The Treaty of the Wabash was an agreement between the United States government and Native American

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

tribes in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

on November 28, 1840. On November 28, 1840, the United States government entered negotiations with the Miami tribe of northwestern Indiana seeking to purchase their land for white settlement. The United States was represented by two commissioners, Samuel Milroy, and Allen Hamilton. The United States had already purchased the Miami claim to the region in the Treaty at the Forks of the Wabash, and the

Pottawatomie The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

were the only natives who still held a claim in the region. The land purchased was in the region of the headwaters of the Wabash in north central Indiana, and constituted no more than about 500,000 acres.

Art. 1. The Miami Tribe of Indians do hereby cede to the United States all that tract of land on the south side of the Wabash river, not heretofore ceded, and commonly known as "the residue of the Big Reserve." Being all of their remaining lands in Indiana.

In exchange, the government promised a payment of $550,000. The first $300,000 would be used immediately to pay the debts of the tribe as outlined in the treaty's additional articles. The remaining $250,000 would be paid in annual installments over 20 years. The debts included the traditional debts in individual debts to local traders as well as its debts to tribal leaders; $25,000 John B. Richardville and $15,000 to the estate of

Francis Godfroy Francis Godfroy (Palaanswa, 1788–1840) was a chief of the Miami people. He negotiated treaties with between his tribe and the United States.Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

until the tribe emigrated to lands west of the Mississippi. Additionally, the treaty confirmed land transfers that were granted in the treaty of 6 November 1838. An additional grant was made to Richardville of lands at the Forks of the Wabash. Okterritory

The tribe agreed to accept designated lands in the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

, in present day

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

as a final place of settlement.

References

External links

Treaty with the Miami, 1840
in the Tribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University Libraries) {{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty of the Wabash Miami people Native American history of Indiana United States and Native American treaties 1840 treaties 1840 in the United States

See also

References

External links