The Miami Indians of Indiana: A Persistent People, 1654-1994

This book held my attention as it took me on a fascinating journey, I recommend this book to every american, it is a incredible insight in history.

Now scattered in small communities in Northern Indiana, the Eastern Miami Indians have lived in undeserved obscurity since the 1840s. In 1791 Chief Little Turtle and the Miami inflicted the worst defeat ever of an American army by Indians. The Miami ceded most of Indiana in a series of treaties beginning after the War of 1812. Chief Richardville led Miami resistence to removal which finally took place in 1846. Half of the Miami tribe was exempted and many more returned from Kansas Territory to rebuild the home community. The Indiana Miami negotiated a new treaty in 1854 that guaranteed their way of life and slowly adapted to late 19th century American society. Hunting, fishing and casual labor continued as they had in the past, while some children were sent to far off federal Indian schools. Others began working for the many circuses that wintered in Peru, Indiana, beginning in the 1880s. Legal tragedy struck the tribe in 1897 when their treaty rights were abruptly terminated. Their effort to regain status under federal Indian law has involved them intimately in twentieth-century American Indian history. In recent years, the Indiana Miami have become more visible as they have again sought restoration of their treaty rights and have revitalized their culture. The first history of the Eastern Miami tribe, this volume is a fascinating combination of social, legal, and economic history, much enhanced by folklore and a rich series of maps and photographic images. Stewart Rafert is adjunct professor of history at the University of Delaware.