Miami (people)

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Miami residential and hunting area before 1650

The Miami or Myaamiaki or Miami Confederation were a loose confederation of at least six Algonquin- speaking Indian tribes , whose tribal area at the beginning of the 17th century stretched south of Lake Michigan over large parts of what is now the US state of Indiana as well as the adjacent areas of Illinois and Ohio in the middle Stretched west. The "Miami / Myaamiaki" are not to be confused with the neither ethnically nor linguistically related Mayaimi (Maymi / Maimi) in the area around Lake Mayaimi (Lake Okeechobee) in southern Florida .

Language, names, tribal area and related tribes

language

When the first French settlers arrived at the end of the 17th century, they met tribes in what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arkansas, all of which spoke dialects of a common language: the "Miami / Myaamiaki" along the Wabash River (Waapaahšiki siipiiwi) (" shiny white, shining river") and the "Illinois / Inoca" along the Illinois River (Inoka Siipiiwi) ("River of the Inoka, ie the Illinois"). The language is divided into an "Illinois / Inoca" dialect and a "Miami / Myaamiaki" dialect and is therefore mostly known under the collective term "Miami-Illinois" . The only difference between the two dialects was the pronunciation of the words or the duration of the spoken vowels , the "Illinois / Inoca" spoke with a "short" accent or vowel quantity , while the "Miami / Myaamiaki" spoke more slowly and therefore a "long" “Accented. In addition, since the first contact with speakers of the "Miami-Illinois" language, there had been a change in sound from r / ɹ / to l / l /, which was completed by the 18th century at the latest.

Names

The tribal name "Miami / Myaamiaki" which is common today is derived from a language of neighboring Algonquian-speaking tribes and means "people who live downstream" (although it is still not clear which river is meant by this). The so-called tribes and bands soon also adopted this name as their autonym and called themselves Myaamiaki ("people who live downstream", singular: Myaamia ) in the Miami-Illinois language, this name was also picked up by the Europeans and in theirs respective languages ​​adopted. Some sources claim that they called themselves Twightwee (or Twatwa ), supposedly an onomatopoeic reference to their sacred bird, the sandhill crane (also known as sand hill crane , in Miami-Illinois: Cecaahkwa ). However, recent research has shown that Twightwee is derived from Tuwéhtuwe from the language of Lenni Lenape for the Miami. A designation still common today and used by the Miami was and is Mihtohseeniaki ("the people", singular: Mihtohseenia - "human", "person"), it could even be their original tribal name, since many indigenous peoples are simply one another referred to as "the people, the people".

Tribal area

At the beginning of European contact and probably some time before that, the Miami-speaking tribes lived at the southern end of Lake Michigan , from the Saint Joseph River in the north to the Vermilion River in northern Illinois. At the beginning of the eighteenth century they moved into the catchment area of ​​the Wabash River . The Wea and Piankashaw were relocated to Missouri around 1820 and to the Marais des Cygnes River in eastern Kansas in 1832 , where they were merged with the remnants of the Illinois. This group eventually had to move to northeastern Oklahoma , where they formed the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma . Most of Miami, however, stayed in Indiana. Around 600 tribe members moved to Kansas in 1846 and were relocated to Oklahoma after the Civil War . The descendants of the Miami who stayed in northern Indiana are now called the Miami Nation of Indiana .

Tribes of the Miami

According to French records from the seventeenth century, there were a total of six tribes, often collectively referred to as "Miami," which in turn were divided into several bands . The tribal or band names were mostly derived from the location of their summer village, the preferred hunting area, a characteristic feature or their respective chief.

