Indiana General Assembly

SENATE RESOLUTION SEVENTEEN

A SENATE RESOLUTION acknowledging the historical significance of the Potawatomi-Miami Trail.

WHEREAS, Centuries before settlers arrived in the area, Potawatomi, Miami, Kickapoo, Kaskaskia, Peoria, and other woodland groups established a route from the Maumee watershed near present-day Fort Wayne to Lake Michigan near present-day Chicago, and the groups used the route now known as the Potawatomi-Miami Trail to get from village to village and as a major route for transporting goods such as corn, wild rice, copper, various types of stones to make hunting points and tools, shells, and skins;

WHEREAS, Potawatomi and Miami warriors used the Trail to travel to the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 and the siege of Fort Wayne in 1812;

WHEREAS, Chief Five Medals, Chief Little Turtle, and other leaders used the Trail during travels to Fort Wayne to discuss what became the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, to Philadelphia to meet with President George Washington in 1796, and to Washington, D.C., in 1801 to meet with President Thomas Jefferson;

WHEREAS, In September 1812, a regiment of the United States Army, including Jackson Township in Elkhart County’s namesake, Colonel John Jackson, traveled the Potawatomi-Miami Trail from Fort Wayne to what is now Benton, Indiana, to burn down Chief Five Medal’s village on the north side of the Elkhart River;

WHEREAS, Following the 1821 Treaty of Chicago, Isaac McCoy traveled this route to establish the Carey Mission among a Potawatomi tribe near Lake Michigan and the present-day city of Niles, Michigan;

WHEREAS, Much of the Potawatomi-Miami Trail is located in the area defined by the September 1828 Treaty with the Potawatomi;

WHEREAS, In October 1838, John Wesley Violett, one of the first settlers in Elkhart County, traveled the Trail to claim land which is now within the southern part of the City of Goshen;

WHEREAS, Between 1829 and 1830, surveyors traveled the Trail to establish the townships of Elkhart County and divide the townships into sections so the land could be sold;

WHEREAS, The majority of the early settlers in Elkhart County traveled this route to claim land for farms, mills, and businesses;

WHEREAS, Over time, the original Trail from what is now known as Fort Wayne and Chicago became the basis for many of the highways in the region; and

WHEREAS, For hundreds of years, the Potawatomi-Miami Trail has been instrumental in historical events in Elkhart County, northern Indiana, and around the country and is deserving of recognition:

Therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate of the

General Assembly of the State of Indiana

SECTION 1. That the Indiana Senate acknowledges the historical significance of the Potawatomi-Miami Trail.

SECTION 2. The Secretary of the Senate is hereby directed to transmit copies of this Resolution to Senator Doriot.

Adopted by voice vote this thirtieth day of January, 2025.