Miami at Forks of the Wabash, Indiana (1840)

What happened

On November 28, 1840, Samuel Milroy and Allen Hamilton, acting unofficially as commissioners for the United States, signed a treaty at the Forks of the Wabash with the chiefs, warriors and headmen of the Miami tribe. In Article 1 the Miami ceded the land on the south side of the Wabash River known as "the residue of the Big Reserve," being all of their remaining lands in Indiana. The treaty states no acreage for this cession.

In Article 2 the United States agreed to pay $550,000. Of that, $300,000 was set apart to pay the tribe's debts, and the other $250,000 would be paid in twenty equal yearly installments. At the tribe's request, Article 3 set up a commissioner to investigate claims against members of the tribe. Article 4 paid $25,000 to John B. Richardville and $15,000 to the executor of Francis Godfroy. Article 10 reserved seven sections to Richardville.

In Article 8 the Miami agreed to remove to the country assigned to them west of the Mississippi within five years, the United States paying every expense and furnishing rations for twelve months. The treaty was proclaimed on June 7, 1841. The Myaamia Center blog says the Miami were by then the last tribe in Indiana and that the U.S. government "continued to pressure" their National Council to agree to Removal. It adds that white Americans were surrounding the Miami and encroaching on the land they still held.

Good to know. The account of why the Miami National Council agreed comes from the Myaamia Center, a Miami community source.

Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error