  • Atchatchakangouen , Atchakangouen , (Sandhill) Crane Band or Greater Miami (actual Miami) (the name probably derives from an Ojibwe translation for Cecaahkwa (plural: Cecaahkwaki ) of the Miami-Illinois name for their sacred bird - the sandhill crane (sand hill crane) from; the largest and most politically important band, their capital - a collection of several scattered settlements - was Kekionga / Kiihkayonki ("place of the blackberry bush ") at the confluence of the St. Joseph River (Kociihsa Siipiiwi) ("Bean River") and St. Marys River (Nameewa Siipiiwi / Mameewa Siipiiwi) ("River of the Atlantic Sturgeon ") to the Maumee River (Taawaawa Siipiiwi) ("River of the Merchants, ie the Odawa ") on the edge of the Great Black Swamp in Indiana. Kekionga / Kiihkayonki was also known as Saakiiweeki Taawaawa Siipiiwi ("confluence / confluence in / to the Maumee River") due to its location and therefore named the traditional capital of the Miami Confederation, where the tribal council was held en the Europeans these also simply “the Miami Towns” or “Miamitown”)
  • Kilatika , Kilatak , Kiratika , later referred to by the British as the Eel River Miami Band ; Own designation: Kineepikomeekwaki ("people along the Snake-Fish-River, ie Eel River", their main village Kineepikwameekwa / Kenapekwamakwah / Kenapocomoco - "Snake-Fish-Town" or "Eel River Village", changed over the decades between the upper reaches) the eel river (Kineepikwameekwa Siipiiwi) ( " eel -flow") (near Logansport , Indiana) to its confluence with the Wabash river (Waapaahšiki Siipiiwi) ( "bright gloss white river") (near Columbia City, Indiana) in the north Indianas, at the time of the French, the main village of the band called Kilatika / Kiratika was recorded at the confluence of the Kankakee River and Des Plaines River to the Illinois River about 16 km southwest of today's Joliet in Illinois)
  • Mengakonkia or Mengkonkia
  • Pepikokia , Pepicokea , Tepicon , Tippecanoe ; Own name: Kiteepihkwana (their main village of the same name Kithtippecanuck / Kiteepihkwana ("place of the buffalo fish") often alternated between the upper reaches (east of Old Tip Town, Indiana) of the Tippecanoe River (Kiteepihkwana siipiiwi) ("river of the buffalo fish ") and its mouth (near Lafayette , Indiana) in the Wabash River, sometimes known as Nation de la Gruë (named after a chief or the leading clan) or as Miamis of Meramec River , the name probably refers to a Miami-Illinois-speaking band Myaarameekwa (" Catfish Band, literally: Ugly Fish Band") along the Meramec River ("River of Ugly Fish"))
  • Piankashaw , Piankashaw , Pianguichia ; Name : Peeyankihšiaki ("those who isolated themselves", lived in several villages along the White River in western Indiana, the Vermilion River and Wabash Rivers in Illinois and later along the Great Miami River in western Ohio, their first main settlement Peeyankihšionki ("place of Peeyankihšiaki / Piankashaw ") was built at the confluence of the Vermilion River (Peeyankihšiaki Siipiiwi) (" River of the Peeyankihšiaki / Piankashaw ") with the Wabash River (near Cayuga, Indiana) - a smaller settlement was at the confluence of the two main arms of the Vermillion River (near Danville , Illinois), the second significant settlement Aciipihkahkionki ("place of edible roots") was built above the confluence of the Embarras River in the Wabash River (near Vincennes , Indiana), another settlement called Pinkwaawilenionki / Pickawillany ("place of the ash people ") Arose along the Great Miami River (Ahsenisiipi) (" rocky, stony river ") and developed into today's Piqua in the west Ohios)
  • Wea , Wiatonon , Ouiatanon or Ouaouiatanoukak ; Own name: Waayaahtanooki ("people at the water vortex ", because their main village Waayaahtanonki ("at the place of the watervortex") - also called Waayaahtanwa - was located near a vortex in the river. Under the name "Ouiatanon" one understood the whole tribal area of ​​the Wea in the middle Wabash Valley between the Eel River in the north and the Vermilion River in the south as well as a collective name for the five Wea villages, of which the "real" Quiatanon at the confluence of Wea Creek in the Wabash River was the main village)

In the early eighteenth century, a number of the tribes lost their identities and eventually only the Miami Actors, the Piankashaws, and the Wea remained. These tribes were aware of their common origins. The Miami felt like the older brothers of the other tribes, but each of them was completely independent.

In the mid-eighteenth century, the Miami consisted of three bands whose French names were as follows:

  • Le Pied Foid Band (also known as "Cold Feet", named after the leading chief of the "Atchatchakangouen Band" from the Miami capital Kekionga / Kiihkayonki , but this increasingly lost its political power to the British-friendly Piankashaw chief Meemeehšihkia / Memeskia and moved with the majority of his followers also to the Great Miami River - so that during this time the old capital lost much of its importance)
  • La Demoiselle Band (named after Meemeehšihkia / Memeskia , "La Demoiselle" or "Old Briton", a chief of the Piankashaw who was hostile to the French and who, after an attack on them, moved his followers east to the vicinity of the British-controlled Ohio Area and along the Great Miami River (Ahsenisiipi) a new settlement called Pinkwaawilenionki / Pickawillany ("place of the ash people") established, today's Piqua in western Ohio, the different Miami groups settling here - Piankashaw, Wea, Atchatchakangouen - were referred to by the other tribesmen soon after their main village as Pinkwaawilenia or Pinkwi Mihtohseenia ("ash people"), Pinkwaawilenionki / Pickawillany became an important trading post and settlement that tried between the British-friendly Algonquin tribes of the Ohio River - Shawnee and Delaware as well as the dominating Iroquois - and the Miami and Algonquin tribes still loyal to the French the Great Lakes in the west and north - to act as an intermediary and thus to control trade) and
  • Tepicon Miami Band (the "Pepikokia / Kiteepihkwana Band" along the Tippecanoe River).

