Sunday, September 3, 2017
Warturtle: The life of Michikinikwa
Little Turtle, also known as Michikinikwa, was born sometime around 1752, although other historians say that he was born closer to 1747. Little Turtle was a member of the Miami Indian tribe, although we do not know where exactly he was born. At an early age, Little Turtle was named war chief of the tribe after showing military prowess fighting in the revolutionary war. The Miami tribe fought with the British, and Little Turtle lead numerous raids on French and American settlements. After the Treaty Of Paris, Britain gave up all the lands they had previously held to the Americans. These lands also included numerous Indian settlements, one of which the Miami Indians inhabited.
Little Turtle was a major leader of the American Indian Confederation, which united in order to fight the encroaching white settlers. This confederation was made up of multiple tribes, including the Shawnee and the Delaware Indians. The first expedition is led by General Josiah Harmar, who brings with him untrained and poorly equipped men. Little turtle exploits this weakness, and easily defeats this expedition, not once, but twice. America is humiliated, and this time they send an even larger force of 2,000 men, led by Arthur St. Clair. Little Turtle has a force of about 1,000 men, and once again, they defeated the expedition. St. Clair's defeat is ratio wise the worst defeat that America every suffers. After defeating these two forces, Little Turtle continues leading raids around the Forts in Ohio, and defeats militia and steals horses.
Little Turtle finally loses against General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen timbers. This expedition brought even more men, who more importantly were well trained. After their loss at the Battle Of Fallen timbers, the Native American confederacy was forced to sign the Treaty of Greenville. This treaty forced the Indians to give up much of Ohio. After his defeat, Little Turtle begins advocating for peace and the reduction of alcohol. He never fights the settlers again, and even encourages the Miami tribe to refuse an alliance with Tecumseh's confederation. Little Turtle eventually becomes a celebrity in America, and is able to meet numerous Presidents including George Washington, who gifts him a ceremonial sword, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. In 1812, Little Turtle dies, and is buried in his ancestral burial ground at Spy Run.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Michikinikwa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Turtle
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Little-Turtle
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This post is really interesting, especially because it not talks about the expeditions and European affairs from Little Turtle's point of view. I do have one question, which is what made Little Turtle respected by Americans at the end of his life. Even though he humiliated America, he still received the honor of meeting multiple presidents, and being buried with full military honors! After some research, I found that even though he feared the Americans, he not only signed more land over to them (aside from the Treaty of Greenville), but also attacked Tecumseh, an Indian enemy of the US, various times. Of course, Little Turtle was also very respectable, although he was suspected of signing over so much land partially for personal gain -- even his nephew died very rich.
ReplyDeleteI thought that your post was really neat. I thought that your choice to highlight events from Little Turtle's point of view instead of the European view helped to give a different perspective on one of the biggest losses in American history. I also thought that it was interesting that Little Turtle was given a ceremonial sword from the newly developed government- in addition to meeting 3 of the presidents. Why do you think that the government reached out to Little Turtle? Was it to draft terms of peace and end the hostility, or because they genuinely respected his leadership? I wonder if he is still considered a hero among many Indian tribes today.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post about the famous Littleturtle, Alan. Something interesting that struck me about his life was his resignation to the the state of affairs after his loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It seems to me that after he loses, and the Treaty of Greenville is signed, that he pivots to trying to mitigate the damage being done to the Natives by American influence. My question would be why he did not further resist the Americans after the war. I understand that the Natives took the treaties very seriously, unlike the Americans, but he must have seen the damage that American influence was having on Native society, as you said that he advocated for the reduction of alcohol. It would be interesting to discover his feelings on this matter, although I think we will only be able to debate his motives, not know for sure what he felt.
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