Chief Little Turtle of the Miami Indians

When I was about 12 years old my family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Every day I would walk to school and pass by the library branch that was called the Little Turtle branch. This made me interested in finding out who Little Turtle was. Little Turtle wasn't the only Indian figure I was interested in. My fascination might partially be due to the Indian names themselves. Names like Tecumseh, Maumee, Shawnee, and Kekionga (the Indian village at the site where Fort Wayne was built).

Originally it was Major General Arthur St. Clair who was dispatched to establish a fort. He was never able to accomplish this because he was caught up in a battle with Indians led by Chief Little Turtle and Blue Jacket in Ohio about 50 miles from where Fort Wayne would eventually be established. Little Turtle was chief of the Miami Indians and Blue Jacket led the Shawnee. There are some that think that Blue Jacket was a white boy who had been taken in Virginia by the Indians but there is no real proof of this.

In defense of their lands the Indians fought a battle against St. Clair that was considered one of the worst defeats that the army ever received at the hands of the Indians. Over 700 soldiers and civilians were killed. This defeat was greater than the defeat of Custer at the Little Big Horn. It seems that the Battle of the Little Big Horn was much more famous and glamorized by the movie industry.

Eventually Little Turtle realized that the Indian Nations could not win against the larger numbers of the Americans. He tried to persuade his people to negotiate with the Americans. After the battle and defeat of the Indians by Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, Little Turtle never fought again against the Americans. The British refused to help the Indians and without the help of the British they were vastly outnumbered and were defeated. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Greenville. This ended the Indian wars and gave most of the land in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michiganto the United States.

Little Turtle died in 1812 at the home of his son-in-law, Captain William Wells and was buried in Fort Wayne. Captain Wells had been captured by the Indians when he was a child. Little Turtle had thought the boy had shown great bravery and adopted him as his son. Later on when Captain Wells grew up he fought alongside his Indian brothers against the Americans. Eventually he married Little Turtle's daughter, Sweet Breeze. It doesn't seem right that only a small slab marks the site of this great chief's grave. He was an important historical figure and it just seems like there should be more.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=240

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/summer/battle.html

http://www.shelbycountyhistory.org/schs/indians/bluejacket.htm