By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
WABASH,IN The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma have a long history, and tribe members today are working to preserve their legacy for generations to come.
Diane Hunter, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, discussed the history of the tribe and what it is doing today during a 50-minute preservation Thursday, July 28, during the History Hunters program at the Wabash County Historical Museum.
The tribe traces its roots to the area of the St. Joseph River in South Bend, she said. However, some believe that the tribe began where the St. Joseph feeds into Lake Michigan.
The tribe had numerous villages scattered across Northern Indiana, and each village had its own chief. The largest of the villages was located in what is now Fort Wayne.
“And then we started establishing villages all along the Wabashiki,” said Hunter, a LaFontaine native and great-granddaughter of Chief Gabriel Godfroy. “The Wabash.”
In the villages, men and women had distinctive roles, Hunter explained. The men’s role were for tasks generally outside the village.
Men were responsible for such things as hunting, fishing and trapping, she said, adding that they also were responsible for trade. The men also conducted war and negotiated peace talks, she said.
The women were responsible for making homes – called Wiikiaaami – generally out of cattail reeds with tree bark serving as the roof.
“So the women made the homes, and the women owned the homes,” Hunter said. “And if a man came home and found his moccasins outside the door, they better find a new place to live.”
While the men conducted the wars, the women produced the food they would take with them, as well as the weapons they used, Hunter said.
“So if the women didn’t want war, they didn’t supply them for war,” she continued.
Indiana, in 1816, was much different looking than it is today, Hunter noted. The lower portion of the state was controlled by settlers, while the Miami controlled the majority of the land.
“Through treaties, we started giving up more and more land,” she said. “We already had one treaty in 1809, and then we had treaties in 1818, 1826, 1828, 1834, 1838 and 1840.”
The 1840 treaty was the one in which the tribe agreed to be moved to Kansas. Under the treaty, the tribe had five years to make arrangements to get to Kansas.
The Miami left Peru via canal boats to Defiance, Ohio. From there, it was another canal boat to Cincinnati. From Cincinnati, the tribe was transferred to a steamboat St. Louis, then another steamboat to Kansas City. The tribe then walked two days from Kansas City to Sugar Creek, Kansas.
“We were cargo,” Hunter said. “We weren’t people. We were cargo. A lot of people died along the way.”
The tribe stayed in Kansas until the 1860s, when it was allowed to relocate to Northeast Oklahoma. That is where tribal headquarters remain today.
The Miami Tribe in Oklahoma and the Miami Tribe in Indiana are separate tribes, Hunter noted, saying the Indiana tribe is made up of descendents of those who stayed in Indiana, as well as those who were allowed to return to Indiana from Kansas.
The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is working hard to revitalize its history and traditions with its more than 5,000 members today.
For example, ribbon work was popular among all tribes, and each tribe had its own distinctive type of style. The Miami Tribe is known for its diamond patterns, Hunter said, showing examples of how the diamonds were incorporated into moccasins, dresses, shirts and other garments.
Tribe officials today are working hard to revive the culture and young people today – both male and female – are again learning the art of ribbon work.
While the diamond pattern is still prevalent, it now adorns such things as bags, book covers, baseball caps, and one youth even made a cell phone cover.
“Even though it was traditionally women’s work, everybody does it,” Hunter said.
Tribe members also are learning to speak the Miami language, something that many have forgotten, she said, noting that the last fluent speaker died in the 1960s.
The tribe also recently opened the Cultural Resources Extension Office in Fort Wayne.
“When the building is finished, we’re going to have a real wonderful opportunity to provide the kinds of services … that they have in Oklahoma,” she said.