At the end of the century, one band lived near Fort Miamis , the second on the northern Eel River, and the third band at Tippecanoe . The Wea and Piankashaw each consisted of at least two bands.

During the 19th century, the Miami, Wea, Eel River and Piankashaw signed several treaties with the United States that regulated land assignments, annual compensation payments, hunting and fishing rights of the tribes and at the same time the official recognition as independent and politically active tribes by the US -Government meant.

External relationships

Despite the cultural affinity, relations with the Illinois were not very close. At the time of the first European contact, there were particularly friendly contacts with the Kickapoo and Mascouten , with whom some of Miami even lived in a village together. This relationship continued later when both tribes followed the Miami into the Wabash River basin. In the early eighteenth century some Mascouten settled with the Piankashaw, and a little later a mixed group of Kickapoo and Mascouten moved to the vicinity of the Wea. In the mid-eighteenth century, Potawatomi and Miami shared their former territory south of Lake Michigan. During and after the American Revolutionary War, the Miami lived with refugees Shawnee , Delaware and other groups also in this region.

In the seventeenth century, the Miami were attacked several times by the Iroquois during the Beaver Wars , a danger that was only averted with the peace treaty of 1701 . There were also numerous armed conflicts with the Dakota , which only ended after the move to the Wabash River. Similar to the Illinois tribes , the Miami also waged constant war against the Chickasaw and other southeastern tribes.

Culture

Jacques Marquette

The original six tribes of Miami were independent and each had their own chief. Their language and culture were extremely similar to those of Illinois. The Miami were known for their slow speech. More than any of the other Great Lakes Algonquian tribes, their culture had concrete links to the earlier Mississippi culture . For example, the unusual respect that was shown to their chiefs was characteristic. They had a preference for flashy clothing. Most of the information about the early Miami culture falls from 1673 to 1700 and begins with the journey of Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet .

Livelihood and Settlement Patterns

The traditional way of life of the Miami represented a kind of mixed economy, which was fought partly by hunting and partly by farming and was typical of the habitat on the Great Lakes. The hunt was primarily used for the fur trade, so that animals were only killed in winter when their fur was particularly valuable. Fishing was preferred in summer. Long before the nineteenth century, the bison had disappeared from the prairies east of the Mississippi and there were no more buffalo hunts together. The gathering of tubers and roots of certain wild plants was common and children, women, men and even chiefs took part. The villages were surrounded by extensive corn fields.

Like all tribes in the region, the Miami alternated between summer villages and winter camps. In the seventeenth century, the oval summer huts consisted of a framework of curved tree saplings covered with mats of reed. In the late eighteenth century they were replaced by log houses made from logs. The huts in a village were usually unevenly distributed along the banks of a stream or river. For example, the Miami village on the Eel River stretched over almost five kilometers. In every village there was a large town hall that was used exclusively for public purposes.

Life cycle

Charles Christopher Trowbridge

A child usually got its name from an elderly woman chosen and paid to serve by the mother. She had found out the name in a dream in which the child appeared to her in adulthood. The name usually came from an animal or a natural phenomenon and had to match the child's clan. Adults could change their name if it was supposed to bring them illness or misfortune. In this case, you asked a friend for a new name in exchange for an appropriate gift.

Children were usually raised without corporal punishment. They received good behavior lessons from both parents. Boys and girls looked for visions during puberty , as the ethnologist Charles Christopher Trowbridge reported in 1823. There was no connection between this event and the first menstruation . When boys and girls wanted to be recognized as adults, they painted their faces with red paint ( vermilion ). The boy had to accompany a campaign beforehand.

The courtship and preparations for a wedding varied widely and ranged from direct agreements between the couple to agreements between the two families. It was common for the young man to visit his chosen one at night in her parents' hut. He held a burning piece of bark in his hand and woke her up. Laughing, she asked him to leave the house and then accepted his proposal. On his next visit, he stayed overnight and left a present the next morning as evidence of his serious intentions. Afterwards he went hunting to hand over the hunted game to his future in-laws. The family was called in when a suitor was unsure of a positive response from the young woman. His parents brought some presents to their family, who then discussed the marriage proposal with their daughter. If she agreed, she put on her best clothes and they went together to the hut of the future in-laws.

