Meehkweelintamankwi Aanchsahaaciki
‘Remembering Our Forced Removal’
October 2021 will mark 175 years since this momentous and tragic event began on October 6, 1846. The 1846 removal took nearly a month to complete, but the impacts of removal continue to be felt by all Myaamiaki no matter where we live today. Meehkweelintamankwi Aanchsahaaciki ‘Remembering Our Forced Removal’, a year of remembrance and commemoration, will begin during our Winter Gathering at Home event (February 12-13, 2021) and will continue with monthly activities through February 2022.
Meehkweelintamankwi Aanchsahaaciki ‘Remembering Our Forced Removal’: 175 Years
Over the next year, we will be remembering and commemorating our forced removal from our homelands in the Wabash River Valley. This October will mark 175 years since this momentous and tragic event began on October 6, 1846. The 1846 removal took nearly a month to complete, but the impacts…
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 and Subsequent Pressure for Myaamia Removal
October 6, 2021 is the 175th anniversary of the beginning of the Miami Forced Removal from Indiana in 1846, this blog will trace the series of events and decisions that led to our Removal and beyond. A new blog…
Continuing Pressure to Remove West
In the previous post, we saw that the United States government started planning our Removal from Indiana even before the passage of the 1830 Indian Removal Act. In the 1832 negotiations, the U.S. Commissioners…
Treaty of 1838
In the previous post, we saw that after years of refusing to sell additional land, exhausted Myaamia leaders agreed to sign the Treaty of 1834. As soon as we ratified the 1834 Treaty in 1837, the federal government came back…
Removal – the Treaty of 1840
In the previous entry, we saw that in the Treaty of 1838, Myaamia leaders agreed for the first time to consider a future Removal west. As we look at the Treaty of 1840, we will see how that agreement…
Why did the Miami National Council agree to Removal?
In previous blog posts, we have seen that the Miami National Council, led by Pinšiwa ‘J.B. Richardville,’ was adamantly opposed to Removal, even as they saw other tribes being forced west of the Mihsi-Siipiiwi ‘Mississippi River.’ Their stance on…
Exemptions from Removal
In previous blog posts, we have examined the events leading up to the 1840 Myaamia Removal treaty and the circumstances that led the Miami National Council to agree to Removal. We also noted that the 1838 and 1840 treaties…
Delaying Removal 1840 to 1846
In previous blog posts, we have examined the events leading up to the 1840 Myaamia Removal treaty and In past blog posts, we have examined the Treaty of 1840, which called for Myaamiaki to be removed west of the Mihsi-Siipiiwi ‘Mississippi River.’ We have discussed the background for the Miami National Council agreeing to Removal and the…
A Small Military Force, 1846
In the previous blog post, we examined the efforts of the Miami National Council to delay Removal of Myaamiaki to west of the Mihsi-Siipiiwi ‘Mississippi River.’ We also saw that the United States government and the Removal contractors were…
Forced From Our Homes
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. In the previous blog post, we saw that our efforts to delay Removal frustrated the Removal contractors, leading them to threaten us…
Loading the Boats
Content Warning: This post discusses the military presence used to bring Myaamia people to Peru, IN. In the previous blog post, we saw that during the first days of October 1846, Removal contractor Alexis Coquillard and his hired men were capturing Myaamiaki ‘Miami people’ from their homes and taking them…
Removal – Day 1
October 6, 1846 Peru, Indiana Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. “The first emigrating party of Miamis was started from Iihkipihsinonki ‘Peru, Indiana’ on the 6th October 1846.”…
Removal – Day 2
October 7, 1846 Fort Wayne, Indiana Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. For twenty miles or so east of the Pwaawikamisiipi ‘Little Wabash River’ near present-day Huntington, Myaamiaki…
Removal – Day 3
October 8, 1846 Canal Boats Content Warning: This post discusses conditions on the canal boats during Removal. The Miami Tribe was not the only tribe to be removed by waterway, but an overland removal was more common. The canal to Cincinnati had just been completed the previous year, and the…
Removal – Day 4
October 9, 1846 Pinkweewilenionki Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. October 9 was the fourth day that Myaamiaki had been on the canal boats, the fifth day for…
Removal – Day 5
October 10, 1846 Dayton, Ohio Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. On this day at 11 a.m., Removal Agent Joseph Sinclair wrote from Dayton, Ohio, “I have just…
Miami Tribe and Miami University: Our Connected Histories
In this year, the 175th anniversary of the removal of the Miami Tribe from our homelands, the Myaamia community is coming together to remember this history as a way to connect to our ancestors, to keep them close to us, and to maintain our relationship with them and their past.
Removal – Day 6
October 11, 1846 Arrival in Cincinnati Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. During this sixth day on the canal boats, Myaamiaki passed through Middletown and then Hamilton, Ohio….
