Little Turtle: Hero or Villain?
My research looks at the two opinions of Miami war chief Little Turtle that place him
on either side of the classic Good versus Evil battle. The first is the idea of
him as a hero who fought the whites both in battle and with words, and the
second is of him as a villain who stepped down as leader of the Miami
Confederacy and signed away Indian land in treaties. Each of the sources I
found could be seen as supporting him as both a hero and a villain depending on
the way they were read. I concluded that Little Turtle was like most of us in
that he made good decisions and bad ones, but in the end he was always doing
what he thought was right for future of the Miami Indians.
Primary Sources:
Jefferson, Thomas. Letter to Little Turtle. The Thomas Jefferson Papers
Series 1, General Correspondence. 1651-1827. (December 21,
1808). Library of Congress. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/
Jefferson's letter to Little Turtle gives insight into the relationship between the President and the Chief. In his response Jefferson notes Little Turtle's concerns about lands which the Miami own being sold by another tribe and extols the potential benefits that practicing agriculture could have for the Indians.
Schedule
of Indian Land Cessions. 1802 to 1809. US Serial Set Number 4015.
56th Congress. 1st
Session. Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
The Schedule of Indian Land Cessions provides a list of all the lands ceded by the Indians to the United States of America including: dates, where the treaty was signed, with which tribe, the land ceded, and any historical data.
Talk given by Little Turtle
to the President of the United States. American State
Papers: Senate, 7th Congress. 1st
Session. Indian Affairs Vol. 1. (January 4,
1802). Library of Congress. http://international.loc.gov/
This is an excerpt from a talk given by Little Turtle to Thomas Jefferson. In it he asks for the Presidents help to ban alcohol sale to Indians.
Treaty of
Greenville.
Indians, and Anthony Wayne. George
Washington Papers at the Library of Congress. 1741-1799: Series 4. General Correspondence. 1697-1799. (August 3, 1795). Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
This is a copy of the original treaty that was made for George Washington. The Treaty of Greenville was central to changing the way that Indians and Whites interacted in the Great Lakes area. It not only ceded Indian lands to America, but for the first time laid down a system of annuities, who could negotiate treaties, and who could trade with Indians.
Secondary Sources:
Carter, Harvey Lewis. The Life and Times of Little Turtle. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987.
This is the most detailed examination of Little Turtle and his family that I found. This book was invaluable in its detailed history of the life of Little Turtle. Carter covers the Miami Indians in their relationships with the whites leading up to Little Turtle becoming war chief, and then follows Little Turtle and his family through to his death before covering the roles some of his descendants played in relationships with the Americans.
Edel, Wilbur. Kekionga! : The worst defeat in the history of the U.S. Army. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1997.
This is an interesting book which covers not only St. Clair's defeat, but also the events leading up to it and how they influenced the eventual defeat, and the investigation by Congress which followed. Edel makes good use of Carter's The Life and Times of Little Turtle as well as primary sources.
Gaff, Alan D. Bayonets in the Wilderness: Anthony Wayne's Legion in the Old Northwest. Campaigns and Commanders, vol. 4. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004.
This is a detailed look at General Wayne's campaign in the old Northwest starting with St. Clair's defeat and building up to the Battle of Fallen Timbers and eventual peace in the Treaty of Greenville. Gaff uses multiple primary sources and provides as much of a blow-by-blow account of each skirmish as possible.
Rafert, Stewart. The Miami Indians of Indiana: A Persistent People 1654-1994. Indiana Historical Society, 1996.
Rafert's book is a detailed look at the history of the Miami Indians from their initial contact through to the mid 1990s. The book covers not only the major events in the history of the tribe, such as the Treaty of Greenville, but also some of the not as well known Indians who have played important roles in the survival of the Miami as a tribe.
Jamie Leigh-Powell