The exchange of valuable gifts was connected with the wedding. For example, the groom gave the bride's brother a horse, a rifle, and other gifts. He replied with a roast that his sister brought to her mother-in-law. The young couple moved into the man's family home ( patrilocal ).

After the death of a Miami, the deceased were dressed in their best clothes. A short wake followed in his hut, during which the grieving relatives and friends gathered around the laid body. Although burial was common, burial in a sitting position on a scaffold or platform was also available. The family selected four unrelated people to take the dead man to the grave. Except for the silver jewelry and other valuables that belonged to the clothes of the deceased, the grave goods were limited to food and drink. After the funeral, the mourners had a bite to eat at the grave before going home. For the next four nights, an elderly relative of the same sex as the deceased kept vigil at the tomb to prevent a wizard from stealing the body. Sometimes women also brought food to the grave to feed the dead and invited a friend over to eat the meal. An adoption ceremony was held one year after the death of one of the parents , at which the adopted person received clothing and valuables from the property of the deceased he was supposed to replace. These gifts were later returned in the form of food and furs.

A prisoner of war adopted in this sense actually took the position of the dead, became a member of the household, and married the widow. The adoption ceremonies marked the formal end of the mourning period. The surviving wives had to follow particularly strict restrictions during the period of mourning, such as refraining from partying and looking good.

Social organization

Trowbridge described a system of five patrilineal clans, namely Little Turtle (Little Turtle), Snow Thaws (Thawing Snow), Racoon (Raccoon), Turkey ( Turkey ) and Moon (Moon). Richard G. Morgan, however, listed ten clans: Wolf, Loon (loons), Golden Eagle (golden eagle), Turkey (turkey), Buzzard (buzzard), Panther, Racoon (raccoon), Snow (snow), Sun (sun) and Water . The clans originally took on functions of tribal leadership. In addition, they took care of the naming and played a decisive role in ceremonies, rituals and ritual aspects of military campaigns. Around 1860, the clan system gradually disappeared from Miami life.

Trowbridge also reported that the tribe and clans were divided into two groups, with one group being labeled Sky and the other Earth . These were so-called moieties , which were similar to those of the Chiwere and Dhegiha Sioux . The Miami moieties also ceased to exist by 1860.

Political organization

This wampum belt was presented to William Penn in 1682 at the "Great Treaty"

There was a strict separation between the functions of village chiefs and war chiefs. Village chiefs had administrative duties and conducted peace negotiations. They were not allowed to take part in any military campaign. Their property was available to every member of the tribe and in return they received game and fur after the winter hunt. The office of village chiefs was inherited patrilineally. If a chief had no son, the office was transferred to the son of a daughter. The succession was checked by the tribal council. All chiefs were supported by so-called speakers , whose office was also hereditary. A spokesman could act as regent of an underage chief until he was of age. Trowbridge reported the existence of female chiefs, usually the daughters of chiefs. Village chiefs, for example, supervised events at which the warriors were organized before military campaigns. They could demand the end of a blood feud or the end of a war that was going on too long.

In an intra-tribe homicide, the victim's family could either accept compensation or demand the murderer's death. However, this action could spark a blood feud. A man had the right to kill a woman convicted of adultery and had no fear of retaliation.

War chiefs also had a hereditary office and differed from village chiefs only in their functions. According to Trowbridge, there was a hereditary warchief in every clan. The best-known Miami war chief was Little Turtle . When war threatened, a red wampum belt was sent to all war chiefs. In a council meeting they decided for or against the entry of the tribe to war. In the event of war, the warriors were called together and informed of reasons and plans. The night before the march, the warriors involved brought their holy bundles to the town hall. Here all the bundles were tied into a large package and given to a shaman who led the campaign. This was followed by a war dance that lasted all night . Once the state of war was declared, war chiefs could also put together smaller units consisting of members of their clan or their village, for example. Such groups could go into battle without public ritual preparation, but always with the holy bundle of all involved. Younger men had to perform certain services for the experienced warriors, such as preparing food, fetching firewood and water, and mending their moccasins. The age classification was maintained around the campfire at night, when both groups slept on opposite sides of the fire.

If the campaign was lost or if there were many deaths, the participants returned to the village without ceremonies or public attention. The participants in a successful campaign, however, were greeted with loud shouts on their return. At the edge of the village they started with the buffalo dance and finally reached the town hall dancing. In the meantime the sacred bundle of each participant had been hung here. Two elderly women took care of them and thanked the deity with singing for the group's safe return. If the name of a warrior was mentioned in their song, the warrior would donate a piece of clothing, pearls or animal skin. In the evening the victory celebration ended and the participants returned to their own huts.

religion

Early reports from French missionaries suggest that the Miami believed in a supernatural deity called the Master of Life , with the sun playing the main role in their rituals.

