11/30/2025
A Moment in Time (from the local history files at SWCPL): Long before European settlers arrived in Indiana, a Native American village known as Turtle Town was located on the banks of the Eel River. Historians believe this village was located where Miami Village is now located in Union Township. The community is named for the Miami people who inhabited the land long before the current residents.
From Turtle Town came one of the most well-known of the Miamis -- Little Turtle. He was born in Turtle Town around 1752, the son of a Native American known as The Turtle.
By the time Little Turtle was a young man, there was a lot of unrest in the area with the European settlers in the area. Little Turtle distinguished himself and earned a place in history with a series of military successes in battles against the settlers. First came a battle against a French force led by de La Balme in 1780. He then led raids to deter settlers from entering Indian lands, which led to a confrontation with George Rogers Clark. Little Turtle and Clark negotiated a temporary peaceful settlement.
Problems persisted and in 1790 then President George Washington ordered the governor of the Northwest Territory to find a solution. A military force of 1,500 men led by Josiah Harmar, was defeated by a force of 150 Native American warriors led by Little Turtle. A year later Little Turtle’s warriors defeated an American Army force led by the Northwest Territory governor, Arthur St. Clair.
Despite all his success on the battlefield, Little Turtle’s greatest contributions were to peace. He realized the intrusion of settlers was not going to be stopped. When he learned that the Army was preparing for another battle led by Gen. Anthony Wayne, Little Turtle refused to lead his warriors into another fight. The Allied Indian Council disagreed and sent a force to battle Wayne. The Native Americans were defeated ceding control of the Northwest Territory to the settlers.
Little Turtle became voice, although somewhat reluctant, in support of the Treaty of Greenville, which all the chiefs signed. Afterward, he traveled the area speaking of cooperation between the Native Americans and the Americans. He was honored by Presidents Washington, Adams and Jefferson and when he died in 1812, he was honored with a full military funeral at Fort Wayne by those who once considered him the enemy.
November is Native American Heritage month. Chief Little Turtle played a big role not only in local history but in the history of our area.
