Miami Topics – Page 2 of 3 – Access Genealogy

Treaty of August 3, 1795

Treaty of August 3, 1795, also known as the Treaty of Greenville. The Treaty of Greenville set a precedent for objectives in future treaties with Native Americans — that is, obtaining cessions of land, advancing the frontier through white settlement, and obtaining more cessions through treaties. With the tribes’ surrender of most of Ohio, settlers began entering in Northwest Territory in greater numbers. In the near future, more treaties would further diminish Indians’ territory. A treaty of peace between the United States of America and the Tribes of Indians, called the Wyandot, Delaware, Shawanoe, Ottawa, Chipewa, Putawatime, Miami, Eel River, Weea, Kickapoo, Piankashaw, and Kaskaskia.

Treaty of September 8, 1815

A Treaty between the United States of America and the Wyandot, Delaware, Seneca, Shawanoe, Miami, Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatimie Tribes of Indians, residing within the limits of the State of Ohio, and the Territories of Indiana and Michigan. Whereas the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatimie, tribes of Indians, together with certain bands of the Wyandot, Delaware, Seneca, Shawanoe, and Miami tribes, were associated with Great Britain in the late war between the United States and that power, and have manifested a disposition to be restored to the relations of peace and amity with the said States; and the President of the … Read more

Treaty of September 30, 1809

A treaty between the United States of America, and the tribes of Indians called the Delawares, Putawatimies, Miamies and Eel River Miamies. James Madison, President of the United States, by William Henry Harrison, governor and commander-in-chief of the Indiana territory, superintendent of Indian affairs, and commissioner plenipotentiary of the United States for treating with the said Indian tribes, and the Sachems, Head men and Warriors of the Delaware, Putawatame, Miami and Eel River tribes of Indians, have agreed and concluded upon the following treaty; which, when ratified by the said President, with the advice and consent of the Senate of … Read more

Treaty of June 7, 1803

Articles of a treaty between the United States of America, and the Delaware, Shawanoe, Putawatimie, Miamie, Eel River, Weea, Kickapoo, Piankashaw, and Kaskaskia nations of Indians. Articles of a treaty made at Fort Wayne on the Miami of the Lake, between William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana territory, superintendent of Indian affairs and commissioner plenipotentiary of the United States for concluding any treaty or treaties which may be found necessary with any of the Indian tribes north west of the Ohio, of the one part, and the tribes of Indians called the Delawares, Shawanoe, Putawatimie, Miami and Kickapoo, by … Read more

Treaty of August 21, 1805

A treaty between the United States of America, and the tribes of Indians called the Delawares, Pottawatimies, Miames, Eel River, and Weas. Articles of a treaty made and entered into, at Grouseland, near Vincennes, in the Indiana territory, by and between William Henry Harrison, governor of said territory, superintendent of Indian affairs, and commissioner plenipotentiary of the United States, for treating with the north western tribes of Indians, of the one part, and the tribes of Indians called the Delewares, Putawatimis, Miamis, Eel River, and Weas, jointly and severally by their chiefs and head men, of the other part. Article … Read more

Miami Indian Treaties

The Miami joined in or made treaties with the United States as follows: (1) Greenville, O., with Gen. Anthony Wayne, Aug. 3, 1795, defining the boundary between the United States and tribes west of Ohio river and ceding certain tracts of land; (2) Ft Wayne, Ind., June 7, 1803, with various tribes, defining boundaries and ceding certain lands; (3) Grouseland, Ind., Aug., 21, 1805, ceding certain lands in Indiana and defining boundaries; (4) Ft Wayne, Ind., Sept. 30, 1809, in which the Miami, Eel River tribes, and 1)elawares ceded certain lands in Indiana, and the relations between the Delawares and … Read more

Piankashaw Tribe

Piankashaw Tribe – From a population of over 1,500 persons in 1759 to only 9 surviving members in 1936, all the children and grandchildren of George Washington Finley, the Piankashaw’s history mirrors that of many other mid-west tribes and is heavily woven with those of the Miami and Peoria tribes.

Wea Tribe

Wea Indians (probably a contraction of the local name Wawaagtenang, ‘place of the round, or curved, channel’ (Schoolcraft); possibly contracted from Wayahtónuki, ‘eddy people,’ from waysqtonwi, `eddy,’ both renderings coming from the same root. Wawaqtenang was the common Algonquian name for Detroit. (Cf. Wawyachtonoc). A subtribe of the Miami. They are first mentioned in the Jesuit Relation for 1673 as living in east Wisconsin. In the later distribution of the tribes of the confederacy they occupied the most westerly position. Allouez in 1680 found a Wea town on St Joseph River, Indiana. Marquette visited a Wea village at Chicago which … Read more

Miami Tribe

Miami Indians (Chippewa: Omaumeg, ‘people who live on the peninsula’). An Algonquian tribe, usually designated by early English writers as Twightwees (twanhtwanh, the cry of a crane. Hewitt), from their own name, the earliest recorded notice of which is from information furnished in 1658 by Gabriel Druillettes who called them the Oumamik, then living 60 leagues froth St. Michel, the first village of the Pottawatomi mentioned by him; it, was therefore at or about the mouth of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Tailhan (Perrot, Mémoire) says that they withdrew into the Mississippi valley, 60 leagues from the bay, and were established there … Read more

