The traditional homeland of the Miami Nation was south of Lake Michigan in what is now Indiana and western Ohio. Here the people lived along the timbered river valleys and hunted buffalo on the open prairies. The name “Miami” is of uncertain origin and meaning, although some sources claim that it means “People of the Peninsula” referring to their original homeland near Green Bay. According to one Miami tradition, their original name was Twaatwāā which was an imitation of the alarm call of cranes. In some English accounts this became Tewecktowes, Tweeghtwees, Twightwees, Twightwighs, and Quitways.
The Miami language belongs to the Central Algonquian group of the large Algonquian language family. It is most closely related to Illinois, Shawnee, Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, Menominee, Potawatomi, Ojibwa, Cree, Montegnais, and Naskapi.
The Miami war chief Little Turtle (1742-1812) was born along the Eel River northeast of Fort Wayne, Indiana. His father was Acquenacke, a Miami chief, and his mother was Mahican.
There is little specific information about Little Turtle’s early years, and he emerges in the English language histories as one of the figures in the Revolutionary War. While Little Turtle was often an advocate for peace with the invading Europeans, during the Revolutionary War he fought on the side of the British. In his book Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars, 1492-1890, Jerry Keenan writes:
“Like many Indian leaders, Little Turtle believed there was more to be feared from the American colonists than the British and, accordingly threw his support behind the latter during the Revolution.”
In his biographical sketch of Little Turtle in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Stewart Rafert writes:
“Regarded as perhaps the greatest Algonquian war leader of his time, Little Turtle grew to adulthood during the American Revolution and led Native American armed resistance to the American invasion of the Old Northwest in the late eighteenth century.”
In his book Who Was Who in Native American History: Indians and Non-Indians From Early Contacts Through 1900, Carl Waldman writes:
“Little Turtle was one of the great military geniuses of all time.”
He developed many methods of guerilla warfare, most notable the use of decoys. Carl Waldman writes:
“Little Turtle instructed his warriors from the allied tribes to pick off the invading army wherever possible. The warriors hid and used swift, small strikes to confuse the enemy.”
From 1790 to 1794, Little Turtle was the leader of allied Indian groups defending their lands against American squatters. Historians would later refer to these conflicts as Little Turtle’s War. It was during this time that his military strategy gained notoriety. Carl Waldman writes:
“Little Turtle encouraged a strategy of concealment and swift, small strikes to confuse the enemy. He also advised his men, after an ambush, even without losses, to retreat farther into the wilderness, and to burn some of their villages. Once the soldiers were weary and far from their supply lines, Little Turtle then ordered attacks.”
In 1791, a large war party of Miami warriors, led by Little Turtle, and Shawnee warriors, led by Blue Jacket, moved up the St. Mary’s River to attack the American encampment of soldiers led by Arthur St. Clair. The large war party was divided into smaller groups of 20 with four hunters for each group assigned to procure food. The Indian army covers 50 miles in four days through sleet and snow.
In a battle that lasted for about three hours, Little Turtle’s warriors defeated the Americans, whose casualties included 630 dead and 283 wounded. Historian Landon Jones, in his book William Clark and the Shaping of the West, writes:
“St. Clair’s Defeat remains the most one-sided loss in the history of the United States military.”
In 1794, “Mad Anthony” Wayne established Fort Recovery near the site of General St. Clair’s 1791 defeat. After two failed attempts to take the fort, Little Turtle withdrew. Carl Waldman reports:
“Soon after the Indians’ failure to take this post, Little Turtle withdrew from the war, regarding Wayne as too formidable an enemy for his warriors to face without military support from the British.”
Carl Waldman also writes:
“Little Turtle now counseled peace rather than face this huge and well-disciplined force. His advice was ignored and even ridiculed, and he gave up his command to the Shawnee Blue Jacket, leading only a small party of Miamis into battle.”
The war ended at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in which the Miamis, the Shawnees, and their allies were defeated. The following year—1795—General Mad Anthony” Wayne, not known for his diplomatic skills, dictated the Treaty of Greenville which was signed by Little Turtle and others. There were no negotiations: the Indians gave up most of Ohio and part of Indiana. In exchange for the land, the Indians were to receive $25,000 in trade goods and an annuity of $9,500.
At the Treaty of Greenville, Little Turtle was the principal spokesman for eleven tribes. In his sketch of the Miami in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Stewart Rafert writes:
“At the treaty grounds he eloquently defended Native American sovereignty in the Old Northwest. He also defined Miami ownership of all of present-day Indiana, the western third of Ohio, and part of Illinois and southern Michigan.”
Stewart Rafert also reports:
“The Miamis, believing that the treaty guaranteed them sovereignty of their land, pledged peace with the American authorities.”
In his book God Gave Us This Country: Tekamthi and the First American Civil War, Bil Gilbert notes:
“At Greenville the Americans took less than they might have, being confident that by the time there was a demand for more western lands, the Indian populations in them would be much reduced by disease, poverty, and whiskey.”
Jerry Keenan writes:
“When the Greenville Treaty was signed Little Turtle declared that he was the last to sign it and would be the last to break it. True to his word, he was thereafter loyal to the United States and spent his last years promoting the cause of temperance among his people.”
Following the Treaty of Fort Greenville, Carl Waldman writes:
“Little Turtle never fought again. He became a celebrity among the whites. He traveled a great deal and met many famous men. But he died of a disease he caught from the whites—gout.”
He signed treaties at Fort Wayne in 1803 and 1809, and at Vincennes in 1805. These treaties were disadvantageous to the Miamis and he alienated himself from tribal leadership. He travelled to eastern cities on many occasions where he was a celebrity. In his biographical sketch of Little Turtle in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Stewart Rafert writes
“Little Turtle became a staunch supporter of peace in the first decade of the nineteenth century, and as a consequence lost the support of the Miami tribe and became identified as an American chief.”
In 1797, he met with President Washington and with General Thaddeus Kosciusko, the Polish general who had helped the Americans during the Revolutionary War. General Kosciusko presented him with a pair of pistols. Gilbert Stuart painted his portrait.
Stewart Rafert writes:
“He ended the last decade of his life as a pliable American chief who had lost touch with the needs of his people.”
Indians 101
More biographical sketches from the Indians 101 series:
Indians 101: Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, Writer, Musician, and Activist
Indians 101: Susette La Flesche, Indian Activist
Indians 101: Sacagawea (Sacajawea)
Indians 101: Cornplanter, Seneca leader
Indians 101: Joseph Brant, Mohawk leader
Indians 101: Roman Nose, Cheyenne Warrior
Indians 101: Kicking Bird, Kiowa leader