Removal – Day 7
October 12, 1846 Cincinnati, Ohio Content Warning: This post discusses how Myaamia people were discussed by the residents of Cincinnati and the local newspaper. This morning, Myaamiaki disembarked from the canal boats. Many were still sick but probably glad to get off the boats. The Cincinnati newspapers reported that as…
Removal – Day 8
October 13, 1846The Kaanseenseepiiwi ‘Ohio River Yesterday, the steamboat Colorado departed Cincinnati with more than 300 Myaamiaki, the Removal Agent, the Removal contractors, traders, and possibly soldiers. Trader William Ewing wrote to Commissioner of Indian Affairs William Medill from Cincinnati that the Miami Nation left Cincinnati yesterday. He noted that…
Removal – Day 9
October 14, 1846 The Kaanseenseepiiwi ‘Ohio River’ On the third day of the journey on the Ohio River, Myaamiaki on the steamboat Colorado passed what has come to be known as Angel Mounds, a group of structures built from soil. Angel Mounds was built and occupied by people of the…
Removal – Day 13
October 18, 1846 The First Death Content Warning: This post discusses the death of a child. Despite Removal Agent Joseph Sinclair’s earlier report that those who had been sick were recovering, today on the Mihsi-Siipiiwi ‘Mississippi River,’ Myaamiaki aboard the steamboat Colorado experienced the first death of the journey, a…
Removal – Day 15
October 20, 1846 Bloody Island Content Warning: This post discusses the death of a child and an adult. Two days after the death of the infant from Waawiyaasita’s band, a Myaamia elder, a man named Ottawa, also died. Later that same day, the steamboat Colorado arrived outside of St. Louis….
Removal – Day 16
October 21, 1846 Bloody Island Myaamiaki were still on Bloody Island this day. The next leg of their journey was on the Peekamiiki Siipiiwi ‘Missouri River,’ which would take them to the eastern border of the Indian Territory west of Missouri. This river is very shallow and known for its…
Removal – Day 17
October 22, 1846 Bloody Island Myaamiaki were still on Bloody Island another day. What were they doing today? Most likely, they were mourning, sitting, and waiting. In the next installment, to be posted on October 23, we will discover how Myaamiaki are taken from Bloody Island. Post written by Diane…
Removal – Day 18
October 23, 1846 Leaving Bloody Island Content Warning: This post discusses the death of a child and an adult After Myaamiaki had spent three days on Bloody Island, mourning their dead – the Waawiyaasita infant and the elder man named Ottawa, the Removal contractors procured the steamboat Clermont No. 2…
Removal List
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. If you find yourself in need of psychological services, I strongly encourage you to reach out to a clinical provider in your…
Myaamiaki Who Fled Removal
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. If you find yourself in need of psychological services, I strongly encourage you to reach out to a clinical provider in your…
Eel River Band
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. If you find yourself in need of psychological services, I strongly encourage you to reach out to a clinical provider in your…
The Second Removal
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. If you find yourself in need of psychological services, I strongly encourage you to reach out to a clinical provider in your…
Exempt From Removal
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. If you find yourself in need of psychological services, I strongly encourage you to reach out to a clinical provider in your…
1850 Exemptions
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. If you find yourself in need of psychological services, I strongly encourage you to reach out to a clinical provider in your…
Myaamiaki Who Became U.S. Citizens
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia people impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those individuals. If you find yourself in need of psychological services, I strongly encourage you to reach out to a clinical provider in your…
Removal – Day 26
October 31, 1846 On the Peekamiiki Siipiiwi ‘Missouri River’ Content Warning: This post discusses the death of Myaamiaki. On October 23, we noted that Myaamiaki had spent the previous days mourning their dead – the Waawiyaasita piloohsa and the elder man named Ottawa. We came to understand that travel by…
Removal – Day 27
November 1, 1846 Arrival at Westport Landing On this day, Myaamiaki on the steamboat Clermont No. 2 arrived at the Westport Landing, also known as the Kanza Landing, in the Town of Kansas, now known as Kansas City, Missouri. As sad and sick as Myaamiaki were, they must have been…
Removal – Day 28
November 2,1846 Beginning the Overland Journey Both Toohpia ‘Francis LaFontaine’ and Removal Agent Joseph Sinclair wrote that this morning Myaamiaki left the Town of Kansas, present-day Kansas City, Missouri, for the new Miami Reservation in what is today eastern Kansas. Even before leaving the Town of Kansas, Toohpia also wrote,…
Removal – Day 29
November 3, 1846 The Overland Journey Content Warning: This post discusses the death of Myaamiaki. Myaamiaki continued their journey by horse and wagon toward their new reservation. Today a 16-year- old boy died, bringing the total deaths on this Removal journal to seven. As Myaamiaki traveled south on the military road,…
Removal – Day 30
November 4, 1846 Sugar Creek Today some Myaamiaki completed the 50-mile journey from the Town of Kansas to the Miami Reservation on Sugar Creek in the Osage River Sub-Agency, one mile west of the military road they had traveled. In the next installment, to be posted on November 5, we…
Removal – Day 31
November 4, 1846 Sugar Creek Today some Myaamiaki completed the 50-mile journey from the Town of Kansas to the Miami Reservation on Sugar Creek in the Osage River Sub-Agency, one mile west of the military road they had traveled. In the next installment, to be posted on November 5, we…
Continued Movement between Indiana and the Miami Reservation
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia families impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those families. In the November 5 blog post, we saw that Myaamiaki had arrived at the Miami Reservation in what is today eastern Kansas…
Removal to Indian Territory
Content Warning: This post discusses specific names of Myaamia families impacted by Removal. It is possible that you may have a personal connection with some of those families. In the November 5 blog post, we saw that Myaamiaki had arrived at the Miami Reservation in what is today eastern Kansas…
Updated: August 10, 2022
Aacimotaatiiyankwi 