Miami Indian Villages and Towns

Among the Miami villages were: Chicago Chippekawkay Choppatee’s village Kekionga Kenapaconiaqua Kokomo Kowasikka Little Turtle’s Village Meshingomesia Missinquinieschan (Piankashaw) Mississinewa Osaga Pahedketcha Piankashaw (Piankashaw) Pickawillanee Raccoon’s village Seek’s village St Francis Xavier (mission, with others) Thorntown (Eel River Miami) Osage. A former Miami village on Wabash river, just west, of the Mississinewa, in Miami county, Ind. It was so called from its being the residence of an Osage Indian domiciliated among the Miami, and whose name appears in treaties as Osage and Osage the Neutral (J. P. Dunn, inf’n, 1907). In 1838 the site was included in an individual reserve … Read more

Pepikokia Tribe

Pepikokia Indians, Nation de la Gruë. An Algonquian tribe or band mentioned in the latter part of the 17th century as a division of the Miami. In 1718 both they and the Piankashaw were mentioned as villages of the Wea. That the relation between these three groups was intimate is evident. They were located on the Wabash by Chauvignerie (1736) and by other writers of the period. They are spoken of in 1695 as Miamis of Maramek rivers, that is, the Kalamazoo. A letter dated 1701 indicates that they were at that time in Wisconsin. Chauvignerie says that Wea, Piankashaw, … Read more

Jean Baptiste Ducoigne, Kaskaskia Indian Chief

Jean Baptiste Ducoigne. A Kaskaskia chief at the beginning of the 19th century, noted mainly for his firm adherence to the United States and friendship for the whites. Reynolds describes him as a cunning half-blood of considerable talent. In his Memoirs, Gen. W. H. Harrison, who had dealings with Ducoigne, speaks of him as “a gentlemanly man, by no means addicted to drink, and possessing a very strong inclination to live like a white man; indeed has done so as far as his means would allow.” Writing to the Secretary of War, he says: “Ducoigne’s long and well-proved friendship for … Read more

Kaskaskia Tribe

Kaskaskia Indians (perhaps akin to kāskāskahamwa, ‘ he scrapes it off by means of a tool.’ The Foxes have always held the Peoria in low esteem, and in their traditions claim to have destroyed most of them on a rocky island in a river. – Wm. Jones). Once the leading tribe of the Illinois confederacy, and perhaps rightly to be considered as the elder brother of the group. Although the first knowledge of this confederacy obtained by the whites related, in all probability, to the Peoria while they yet resided on the Mississippi, it is probable that the references to … Read more

Miami Indian Bands and Gentes

The French authors commonly divided the Miami into six bands: Piankashaw, Wea, Atchatchakangouen, Kilatika, Mengakonkia Pepicokia. Of these the first two have come to be recognized, as distinct tribes; the other names are no longer known. The Pepicokia, mentioned in 1796 with the Wea and Piankashaw, may have been absorbed by the a band known as Eel Rivers, formerly living near Thorntown, Boone county, Ind., but they afterward joined the main body on the Wabash. According to Morgan the Miami have 10 gentes: Mowhawa(wolf), Mongwa (loon), Kendawa (eagle), Alipakosea (buzzard), Hanozawa (Kanwasowau, panther), I’ilawa (turkey), Ahseponna (raccoon), Monnato (snow), Kulswa … Read more

Miami Indian Chiefs and Leaders

Little Turtle Little Turtle (Michikinikwca). A chief of the Miami tribe. Born at his village on Eel River, Ind., in 1752. His father was a Miami chief and his mother a Mahican; hence, according to the Indian rule, he was a Mahican and received no advantage from his father’s rank, that is, he was not chief by descent. However, his talents having attracted the notice of his countrymen, he was made chief of the Miami while a comparatively young man. Little Turtle was the principal leader of the Indian forces that defeated Gen. Harmaron on the Miami River in Oct. 1790, … Read more

Atchatchakangouen Tribe

Atchatchakangouen (from atchitchak, ‘crane’). The principal division of the Miami. On account of the hostility of the Illinois they removed west of the Mississippi, where they were attacked by the Sioux, and they afterward settled near the Jesuit mission at Green Bay, and moved thence into Illinois and Indiana with the rest of the tribe. In 1736 Chauvignerie gave the crane as one of the two leading Miami totems, (J. M.)

The Miami of Kansas

The Miami Indian Tribe

The Miami of Illinois

The Illinois were driven from the Chicago region by the Iroquois, for in 1671 Dablon states that they were then living across the Mississippi, where they had been driven by the former people. Their place seems to have been taken by the Miami, another Algonkian tribe, who appear to have been formerly associated with the Illinois, as well as the northern Lake tribes. These people were first met by the French near Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Perrot visited them on the headwaters of the Fox River in 1666 and 1670. In 1671, part of the tribe at least were living … Read more

History of the Chicago Tribes

Such were the three tribes that we know once occupied the territory where the city of Chicago now stands, but in order to understand their coming and going, the history of this part of the Great Lakes region must be briefly considered. When the accounts of the great French explorers and priests such as Champlain, La Salle, and Marquette first describe the state of the tribes, we find the Iroquois Confederacy, located in what is now the State of New York, to be the dominant military power. Archaeologists are inclined to believe that the Iroquois came to New York from … Read more

Indians of The Chicago Region

The history of the Chicago region is deeply intertwined with the lives and cultures of the indigenous peoples who inhabited this area long before the arrival of European settlers. This booklet, “Indians of The Chicago Region,” focuses particularly on the Illinois and Potawatomi tribes, drawing on extensive research and firsthand information. Prepared by Assistant Curator Strong, this work is based on materials collected by Mr. M. G. Chandler, an adopted member of the Potawatomi tribe, whose intimate knowledge of the central Algonkian group has been invaluable.