On this date in 1912, Chief Little Turtle's grave was discovered in present day Fort Wayne Indiana almost 100 years to the day of his death (July 14, 1812). A contractor building a house on what is present day Lawton Place near downtown, discovered a Miami grave that would be identified as the Chiefs (part of the identification came from the dress sword buried with the remains which was the dress sword President George Washington had given the Chief). That area of Fort Wayne was originally burial grounds for the city of Kekionga and eventually would become the farm of William Wells. Because William Wells was killed at Fort Dearborn (present day Chicago) in August of 1812 and his farm along with everything around fort Wayne would be burned in the Siege of Fort Wayne in August of 1812, Little Turtle's grave would be lost to history until this day.
On July 14, 1812, Miami leader Little Turtle, or Mihšihkinaahkwa, died near Fort Wayne. Born near the Eel (Kenapocomoco) River, Little Turtle led the Western Confederacy against American troops who wanted to push them out of the Northwest Territory in the 1780s and 1790s in order to acquire land. While Little Turtle led many military victories, he was eventually defeated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 by General Anthony Wayne's troops.
According to the Myaamia Project of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, "Mihšihkinaahkwa (ca. 1752-1812) has long been characterized by historians as both a great leader - praised for his military defeats of Generals Harmer (1790) and St. Clair (1791) - and a traitor to his people for his willingness to work with the United States government after signing the Treaty of Greeneville in 1795. Absent from these superficial descriptions is an understanding of Myaamia leadership and the cultural, political and social environment of his time. . . . His story depicts a struggle to maintain an impossible balance between the wellbeing of his own people and a strategic resistance against those who gave little value to his existence as an indigenous person."
Today marks the 223rd anniversary of the signing of The Treaty of Greenville. Greenville was the culmination of year-long negotiations between the United States and various Native American tribes, following the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August of 1794. The main provision of the treaty ceded vast tracts of land to the American government for the purpose of westward settlement. Little Turtle, war chief of the Miami, was one of the Native American representatives at the treaty negotiations. During the American Bicentennial of 1976, a ten foot tall statue of Chief Little Turtle, sculpted by local artist Hector Garcia, was commissioned by the Fort Wayne American Revolution Bicentennial Commission. In 1984, Garcia created a cold-poured bronze-alloy replica of the original bust and donated it (along with the original mold itself) to the Historical Society. #sociallyhistory
Sculpture is a visual art form that is presented in three dimensions. These works are created through the manipulation...
Sculpture is a visual art form that is presented in three dimensions. These works are created through the manipulation of materials such as metal, plaster, stone, wood, glass, plastic, and ceramic. A few methods used to shape these raw materials include carving, casting, welding, molding, shaping, or bonding. Sculpture is one of the longest-lived forms of art and craft, dating back to the prehistoric era of the Upper Paleolithic, over 35,000 years ago. Some of the earliest examples of sculpture work include crafted tools and figurines. Sculpture has been used as a method to document important people, to celebrate ideas, to create tools, or to replicate the natural world. Sculpture is often thought of as a grand work of stone or bronze, such as a monument or statue, because these objects are typically referenced as “sculptures.” However, sculpture as an art form and crafting method also encompasses works such as pottery, jewelry, musical instruments, and weaponry. Various methods of craft and artistic expression that can fall under the large umbrella of sculpture also fall into their own specialized sub-category such as wood-carving, blacksmithing, or glass blowing. Visit the History Center to see our new temporary exhibit “Sculpture: Craftsmanship and Art in Three Dimensions.” #sociallyhistory
Bust, Cold-poured bronze alloy casting, Little Turtle, by Hector Garcia. Formed in the mold originally created by Hector Garcia for the ten foot sculpture of Little Turtle located in Headwaters Park. The sculpture was commissioned to Garcia by the Fort Wayne American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, 1975-1976. This copy was made by Hector Garcia for the historical society in 1984.
Mishikinakwa on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, also Me-She-Kin-No-Quah, last Chief of the Miami Indians, some say was born in 1747 near Devil's Lake, northwest of Churubusco in Whitley county, Indiana, Otho Winger says “Little Turtle was born at his father’s village on Eel River in 1751... five miles east of Columbia City." He led the Miamis to military defeats of Generals Harmer in 1790 and St. Clair in 1791. He died July 14, 1812 near Fort Wayne. His grave location is shown on the Map of Kekionga and Little Turtle Burial Site information is on our Cemetery page.
Page 81TWO "TURTLE" RELICS. in The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs, Publication date
1917 on Archive.org. Herewith are shown two curious Indian relics found at different times on the site of the city of Fort Wayne. The ladle is of a hard, flne-grained white wood, measuring about five inches in length. It is now in the private collection of Leslie W. Hills. It was found by boys who were assisting In some excavation work on the land platted by George Jaap In Spy Run. between Spy Run avenue and the St. Joseph river, where the Miami burying ground was located, and in the vicinity of the grave of Chief Little Turtle. The ladle was enclosed in a copper kettle. The Iron handle of the kettle was rusted away, but the contents, thoroughly sealed, were in perfect condition. A turtle is carved in relief on the handle of the ladle. The second specimen is carved from bone and was found Page 81 by the late J. W. Stockbridge in the neighborhood of Rockhlll, Wayne and Berry streets. It now forms a part of the collection of Charles A. Stockbridge, a brother. The design of the turtle according to students of Indian life and customs, was of common use. Jacob P. Dunn says: "The Miamis have specific names for the most common turtles — at-che-pong for the snapping turtle, ah-koot-yah for the soft-shell turtle, we-neet-chah for the box turtle or tortoise, kach-ki-yot for the map turtle, and mi-shl-kln-noq-kwa, spelled by many writers me-che-can-noch-qua, for the painted terrapin." The name of the latter, the commonest of the turtles of this region, was the Indian title of Chief Little Turtle. "When it came to translation," adds Mr. Dunn, "the Interpreters knew no specific English name for the painted terrapin, and. as it is a little turtle, never growing more than six or eight inches across, they conveyed the idea as well as they could by saying. 'The Little Turtle." (Dunn's "True Indian Series.")
