From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Miami are a Native American tribe originally found in Indiana and Ohio, and now living also in Oklahoma.

The name 'Miami' derives from the tribe's name for themselves in their own Algonquian language, Myaamia (plural Myaamiaki). Some sources say that the Miami called themselves the Twightwee (also spelled Twatwa), an onomatopoeic reference to their sacred bird, the Sandhill crane. However, "Twightwee" appears to be a Delaware language name for the Miamis, and some Miamis have stated that this was only a name used by other tribes for the Miamis, and not a name the Miamis used for themselves. Another common usage was Mihtohseeniaki, "the people," and the Miami continue to employ this ethnonym today.

The Miami are thought by anthropologists to be one of the cultural descendants of the Mississippian culture, characterized by maize-based agriculture, chiefdom-level social organization, extensive regional trade networks, hierarcal settlement patterns, and other factors. The historical Miami seem also to have enjoyed hunting.

When French missionaries first encountered the Miami in the mid 17th century, they were living around the shores of Lake Michigan. The Miami had reportedly moved there because of pressure from the Iroquois further east. Early French explorers noticed many linguistic and cultural similarities between the Miami bands and the Illiniwek. At this time, the major divisions of the Miami were:

• Atchakangouen (also Atchatchakangouen or Greater Miami)
• Kilatika
• Mengkonkia (Mengakonia)
• Pepikokia
• Piankeshaw (Newcalenous)
• Wea (Ouiatenon)

In 1696, the Comte de Frontenac appointed Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes as commander of the French outposts in northeast Indiana. Here he became good friends with the Miami people, settling first at the St. Joseph River, and, in 1704, establishing a trading post and fort at Kekionga, present day Fort Wayne, Indiana.^[1]

By the eighteenth century, the Miami had for the most part returned to their homeland in present-day Indiana and Ohio. The eventual victory of the British in the French and Indian War led to an increased British presence in traditional Miami areas. Shifting alliances and the gradual encroachment of white settlement led to some Miami bands merging. Native Americans created larger tribal confederacies as they allied both to participate in European wars and to fight advancing white settlement. By the end of the century, the tribal divisions were:

• Miami
• Piankeshaw
• Wea

The latter two groups were closely aligned with some of the Illini tribes and were later lumped with them for administrative purposes. The Eel River band maintained a somewhat separate status, which proved beneficial in the removals of the nineteenth century. The nation's traditional capital was Kekionga.

A number of places have been named for the Miami nation:

• Miami, Oklahoma
• Fort Miami (Indiana)
• Fort Miami (Michigan)
• Fort Miami (Ohio)
• Great Miami River in Ohio
• Little Miami River in Ohio
• Maumee River
• Miami County, Indiana
• Miami County, Kansas
• Miami County, Ohio
• Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

It should be noted that Miami, Florida is not named for the Miami nation, but rather the Mayaimi tribe of Florida.

• Miami Indian Collection (MSS 004)
• Guide to Native American Resources