Children of both sexes began early with vision search exercises, which included fasting periods of different lengths. As a feature, boys colored their faces black with paint or charcoal. Girls were more conscientious about fasting and painted themselves with earth. It was not until puberty that an extensive fasting period began, and finally the first vision came, usually in the form of an animal.

The rituals of Miami were based on those of the Midewiwin down to the last detail . Such a ritual was held, for example, to request the happy return of a war force. The presence of all the villagers was imperative. The master of ceremonies, accompanied by four older men or women, went to each hut to announce the beginning of the ceremony. An altar with several bear skins, the heads of which were painted green, was greeted by all participants as they passed. The most active contributors to the ritual were the jugglers, medicine men and magicians, who split into two groups for a mock fight. They used bags, snake skins , and otter skins to hit each other. Some apparently fell dead and later came back to life. The ceremony lasted a total of five days and nights. Numerous dogs were sacrificed and their bones then burned. Trowbridge said each family held a ritual banquet three to four times a year for the Master of Life, and more often during wartime. Not practicing the ritual could, according to Miami belief, lead to serious illness.

history

Trade with the French and Beaver Wars

Political territories and forts in North America around 1750

In the second half of the seventeenth century, the Miami apparently lived in the region at the southern end of Lake Michigan. In contrast to other tribes on the Great Lakes, the Iroquois did not succeed in driving all Miami out of their territory during the Beaver Wars. Reports of Miami seen on the Mississippi, or even further west, apparently referred to hunting camps rather than permanent villages. They had contact with French traders at least from 1654, but reliable reports have only been available since 1670, when parts of Miami shared a village with the Mascouten and other Wisconsin tribes. The report erroneously claimed that they were all Miami people. In fact, it was arguably a tribe outpost that had better access to French goods. The warm welcome from Perrot and other French visitors confirms this interpretation.

By 1680 the Miami had returned to their territory, which they had inhabited before European contact. The area stretched from the Saint Joseph River through Indiana and Illinois to the Mississippi. Although sometimes described as defiant, the Miami-speaking tribes were considered loose allies of the French while the threat from the Iroquois persisted. But they also appreciated the cheap offers from English dealers. This point of view was believed to be the reason for the move in the early eighteenth century. Several groups from the Saint Joseph River moved to the upper Wabash River and the headwaters of the Maumee River, where they united with the local Miami.

The Miami were even temporarily allied with the Iroquois when they tried to attack the Illinois tribes, their ancient enemies. In the fall of 1680 they allied themselves with a Seneca force that raided Fort Crèvecoeur and the Illinois villages there. The French fled to Green Bay , but the Illinois stayed and were crushed.

The alliance with the Iroquois was suddenly over when the Miami gave shelter to some Shawnee on their territory. The Shawnee were bitter enemies of the Iroquois. The Miami switched sides and asked La Salle to act as an intermediary between them and the Illinois. Around 1682 they moved to Fort Saint Louis , La Salle's new trading post on the Illinois River. There were now around 20,000 Algonquians on the Illinois River, with whom the French traded intensively. The Seneca viewed this development with suspicion and returned with a force in 1684. They first attacked Miami villages in Indiana, then moved west and conquered Fort St. Louis. In Illinois they met the new alliance between Miami, Illinois and the French and lost the battle. This Seneca defeat is considered to be the turning point in the Beaver Wars. The French then strengthened their forts and began supplying weapons to the Algonquin tribes on the Great Lakes and forming an alliance against the Iroquois.

Simultaneously with the King William's War (1688–1697) between England and France, the Alliance launched its offensive against the Iroquois. They had little to oppose the Algonquin armed forces and withdrew to their residential area in New York . After the Iroquois threat was relieved, the Miami returned to Indiana around 1700 and established their villages along the upper Wabash and Kankakee Rivers , while the Wea and Piankashaw settled on the middle and lower Wabash Rivers. In the Great Peace Treaty of Montreal in 1701 between the Iroquois, the French and forty other tribes, the sixty-year Beaver Wars were officially ended.

Colonial Wars and American Revolution

After several unsuccessful attempts to reverse the Miami tribes' relocations, the French set up a special trading post for each tribe. Fort Miami at the site of the later Fort Wayne was laid out for the Miami, while Ouiatanon at Lafayette for the Wea and Kickapoo and Vincennes for the Piankashaw and Mascouten served as a trading post. In the end, these facilities became indispensable for the tribes, because they not only served to supply European merchandise, but also offered services such as those of the farrier.

