Federal Recognition for the Miami Nation of Indians of the State of Indiana: To be or Not to be?




Written by: Timothy B. Watt



   The Miami Nation of Indians of the State of Indiana are a proud and resilient people. They have been dealing with the vagaries of the Eurocentric and American chauvinistic attitudes of the powers that have held sway over their traditional cultural properties ever since the “First European contact with Miami in Wisconsin”[1] in 1654.
   Article 3 of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 as passed by the Confederation Congress of the United States states, “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and, in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity, shall from time to time be made for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.”[2]
   However, the Miami, as with many other aboriginal peoples of North America, lost most of their traditional cultural properties to the encroachment of white settlers with the full backing of the US government and its army. In 1794, when “Major General Anthony Wayne (defeated) Miami and other tribes of the Old Northwest at Fallen Timbers, Miami (left) Kekionga (what is now Fort Wayne, Indiana) for new locations along Upper Wabash, Eel, and Mississinewa Rivers.”[3]
   The result of the Miami defeat at Fallen Timbers was the Treaty of Greenville: “On August 3, 1795, Wayne, Little Turtle [chief of the Miami and leader of the loose confederation of Delaware, Miami, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Shawnee] and their delegations met at Fort Greenville (now Greenville, Ohio) to conclude the treaty. Both sides agreed to a termination of hostilities and an exchange of prisoners, and Little Turtle authorized a redefinition of the border between the United States and Indian lands. By the terms of the treaty, the confederation ceded all lands east and south of a boundary that began at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River (in modern Cleveland) and extended south to Fort Laurens (modern Bolivar, Ohio) and then west to Fort Recovery. The boundary then continued southwest to the point at which the Kentucky River emptied into the Ohio River (modern Carrollton, Kentucky). In addition, the United States was granted strategically significant parcels of land to the north and west of this line, including the sites of the modern cities of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Lafayette, Indiana; Chicago; Peoria, Illinois; and Toledo, Ohio. The treaty also ceded Mackinac Island and its environs, as well as a large tract of land encompassing much of the area of modern metropolitan Detroit. After the signing of the treaty, Little Turtle advocated cooperation with the United States, but he was roundly criticized by the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, who stated that the so-called “peace” chiefs had given away land that they did not own. Although Tecumseh led a brilliant campaign against the Americans during the War of 1812, his death in 1813 and the disintegration of his pan-Indian confederacy spelled the effective end of organized Indian resistance in the Northwest.”[4]
   The Indiana Territory was formed in 1800, and William Henry Harrison was appointed territorial governor by President John Adams. Between 1803 and 1809, the Miami were forced to “cede the southern third of Indiana in three treaties with…Harrison.”[5]
   Over the years, several more treaties ensued as more and more settlers who coveted the rich agricultural Miami lands pressured the US government to intercede on their behalf. “A new treaty in 1838 included cession of much of the Big Reserve to the State of Indiana…. Meshingomesia, as trustee (for the Miami), retained a ten-square mile area along the east bank of the Mississinewa River, in trust for the band, who continued to live along the banks of the river.”[6]
   Finally, in 1854, the Miami were recognized by the federal government as a native tribe, and in 1867, the “United States attorney general (ruled) Indiana Miami are a recognized tribe under 1854 treaty.”[7]



[1] Rafert, Stewart. The Miami Indians of Indiana: A Persistent People, 1654-1994, Indiana Historical Society, 1999. P 335. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/iupui-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4751200.
[2] Transcription courtesy of the Avalon Project at Yale Law School. Page URL: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=8&page=transcript, U.S. National Archives & Records Administration.
[3] Rafert, ibid.
[4] Ray, Michael. Treaty of Greenville. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2019. https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Greenville
[5] Rafert, ibid, P 336.
[6] United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for the Meshingomesia…Cemetery and Indian School Historic District, P11. https://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/hp_meshingomesiacemeteryindianschool.pdf
[7] Rafert, ibid.

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