1812

Chief Little Turtle Lorraine Cross

Mishikinakwa or Chief Little Turtle (1747-1812)

At a time in Fort Wayne's history when westward expansion threatened native populations, Chief Little Turtle was a valiant leader of the Miami Indians and the Western Confederacy. As war chief of the Miami Confederation, Little Turtle defeated American expeditions in 1780, 1790, and 1791. Little Turtle's victory against General Arthur St. Clair's army near Fort Recovery, Ohio in November 1791 remains one of the worst defeats the American military would ever face at the hands of Native Americans. Little Turtle continued fighting against the U.S. Army through 1794, raiding supply trains for new forts until he was finally subdued after Anthony Wayne defeated the Indian Confederation at Fallen Timbers, 20 August 1794. After this defeat, Little Turtle signed the Treaty of Greenville on 3 August 1795 and advocated peace, managing to keep the Miami from joining Tecumseh's Shawnee Confederacy during the War of 1812 era.

Although the treaty opened southern Indiana to American settlement, the northern portion remained the reserve of the native tribes. When Little Turtle died in 1812 in Fort Wayne, the Miami still controlled most of northeastern Indiana. This is just a small sampling of the silver jewelry owned and worn by Little Turtle which he would have acquired through trade with the Europeans.