An unknown epidemic, possibly malaria , raged in the Upper Mississippi River Basin around 1714, causing a sharp drop in the Miami and Illinois populations. Numerous older chiefs were killed and the younger ones no longer felt bound by the treaties with the French and turned to the British traders. Their goods had a reputation for being better and cheaper than the French's goods.

In 1747 English traders succeeded in poaching a Miami band from the French. The relatives moved to the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio. Within a short time the settlement had grown rapidly and posed a threat to French interests. The French in Detroit set off an expedition that destroyed the Miami village and restored French supremacy. Growing dissatisfaction with English politics drove Miami to participate in the Pontiac uprising .

In the American War of Independence (1776–1783), the Miami were on the British side, because they knew that their country would be irretrievably lost if the Americans were to win. Even after the formal peace of Paris (1783) between the Americans and the British, the Miami played a leading role in the Indian coalition that carried on the war against the Americans for ten years. The Piankashaw, on the other hand, fought on the side of the Americans and were severely punished for this election. The collapse of the trade network forced them to hunt with bows and arrows again in the absence of firearms and ammunition and to give up farming because they could no longer get any seeds. The Wea first announced their independence and then joined the Indian coalition.

Little Turtle

The Ohio and Indiana boundaries set out in the Greenville Treaty
Contract negotiations in Greenville in 1795
Chief Little Turtle

In the early years of the war against the Americans, the territory of the Miami was far enough from the war to serve as a retreat for the tribes involved. This was especially true of the Shawnee and other tribes whose villages and food supplies had been destroyed. Towards the end of the war, however, the Miami villages suffered the same fate. Under their war chief Little Turtle , the Miami achieved considerable success. In 1780 they defeated an expedition led by Augustin de la Balme , who lured them into an ambush near Fort Wayne. They brought further defeats to the Americans in 1790 under Josiah Harmar and in 1791 under Arthur St. Clair , in which the Americans had to mourn 630 casualties and which is one of the most costly battles between whites and Indians at all. The winning streak of the Indian coalition ended in 1794 with the defeat by the Americans in the Battle of Fallen Timbers and the Treaty of Greenville . The Miami and nine other tribes of the coalition accepted the American terms. In exchange for $ 20,000 worth of goods such as blankets, tools, and pets, the Indians gave the United States much of what is now Ohio, the future location of Chicago, and the Fort Detroit area . The Miami resisted Tecumseh's attempts to form a new coalition against the United States and remained neutral in the War of 1812 , despite their villages being attacked by the Americans.

Loss of tribal land and forced relocation

In the nineteenth century, the membership of all three Miami tribes shrank rapidly. This decline began with the Piankashaw as early as 1796. Under American pressure, they sold their land in 1814 and were relocated to Missouri. The Wea followed them in the early 1820s. The Miami also sold part of their land, but initially resisted forced relocation. Their culture deteriorated and efforts to adapt to the American way of life failed. The causes are unclear - possibly it was due to their relative wealth, which was due to the annual annuity payments on their land sales. This fact partly led to economic exploitation by surrounding American neighbors. There was no equivalent substitute for their traditional way of life, and growing demoralization meant that many Miami became addicted to alcohol. In 1846 part of the tribe was forcibly relocated to Kansas by the army, where their population continued to decline. They eventually moved to northwestern Oklahoma and around 1870 joined a confederation formed by the Wea, Piankashaw, and Peoria. 323 Miami were counted in Oklahoma in 1950, while over 700 were still living in Indiana. The western Miami in Oklahoma have been federally recognized as the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, while the eastern Miami in Indiana are calling themselves the Miami Nation of Indiana and are still awaiting recognition.

Demographics

The Miami were estimated to be 4,000 to 5,000 tribesmen at the time of first European contact. In 1718, it is estimated that there were at least 5,600 in the entire Miami group, of which around 1,600 were Miami. In 1736 there were only 2,200 or 800 people, which is probably too low an estimate. The 1765 numbers are 1,000 Miami, 1,200 Wea, and 1,200 Piankashaw. By 1840, Miami's population had dwindled to 700 Miami, 200 Wea, and 100 Piankashaw. The number of tribal members forcibly relocated to Kansas even fell from 500 in 1846 to 91 in 1868.

According to the 2000 US Census, there were 569 Oklahoma-Miami and 557 Indiana-Miami, while the total number of Miami in the United States was 3,811.

Today's tribes and groups of the Miami

Today there are only two federally recognized tribes of the Miami or with Miami descendants; there are also other tribes and groups that were once recognized in contracts with the USA and later lost their status or apply for recognition as a tribe.

