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In the Beginning...
In the early 1600's the Miami founded their capital of
Kekionga. They may also have started a trading post of sorts at
the natural rock formation called Seven Pillars east of Peru on the
north bank of the Mississinewa River. With the beginning of the
1700's, the next 100 years witnessed the birth and subsequent rise of
Little Turtle and the Miami "Golden Age". In 1794, although still
undefeated in battle, Little Turtle and his white son-in-law, William
Wells, tried to establish peace between the whites and the Indians.
The whites outnumbered the Indians in what became the Indiana Territory
by 1800. Though the chief signed the Treaty of Grouseland in 1805
which gave up Miami, Eel and Wea Indian claims to all of southeastern
Indiana, he and Wells wanted northern Indiana to remain an Indian
reserve forever. Little Turtle died in July 1812, at Wells' home
in Fort Wayne. The war of 1812, which had started the month
before, would see the Miami fight one last battle against the whites.
In 1818, with the Treaty of St. Mary's, the Miami gave
up a major part of their tribal lands which allowed whites to settle the
central third of Indiana except for 6 reservations. The Miami had
become the northeastern-most tribe confronting white expansion. An
1826 treaty was meant to protect the Miami villages north of the Wabash
River, but in the 1834 Treaty of the Forks of the Wabash, the village
reserves were reduced. The tribe continued to give up land, but it
was never enough. President Andrew Jackson refused to accept the
1834 treaty because the treaty didn't provide for the emigration of the
Miami from Indiana. Indian emigration had become a federal policy
after the Federal Removal Act of 1830 was passed. The Miami
refused to give up their reservations even after new negotiations in
1836, and the U.S. Senate never approved the treaty.
By now, time was running out for the Miamis. White
expansion and progress would force the Indians' eviction from their
homeland. Finally, in 1840, chiefs Richardville, Godfroy,
Lafountaine and Meshingomesia signed a new Treaty of the Forks of the
Wabash. The treaty allowed their families and some others to stay
behind in Indiana and retain some land, but reportedly at least half the
tribe was supposed to relocate to the western frontier by 1845.
Many Miamis didn't go, so soldiers came for them in 1846.
Even after relocation to Kansas, white expansion still
forced many Miamis from their land due to local taxation throughout the
late 1800s. Miami leaders asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs for
help, who then asked the Assistant Attorney General in 1897 for a ruling
of taxability of Miami lands. The assistant ruled the Indiana
Miami had no rights and the Indiana tribe lost its recognition by the
federal government as a tribe. Even still, the Miami leaders
didn't give up. Beginning in 1911, the leaders worked with their
Congressmen to pass legislation restoring Miami rights. In 1937,
the Indiana tribe succeeded in obtaining a state charter, though not
federal recognition. It was during the years of WWII that nearly
all the remaining tribal land was lost.
In 1979, Congress set up a way that unrecognized tribes
could seek federal recognition. After extensive research of tribal
history and accumulating documents to back up their requests, the
Indiana Miami submitted a petition to the B.I.A. in 1984 for recognition
yet again. In the petition, the Miami of Indiana had to meet 7
requirements, but despite all its documentation, in 1985 the tribe was
again turned down because of a list of "Obvious Deficiencies". All
of these deficiencies have been have been corrected, but the Supreme
Court again refused to hear the petition in 2002. The Miami still
believe it's a matter of "when" not "if" they get federal recognition.
For more information, please contact:
Miami Nation of Indians of Indiana, 80 W. 6th Street,
Peru, Indiana, 46970 (765)473-9631 |