Information about the Indians of northern Indiana-when they came and what they were like. It will also tell about them today.
Indiana--"Land of the Indians". At one time Indiana was almost entirely covered by forests. In the northeast it was treeless prairie with wetlands, marshes, and bogs also in existence. Indiana was full of animals: buffalo, deer, beaver, fox, bears, possums, raccoons, and all kinds of birds. All of this was perfectly suited to the Indian way of life.
A people known as the Mound Builders were most likely the first inhabitants of what is now the state of Indiana. Most counties of Indiana have prehistoric sites. Large mounds of earth have been found in parts of Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois.
It wasn't until the 1600's that the Indian tribes began to move into the territory we now know as Indiana. The Miami, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Kickapoo, Piankashaw, Mascoutin, Delaware, and Wea were some of the tribes that came.
The early lifestlye of Indians in northern Indiana was simple. They were hunting, farming, and fishing people. Men trapped, hunted, and helped their wives plant and hoe corn. Women gathered the crops, stored them, took care of the fires, gathered wood, dressed and cooked the food. Most of the men's work was away from the villages.
Indians had dances for every occasion. There were dances for war, peace, hunting, rain, etc.
One of the saddest results of the coming of the white man to the Indian's lands was the bringing of white man's diseases(for which the Indians had no immunity). Smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, and others brought epidemics which wiped out entire villages and sometimes complete tribes.
The coming of the French fur traders from Canada brought about many changes to the Indian's way of life. The fur traders were the first white mmen to come to northern Indiana. They wanted the Indians to bring them large amounts of pelts and furs in exchange for guns, knives, cooking utensils, and other goods. This tended to cause the Indians to be too dependent upon the French for their necessities. Many abandoned their farming for trapping.
Most of the "Indian trouble" did not come to the region until after the American Revolution. At that time, the English still held Detroit as well as some other posts. It is said that the English provided the Indians with arms and encouraged them to turn against the Americans.
The Miami tribe probably had the greatest effect on what is now northern Indiana. Their main village was called Kekionga (present day Ft. Wayne). One of the best known chiefs of the Miami nation, Little Turtle, was born near there.
Little Turtle led the Miami to victory against the U.S. Army in 1790 and 1791. He was known as the boldest of the Indian leaders in the Northwest Territory. He had an excellent military mind. When in battle, he combined tactics of the white generals with the Indian's knowlege of wilderness fighting. He was defeated at The Battle of Fallen Timbers(near what is now Toledo, Ohio). During the battle at Fallen Timbers he tried to enlist the help of the British, but they locked the Indians out and refused to help them.
Little Turtle took on the role of statesman after the defeat at Fallen Timbers. For the rest of his life he tried to persuade the white man to stop supplying liquor to the Indians. He could see the unreparable damage it was doing his Indian brothers. He is quoted as saying: "This liquor is more to be feared than the gun or tomahawk."
He was well respected by white men in later years, as he encouraged friendship with the Americans. He died in Ft. Wayne on July 14, 1812.
Another Indian leader that is well known is Tecumseh. He was a Shawnee brave who was about 15 years younger than Little Turtle. He was a warrior all of his life and never compromised what he believed. He wanted to build an Indian federation separate from the white man.
Northern Indiana abounds with names that bear evidence of the Indian population that once existed here. Names like Shipshewana,Mishawaka, Elkhart, Kokomo, Pokagon, and many others are in abundance.
The other tribe that was the most prominent in northern Indiana was the Potawatomi. They came in 1795 and by that time white settlers had already started to stake claims and clear the land. Many Potawatomi villages were started along the Tippecanoe River. Many of them fought against the Americans in the Battle of Tippecanoe. The largest of the villages was three miles north of the present city of Warsaw, Indiana.
Other Potawatomi tribes settled near what are now the cities of South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen, Shipshewana, Mongo, and Howe, Indiana.
After 1824 there were a series of treaties and the Indians surrendered the last of their land in Indiana. They agreed to move west of the Mississippi. However, there was one Potawatomi chief who would not sign the treaty. He also would not sell. It seems that only four years before a treaty had been signed which had given him a title to his property "forever". He felt that the government should keep their agreement. His name was Chief Menominee.
In 1838 an Indian agent came to his land and told Menominee that he had to move, which he refused to do. In the summer of 1838 General John Tipton and one hundred soldiers came to the village while Menominee and most of the tribe was in church. They fired their rifles into the air and the Indians came running out--all but Chief Menominee. He stood with a knife in his hand and would not move. He was finally lassoed, bound hand and foot, and thrown into a wagon. The soldiers rounded up the 859 Potawatomi men, women, and children and began the march westward. There were some horses and wagons, but most had to go on foot. What followed is sometimes known as the "Trail of Death". By the time they reached the Illinois border, many of the Indians had died, including most of the babies and the elderly. The entire journey took about two months in the heat of summer and took the lives of about 150 Indians.
This is considered a disgrace to the state's history. Today, about ten miles from Plymouth, Indiana, is a monument to Chief Menominee--at the place where he was lassoed and taken.
The Indian population in Indiana today is probably greater than at any time since the 18th century. There are Indian reservations in Indiana: the Indiana Miami National Council in Huntington; the Miami Nation, Peru, Indiana; and the Upper Kispoko Band of the Shawnee Nation, Kokomo, Indiana.
Here in northern Indian where I live there are annual Indian festivities in several locations where the Potawatomis and Miami tribes teach about their culture with words, songs, drumming,and dancing.
In 1897 the Miami tribe in Indiana lost its Federal recognition. They are trying to get it back today. The U.S. census in 1990 reported about 12,000 Miamis in Indiana.
The Miami was a tribe that never wanted to leave Indiana where they had lived and died, and had their roots deeply planted. It seems that some of them never really did leave.
The Miami Nation of Indiana is located at Peru, Indiana. These are mainly situated in the counties of Miami, Wabash, Grant, Huntington, and Allen. They run a shelter for battered women, AA, and a daycare center, among other things.
The Pokagon band of the Potawatomis has members in St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, La Porte, Kosciusko,and La Grange counties.
Information for portions of this article were derived from the book "Indiana: A History" by William Wilson.
