Prehistory Early Miami people are considered to belong to the Fisher Tradition of
Mississippian culture. Mississippian societies were characterized by
maize-based agriculture,
chiefdom-level social organization, extensive regional trade networks,
hierarchical settlement patterns, and other factors. The historical Miami engaged in hunting, as did other Mississippian peoples. Written history of the Miami traces back to missionaries and explorers who encountered them in what is now
Wisconsin, from which they migrated south and eastwards from the mid-17th century to the mid-18th century, settling on the upper
Wabash River and the
Maumee River in what is now northeastern Indiana and northwestern Ohio. By oral history, this migration was a return to the region where they had long lived before being invaded during the
Beaver Wars by the
Iroquois. Early European colonists and traders on the East Coast had fueled demand for furs, and the Iroquois – based in central and western
New York – had acquired early access to European firearms through trade and had used them to conquer the Ohio Valley area for use as hunting grounds, which temporarily depopulated as Algonquin woodlands tribes fled west as refugees. The warfare and ensuing social disruption – along with the spread of infectious European diseases such as
measles and
smallpox for which they had no
immunity – contributed to the decimation of Native American populations in the interior.
Historic locations Around the beginning of the 18th century, with support from French traders coming down from what is now Canada who supplied them with firearms and wanted to trade with them for furs, the Miami pushed back into their historical territory and resettled it. At this time, the major bands of the Miami were: •
Atchakangouen,
Atchatchakangouen,
Atchakangouen,
Greater Miami or
Crane Band (named after their leading clan, largest Miami band – their main village was
Kekionga / Kiihkayonki ("blackberry bush") at the confluence of the
Saint Joseph (Kociihsa Siipiiwi) (″Bean River″),
Saint Marys (Nameewa Siipiiwi/Mameewa Siipiiwi) (″River of the
Atlantic sturgeon″) and
Maumee River (Taawaawa Siipiiwi) (″River of the
Odawa″) on the western edge of the
Great Black Swamp in present-day Indiana – this place was although called
saakiiweeki taawaawa siipiiwi (lit. ″the confluence of the Maumee River″);
Kekionga / Kiihkayonki was although the capital of the Miami confederacy) •
Kilatika,
Kilatak,
Kiratika called by the French, later known by the English as '
Eel River Band of Miamis
; autonym: Kineepikomeekwaki' (″People along the Snake-Fish-River, i.e. Eel River″, their main village
Kineepikwameekwa/Kenapekwamakwah/Kenapocomoco ("Snake-Fish-Town" or "Eel River Village") moved its location from the headwaters of the
Eel River (Kineepikwameekwa Siipiiwi) ("Snake-Fish-River") (near
Columbia City, Indiana) down to its mouth at the
Wabash River (Waapaahšiki Siipiiwi) (″Shining White River/Bright Shiny River″) (near
Logansport, Indiana) in northern Indiana; the
Kilatika Band of the French years had their main village at the confluence of the
Kankakee River and
Des Plaines Rivers to form the Illinois River about 16 km southwest of today's
Joliet, Illinois) •
Mengakonkia or
Mengkonkia,
Michikinikwa ("Little Turtle")' people •
Pepikokia,
Pepicokea, later known as
Tepicon Band or
Tippecanoe Band; autonym:
Kiteepihkwana (″People of the Place of the buffalo fish″), their main village
Kithtippecanuck / Kiteepihkwana (″Place of the
buffalo fish″) moved its location various times from the headwaters of the
Tippecanoe River (Kiteepihkwana siipiiwi) (″River of the buffalo fish″) (east of Old Tip Town, Indiana) to its mouth into the Wabash River (Waapaahšiki Siipiiwi) (near Lafayette, Indiana) – sometimes although known as
Nation de la Gruë or
Miamis of Meramec River, possibly the name of a Miami–Illinois band named
Myaarameekwa (″Ugly Fish, i.e.
