Description: Color portrait of Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle). Little Turtle was a war leader of the Miami tribe. He was born in about 1752, twenty miles northwest of modern-day Fort Wayne, Indiana. Little is known of his life before the 1790s, although he did help the British in the American Revolution. With the Treaty of Paris (1783), England gave up all claims to the Ohio Country. Settlers rapidly came across the Appalachian Mountains to the Northwest Territory. Little Turtle played a leading role in American Indian resistance to the encroaching European populations. In 1790, General Josiah Harmar led 1,400 soldiers into land claimed by the Miami and the Shawnee. In October of that year, Little Turtle and his followers, including the future Shawnee chief Tecumseh, succeeded in driving out Harmar's men. This battle became known as Harmar's Defeat. In 1791, General Arthur St. Clair led 2,000 U.S. soldiers against the American Indians in western Ohio. Once again, Little Turtle, along with Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket), led a large alliance of American Indians to victory at a battle known as St. Clair's Defeat--one of the worst defeats ever sustained by the U.S. military in their conflicts with Americans Indians. After failing to to seize Fort Recovery in 1794, Little Turtle encouraged his followers to negotiate with the United States. Other native war leaders refused to listen, and insisted that Wayne's army must be fought. Shortly after rejecting Little Turtle's call for peace, American Indian forces lost the Battle of Fallen Timbers. In 1795, American Indians living in western Ohio sent representatives to Fort Greene Ville where they met in council with the U.S. After lengthy discussion, they signed the Treaty of Greenville. The natives, including Little Turtle, agreed to give all but the northwestern corner of modern-day Ohio to the United States. Little Turtle refused to take up arms against the United States ever again. He became a celebrity among the United States public, visiting many eastern cities and even meeting George Washington in 1797. He urged his fellow American Indians to keep the peace and also encouraged them to give up alcohol. He died on July 14, 1812, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07056
Subjects: Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; American Indian tribal leaders; Miami Tribe
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Dated 1918, this is a map titled "The Ohio Country of the Historic Indian Period," compiled by H.C. Shetrone and drawn by R.B. Sherman. The map includes geological features, regions occupied by various American Indian peoples, Anglo-American settlements, and political forces governing the Ohio landscape, such as the Treaty of Greeneville. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MAP_VFM0436_4
Subjects: American Indian history and society; Miami Tribe; Wyandot Indians--History; Shawnee Tribe; Delaware Indians--History; Geography and Natural Resources
Places: Ohio
 

Description: This hand-colored lithograph of the celebrated Miami Chief Francis Godfroy is based on a painting by James Otto Lewis, ca. 1827. Francis Godfroy (1788–1840) was born and lived in what is now the state of Indiana; his Miami name was Palaanswa. He was the son of a French trader and a Miami woman. Godfroy, along with other Miami leaders, used his status as a trader and negotiator to secure higher payments for Miami lands ceded through treaty, and to delay the forced removal of his people for longer than many other Midwestern tribes. This portrait appeared in Lewis's book "Aboriginal Portfolio," published in ten parts beginning in 1835. Lewis painted from life, generally finding his subjects gathered for treaty negotiations with the United States government. He was paid for these portraits by the War Department, which at that time had control over all federal relationships with American Indians. Godfroy's clothing choice in this portrait reflects both his mixed heritage and contemporary use of European clothing by American Indians. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS3309
Subjects: American Indian tribal leaders; Myaamia Tribe (Miami); American Indians--Portraits; Treaties;
Places: Fort Wayne (Indiana)
 

Description: This is a lithograph of an oil painting of Myaamia (Miami) leader Mi-A-Qu-A, published in "History of the Indian Tribes of North America" by Thomas Loraine McKenney and James Hall. Thomas Loraine McKenney (1785–1859) served as the U.S. Superintendent of Indian trade from 1816–1822 and superintendent of Indian affairs from 1824-1830. James Hall (1793–1868) was a lawyer, writer, and editor who lived in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1833 until his death in 1868. Their book was illustrated with portraits from the Indian gallery in the Department of War in Washington, D.C. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04513
Subjects: Myaamia Tribe (Miami); American Indian history; American Indians--Portraits; American Indian tribal leaders; American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
Places: Washington D.C.