Federally recognized tribes of the Miami

  • Miami Tribe of Oklahoma (also: Western Miami / Oklahoma Miami ; were resettled to the Marais of the Cygnes River in eastern Kansas in 1832 , in return for other tribes with Miami descendants, the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma never lost its federal recognition as a tribe Main town: Miami, Oklahoma, Population (2011): 3,908 registered tribal members, only 775 actually live in Oklahoma, another approx. 500 tribal members in their old homeland Indiana)
  • Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (consists of two major tribes each of the "Illinois / Inoca" - as well as the "Miami / Myaamiaki" confederation; the Peoria with survivors of the Moingwena emigrated to the Missouri Territory in 1763 , in 1818 they entered the Treaty of Edwardsville surrendered all land claims in Illinois to the United States and in the Treaty of Lewisville in 1832 they sold all land in Missouri in exchange for a reservation along the Osage River in the Kansas Territory Disease and tribal wars rapidly reduced their population to relatives Kaskaskia (with survivors of the Cahokia, Coiracoentanon, Chepoussa, Maroa, Tamaroa and Michigamea) gladly took in. After the Wea and Piankashaw (together with descendants of the Pepikokia) also had to resettle to Kansas in 1846, the four dominant tribes - Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankeshaw and Wea - formally merged into the Confederated Peoria, and in 1873 more Miami were added and the tribe received the name United Peoria and Miamis , during the termination in 1959 the Federal Recognition as a tribe was revoked, but the status was restored in 1978. Administrative seat and main town: Miami, Oklahoma, Population (2011): 2,925 registered tribesmen, only 777 actually live in Oklahoma)

Other tribes and groups

The following tribes and groups are neither “state recognized tribes” nor “federally recognized tribes”, ie they are neither recognized by a federal state nor at the federal level as a tribe. These are mostly groups that refused to be resettled to the west . attempted to preserve their identity and avoid resettlement by means of land claims in small reservations that were contractually guaranteed by the USA:

  • Miami Nation of Indiana (also called: Eastern Miami / Indiana Miami ; usually referred to in the treaties with the USA as The Tribe of Miami Indians of Indiana , since June 5, 1854 recognized as a tribe at the federal level, in 1897 they received the Federal Recognition as Tribe withdrawn, several attempts to get State Recognition by Indiana failed because the state had legal and probably financial reservations about the recognition, as this also corresponded to the right to get into gambling through the establishment of casinos by the tribe try to preserve your traditions, religion, language and identity through the legal protection of a 501 (c) (3) organization. Administrative seat and main place: Peru, Indiana)
  • Eel River Tribe of Miamis (since they were contractually regarded by the US government as a related but independent tribe to the Miami, Piankashaw and Wea, they were able to claim their land in 1818 by means of the 46,000 acre Thorntown Indian Reservation in Boone County, Indiana, secure - the main town was Ka-wi-a-ki-un-gi Village ("place of thorns ", English: Thorntown), but they sold the reserve land to the USA in 1828, their descendants are now mostly part of the Miami Nation of Indiana )
  • Wea Tribe (many Wea also refused to participate in the forced relocation and stayed in their old homeland Indiana, they were therefore referred to in the contracts as Wea on the Wabash or Wabash Wea )
  • Wea Indian Tribe of Indiana (see explanations on the "Wea Tribe")