Catfish Band″) that lived along the Meramec River (″River of the ugly fish″) •
Piankeshaw,
Piankashaw,
Pianguichia; autonym:
Peeyankihšiaki (″those who separate″ or ″those who split off″) lived in several villages along the
White River in western Indiana, the
Vermilion River (Peeyankihšiaki Siipiiwi) (″River of the Peeyankihšiaki/Piankashaw″) and Wabash Rivers (Waapaahšiki Siipiiwi) in Illinois and later along the
Great Miami River (Ahsenisiipi) (″Rocky River″) in western Ohio, their first main village
Peeyankihšionki (″Place of the Peeyankihšiaki/Piankashaw″) was at the confluence of Vermilion River and the Wabash River (near
Cayuga, Indiana) – one minor settlement was at the confluence of the main tributaries of the Vermilion River (near
Danville, Illinois), the second important settlement was named
Aciipihkahkionki / Chippekawkay / Chippecoke (″Place of the
edible Root″) and was situated at the mouth of the
Embarras River in the Wabash River (near
Vincennes, Indiana), in the 18th century a third settlement outside the historic Wabash River Valley named
Pinkwaawilenionki / Pickawillany (″Ash Place″) was erected along the Great Miami River (which developed into
Piqua, Ohio) •
Wea,
Wiatonon,
Ouiatanon or
Ouaouiatanoukak; autonym:
Waayaahtanooki or
Waayaahtanwa (″People of the place of the whirlpool″), because their main village
Waayaahtanonki (″Place of the
whirlpool″) was at the riverside where a whirlpool was in the river, under the term "
Ouiatanon" was both referred to a group of extinct five Wea settlements or to their historic tribal lands along the Middle Wabash Valley between the Eel River to the north and the Vermilion River to the south, the ″real″
Quiatanon at the mouth of the Wea Creek into the Wabash River was their main village, the main chief of the Miami In 1696, the
Comte de Frontenac appointed
Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes as commander of the French outposts in northeast
Indiana and southwest Michigan. He befriended the Miami people, settling first at the
St. Joseph River, and, in 1704, establishing a trading post and fort at
Kekionga, present-day
Fort Wayne, Indiana, the de facto Miami capital which controlled an important land portage linking the Maumee River (which flowed into Lake Erie and offered a water path to Quebec) to the Wabash River (which flowed into the Ohio River and offered a water path to the Mississippi Valley). By the 18th century, the Miami had for the most part returned to their homeland in present-day Indiana and Ohio. The eventual victory of the
British in the
French and Indian War (
Seven Years' War) led to an increased British presence in traditional Miami areas. Shifting alliances and the gradual encroachment of European-American settlement led to some Miami bands, including the
Piankeshaw, and
Wea, effectively merging into what was sometimes called the Miami Confederacy. Native Americans created larger tribal confederacies led by Chief
Little Turtle; their alliances were for waging war against Europeans and to fight advancing white settlement, and the broader Miami itself became a subset of the so-called Western Confederacy during the Northwest Indian War. The U.S. government later included the Miami with the
Illini for administrative purposes. The
Eel River band maintained a somewhat separate status, which proved beneficial in the
removals of the 19th century. The Miami nation's traditional capital was
Kekionga.
Locations French years Many of the confederation leaders had been considering terms of peace to present to the United States, but when they received news of Wilkinson's raid, they readied for war. Wilkinson's raid thus had the opposite effect and united the tribes for a war. Later in 1791, the Washington administration organized a second expedition to attack Kekionga with further orders to build a fort there to permanently occupy the region, but the Western Confederacy attacked its camp en route and destroyed it; the battle, known as
St. Clair's Defeat, is recognized as the worst defeat of an American army by Native Americans in U.S. history. In 1794, a third invading force under General "Mad"
Anthony Wayne defeated the confederacy at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers, burned tribal settlements along dozens of miles of the Maumee River, and erected
Fort Wayne at Kekionga. Wayne then imposed the
Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which ended the Northwest Indian War. Under it, confederacy leaders like Little Turtle agreed to cede most of what is now Ohio, along with other tracts to the west including what is now central Detroit, Chicago, and Fort Wayne, in exchange for annual payments. but the bill did not advance to a vote.
Locations , located at Chief Francis Godfroy Cemetery in
Miami County, Indiana United States years • 1785 – Delaware villages located near Kekionga (refugees from American settlements) • 1790 – Pickawillany Miami join Kekionga (refugees from American settlements) • 1790 Gen. Josiah Harmar is ordered to attack and destroy Kekionga. On October 17, Harmar's forces burn the evacuated villages but are then defeated by
Little Turtle's warriors. • 1790-1791 – Rather than rebuilding Kekionga, tribes resettle further down the Maumee River, including at what is now
Defiance, Ohio • 1791 Gen.
