office. at World Maps Online.
“I could issue an order against these useless and harmful performances [dances, powwows, and other gatherings], but I would much rather have you give them up of your own free will . . . “
From the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 24, 1923.
Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Series: Subject Numeric Correspondence Files
Transcription:
Com. Burke advice to Indians Re Dance.
31-725
Department of the Interior
Office of Indian Affairs
Washington
A Message
TO ALL INDIANS:
Not long ago I held a meeting of Superintendents, Missionaries and Indians, at which the feeling of those present was strong against Indian dances, as they are usually given, and against so much time as is often spent by the Indians in a display of their old customs at public gatherings held by the whites. From the views of this meeting and from other information I feel that something must be done to stop the neglect of stock, crops, gardens, and home interests caused by these dances or by celebrations, pow-wows, and gatherings of any kind that take the time of the Indians for many days.
Now, what I want you to think about very seriously is that you must first of all try to make your own living, which you cannot do unless you work faithfully and take care of what comes from your labor, and go to dances or other meetings only when your home work will not suffer by it. I do not want to deprive you of decent amusements or occasional feast days, but you should not do evil or foolish things or take so much time for these occasions. No good comes from your "give-away" custom at dances and it should be stopped. It is not right to torture your bodies or to handle poisonous snakes in your ceremonies. All such extreme things are wrong and should be put aside and forgotten. You do yourselves and your families great injustice when at dances you give away money or other property, perhaps clothing, a cow, a horse or a team and wagon, and then after an absence of several days go home to find everything going to waste and yourselves with less to work with than you had before.
I could issue an order against these useless and harmful performances, but I would much rather have you give them up of your own free will and, therefore, I ask you now in this letter to do so. I urge you to come to an understanding and an agreement with your Superintendent to hold no gatherings in the months when the seed-time, cultivation of crops and the harvest need your attention, and at other times to meet for only a short period and to have no drugs, intoxicants, or gambling, and no dancing that the Superintendent does no approve.
If at the end of one year the reports which I receive show that you are doing as requested, I shall be very glad for I will know that you are making progress in other and more important ways, but if the reports show that you reject this plea, then some other course will have to be taken.
Wish best wishes for your happiness and success, I am
Sincerely yours,
[Signature]
Commissioner.
February 24, 1923.
The Indian Print Shop, [Chilberc?] Oklahoma 2-17-1923. [10M?]
A map of the reservations at Fort Wayne from the Indiana State Library Map Collection at Indiana State Library Digital Collection. 1803, U.S. General Land Office (Washington, D.C.). Zoomable using the double headed arrow on the source site. This map is a photostatic copy made in Washington, D.C. at the General Land Office's Map Division in 1927. The map is a survey map of the reservation lands at Fort Wayne, Indiana. There is a plat of an unlabeled settlement to the west (possibly Huntington) where the Portage Road meets the north bend of the Little River. Map of the reservations at Fort Wayne, surveyed June 1803 by Thomas Freeman ... Copied by Charles de Krafte. This statement and image was posted and discussed December 24, 2022 by Military History of Fort Wayne on Facebook.
Similar survey and copy statement is seen on the updated June 1927 copy below:
Maumee-Wabash Portage Was Once Widely Used By Indians, TradersA map of the reservations at Fort Wayne, Indiana and an article about the Maumee-Wabash Portage from the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Sunday, December 28, 1958. The map was surveyed June 1803 by Thomas Freeman, copied by Charles de Kraftt and redrawn by H.D. Bodine, June 1927. The article entitled: "Maumee-Wabash Portage Was Once Widely Used By Indians, Traders" was written by Bessie K. Roberts. From a three page newspaper article at the History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network.
The Blackfoot and other tribes of Alberta signed treaty # 7, one of the most important entered into during the last century from the article at the bottom at this post. The Blackfoot ancestral home was the upper Great Lakes region.
"Crowfoot stood and watched as the white man spread many one dollar bills on the ground.
“This is what the white man trades with; this is his buffalo robe. Just as you trade skins, we trade with these pieces of paper.”
When the white chief had laid all his money on the ground and shown how much he would give if the Indians would sign a treaty, Crowfoot took a handful of clay, made a ball out of it and put it on the fire.
It did not crack.
Then he said to the white man, Now put your money on the fire and see if it will last as long as the clay.
The white man said, No….my money will burn because it is made of paper.
With an amused gleam in his eyes the old chief said, Oh, your money is not as good as our land, is it?
The wind will blow it away; the fire will burn it; water will rot it. But nothing will destroy our land.
You don’t make a very good trade.
Then with a smile, Crowfoot picked up a handful of sand from the river bank, handed it to the white man and said, You count the grains of sand in that while I count the money you give for the land.
The white man said, I would not live long enough to count this, but you can count the money in a few minutes.
Very well, said the wise Crowfoot, our land is more valuable than your money. It will last forever.
It will not perish as long as the sun shines and the water flows, and through all the years it will give life to men and animals, and therefore we cannot sell the land.
It was put there by the Great Spirit and we cannot sell it because it does not really belong to us.
You can count your money and burn it with a nod of a buffalo’s head, but only the Great Spirit can count the grains of sand and the blades of grass on these plains.
As a present we will give you anything you can take with you, but we cannot give you the land.”