Personalities

  • Francis Godfroy (Palaanswa) (* ca. 1788 - † May 1840, Palaanswa / Palawonza was the pronunciation of his French first name in Miami, important leader of several Miami villages along the Mississinewa River in Indiana, secured successfully partly by military means - see “Battle of the Mississinewa ”- but mostly through treaties a large part of the remaining land claims in Indiana, the land became a refuge for fleeing landless Miami after the Miami resettlement of 1846, was elected war chief of the Miami in 1830)
  • Tetinchoua , chief in the 17th century
  • Little Turtle (Mihšihkinaahkwa) (* ca. 1747 - † July 14, 1812, Mihšihkinaahkwa - "Large Mediterranean ornamental turtle ", its name does not contain a diminutive - on the contrary, mih usually means "large", the common name could indicate that it was before gave him another chief of the same name (called The Turtle), war chief in the 18th century, next to the Shawnee war chief Blue Jacket most important leader during the Northwest Indian War 1785–1795 also known as Little Turtle's War)
  • Meemeehšihkia (La Demoiselle / Old Briton) (* ca. 1695 - † June 21, 1752, Meemeehšihkia / Memeskia - " big bubble ", the French hostile Piankashaw-chief, established along the Great Miami River near the Ohio controlled by the British -A new important Miami settlement called Pinkwaawilenionki / Pickawillany , in June 1752, 250 Ojibwa and Ottawa under the leadership of Métis chief Charles Langlade attackedthe villages of Miami and the British trading post in Piqua from Fort Michilimackinac , which became Meemeehšihkia / Memeskia killed and his body - because of his friendship with the British - cooked and partly ritually eaten; this defeat opened the settlement of the area for the Shawnee aspiring to the west)
  • Pacanne / P'Koum-Kwa (* approx. 1737 - † 1816, Pacanne / P'Koum-Kwa , was next to Little Turtle one of the leading chiefs of the Miami during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, he was the Brother of Tacumwah / Taucumwah, mother of Chief Jean Baptiste Richardville (Pinšiwa / Peshewa), her family controlled the Long Portage , an approx. 13 km long piece of land between the Maumee and Wabash Riversused and were used bytraders and travelers between Canada and Louisiana hence one of the most influential families of the Atchatchakangouen in Kekionga, as chief and businessman Pacanne / P'Koum-Kwa was often on the road and during his absence he was chief of his sister and the neighboring Little Turtle, chief of the Kineepikomeekwaki and of Le Gris (Nagohquangogh) the Kiteepihkwana - his frequent absence led the British and Americans to think that in truth Le Gris / Nagohquangogh was the leading chief in Kekionga - a female chief as it was Tacumwah / Taucumwah they could not imagine)
  • Francis La Fontaine (Topeah) (* approx. 1810 - † 1847, became thelast recognized chief of Miamiafter the death of Pinšiwa / Peshewa )
  • Jean Baptiste de Richardville (Pinšiwa / Peshewa) (* approx. 1761 - † August 13, 1841, also known as John Richardville , Pinšiwa / Peshewa - " bobcat " was the son of the female chief Tacumwah / Taucumwah and thus nephew of chief Pacanne / P'Koum-Kwa and also a well-known trader, negotiator and from 1785 until his death in 1841 recognized chief of the Miami, Pinšiwa / Peshewa was allegedly the richest man in Indiana at his death)
  • Frances Slocum (Maconaquah), adopted white member of the Miami
  • William Wells (Apekonit), adopted white member of Miami

See also

literature

  • Daryl Baldwin, David J. Costa: Myaamiaataweenki. Revitalization of a sleeping language , in: Kenneth L. Rehg, Lyle Campbell (Eds.): Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages , Oxford University Press, 2018, pp. 553-570. ( abstract )
  • Bruce G. Trigger (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 15: Northeast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington 1978, ISBN 0-16-004575-4 .

Web links

Commons : Miami (tribe)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charles Callender: Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 15: Northeast, Illinois, p. 673
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Bruce G. Trigger (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 15: Northeast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington 1978, ISBN 0-16-004575-4 , pp. 681-682.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Miami History , accessed March 31, 2013
  4. ↑ Myaamiaatawaakani | Myaamia Dictionary (tribal names)
  5. ↑ because the Maumee River forms here through the confluence of the St. Joseph River and St. Marys River
  6. ↑ Other variants of the name of the main village were: Kenapacomaqua, Kenapeequomakonga, Kikiah, Kenapeco-maqua Town, Eel River Town, Eel Town, The Snakelike Fish, L'Anguille, ye olde village or Olde Towne
  7. ^ REVISED-2003 Updates on River and Place Names Origins, Plus Meramec River Source
  8. ↑ Meramec River History: Name Origins
  9. ↑ PIANKESHAW - DANVILLE WAS BUILT ON THE SITE OF THE OLD INDIAN VILLAGE OF PIANKESHAW
  10. ↑ Both the Piankashaw and the Wea are also known in historical sources as Newcalenous , which again illustrates the close historical connection between these two tribes
  11. ↑ the name commonly used today as "Wea" developed through incorrect pronunciation and orthography of the French and shortened [[transcription (spelling) |]] of the British, since the French pronounced the main village Wiatanon , but to reproduce the letter " W " using the letters “ Ou ” so that they eventually spelled the name as Ouiatanon ; the British, on the other hand, first used the French name as Wiatanon , later simply shortened to "Wea"
  12. ↑ Walking Myaamionki source for settlement names, rivers, place names and proper names of the individual bands
  13. ↑ Telling our Story: The Living History of the Myaamia: The Burning of Pickwaawilenioki
  14. ↑ Aacimotaatiiyankwi - A Myaamia Community Blog - The Crooked Trail to Pickawillany (1747-1752)
  15. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Bruce G. Trigger (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 15: Northeast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington 1978, ISBN 0-16-004575-4 , pp. 682-686.
  16. ↑ a b c d e f g h Bruce G. Trigger (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 15: Northeast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington 1978, ISBN 0-16-004575-4 , pp. 686-688.
  17. ↑ US Census 2000 (PDF; 145 kB), accessed April 10, 2013