Arthur St. Clair attempts to attack Kekionga again and build a fort there, but before he can get there the Western Confederacy attacks his camp and destroys his army near the future
Fort Recovery. • Kentucky Militia destroy Eel River villages. • 1793 December – General
Anthony Wayne launches third invasion and builds Fort Recovery on the site of St. Clair's Defeat. • 1794 June – Fort
Recovery repulses attack by Western Confederacy • 1794 August –
Battle of Fallen Timbers near modern-day Toledo; Wayne's forces defeat Western Confederacy • 1794 September – Wayne's forces march up the Maumee River, burning tribal villages and fields (where tribes resettled after Harmar destroyed Kekionga) for dozens of miles, before reaching the abandoned ruins of Kekionga at its headwaters and building Fort Wayne • 1795 – Tribal leaders sign the Treaty of Greenville, ceding most of what is now Ohio as well as the area around Fort Wayne that includes its historic capital of Kekionga and the Maumee-Wabash land portage • 1809 – Gov.
William Henry Harrison orders destruction of all villages within two days' march of
Fort Wayne. Villages near
Columbia City and
Huntington destroyed. • 1812 17 December – Lt. Col.
John B. Campbell ordered to destroy the Mississinewa villages. Campbell destroys villages and kills 8 Indians and 76 were taken prisoner, including 34 women and children. • 1812 18 December, at Silver Heel's village, a sizeable Native American force counterattacked. The American Indians were outnumbered, but fought fiercely to rescue the captured villagers being held by Campbell, A joint cavalry charge led by Major James McDowell and Captains Trotter and Johnston finally broke the attack. an estimated 30 Indians were killed; Americans repulsed and return to Greenville. • 1813 July – U.S. Army returns and burns deserted town and crops. • 1817 Maumee Treaty – lose Ft. Wayne area (1400 Miami counted) • 1818 Treaty of St. Mary's (
New Purchase Treaty) – lose south of the Wabash – Big Miami Reservation created. Grants on the Mississinewa and Wabash given to Josetta Beaubien, Anotoine Bondie, Peter Labadie, Francois Lafontaine, Peter Langlois, Joseph Richardville, and Antoine Rivarre. Miami National Reserve (875,000) created. • 1818 Eel River Miami settle at
Thorntown, northeast of
Lebanon). • 1825 1073 Miami, including the Eel River Miami • 1826 Mississinewa Treaty – Tribe cedes most of its remaining reservation land in northeastern Indiana, which the government wanted to create a right of way for a canal linking Lake Erie to the Wabash River. Miami chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville receives deed to a large personal property and
funds to build a mansion on it for signing. Eel River Miami leave Thorntown, northeast of Lebanon, for Logansport area. • 1834 Western part of the Big Reservation sold () • 1838 Potawatomi removed from Indiana. No other Indian tribes in the state. Treaty of 1838 made 43 grants and sold the western portion of the Big Reserve. Richardville exempted from any future removal treaties. Richardsville, Godfroy, Metocina received grants, plus family reserves for Ozahshiquah, Maconzeqyuah (Wife of Benjamin), Osandian, Tahconong, and Wapapincha. • 1840 Remainder of the Big Reservation () sold for lands in
Kansas. Godfroy descendants and Meshingomesia (s/o Metocina), sister, brothers and their families exempted from the removal. • 1846 – October 1, removal was supposed to begin. It began October 6 by canal boat. By ship to Kansas Landing
Kansas City and overland to the reservation. Reached by 9 November. • 1847
Godfroy Reserve, between the Wabash and Mississinewa • Wife of Benjamin Reserve, east edge of Godfroy • Osandian Reserve, on the Mississinewa, southeast boundary of Godfroy • Wapapincha Reserve, south of Mississinewa at Godfroy/Osandian juncture • Tahkonong Reserve, southeast of Wapapincha south of Mississinewa • Ozahshinquah Reserve, on the Mississinewa River, southeast of Peoria • Meshingomesa Reserve, north side of Mississinewa from Somerset to Jalapa (northwest Grant County) • 1872 Most reserves were partially sold to non-Indians. • 1922 All reserves were sold for debt or taxes for the Miamis. ==Places named for the Miami==