List of Treaties in Northern Indiana
The United States government negotiated treaties with the Indigenous People who had lived for centuries in what is now called northern Indiana. Many times there was deception in the processes and unfortunately the agreements in the signed treaties were not kept. Treaties were either broken or ignored as settlers filled the landscape. The following treaties are for the areas through which the Potawatomi-Miami Trail passes.
Two good web-based sources for treaties are Native Land Digital and Invasion of America. Both of these sites have maps that show outlines of treaty areas. There are links within the treaty area maps that connect to a database of the date and text of the treaty. Native Land Digital also includes information on Indigenous territories and languages prior to the treaties and settlement. There are links to information about the various tribes who considered the territory as their homeland. The cession number was assigned by the U.S. Government in “The Schedule of Indian Land Cessions.” The numbers were assigned in order of the date of the treaty. The cession number can also be found on The Indigenous Digital Archive’s Treaties Explorer website. The following treaties are for the land where the Potawatomi-Miami Trail passes.
- The treaties often impacted Indigenous Nations beyond those named in the treaty.
- Cession 16 – August 3, 1795 – Treaty with the Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Ottawa, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Miami, Eel River, Wea, Kickapoo, Piankishaw, and Kaskaskia
- Cession 17 – August 3, 1795 – Treaty with the Chippewa, Delaware, Eel River, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Miami, Ottawa, Piankishaw, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Wea, and Wyandot
- Cession 87 – September 29, 1817 – Treaty with the Wyandotte, Seneca, Delaware, Shawnee, Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Chippewa
- Cession 99 – October 10, 1818 – Treaty with the Miami
- Cession 117 – August 29, 1821 – Treaty with the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi (Read Treaty) (Read speech given by Potawatomi Chief Metea at 1821 gathering)
- Cession 132 – October 16, 1826 – Treaty with the Potawatomi
- Cession 133 – October 16, 1826 – Treaty with the Potawatomi
- Cession 146 – September 20, 1828 – Treaty with the Potawatomi (Read Treaty)
- Cession 180 – October 26, 1832 – Treaty with the Potawatomi
- Cession 181 – October 27, 1832 – Treaty with the Potawatomi
- Cession 251 – November 6, 1838 – Treaty with the Miami
- Cession 253 – November 6, 1838 – Treaty with the Miami
- Cession 253 – November 28, 1838 – Treaty with the Miami
- Cession 258 – November 28, 1840 – Treaty with the Miami
