Miami are a tribe that lived in several areas near the Great Lakes. They were divided into six bands. Two of the bands, the Wea and the Piankashaws, became independent tribes in the early 1800’s.
When European explorers first encountered the Miami in the mid-1600’s, the tribe lived in the area of present-day Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Miami then moved south to areas along the Wabash, Great Miami, and Maumee rivers in what are now Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
The Miami resembled the Illinois people in their language and customs. They lived in dome-shaped wigwams. Their villages were surrounded by large fields of corn, which was the tribe’s chief crop.
The Miami had a reputation as skilled warriors. But much of their success in war came from their clever choice of allies. They formed shifting alliances with the French, the British, and neighboring tribes. In 1763, some Miami helped the Ottawa chief Pontiac fight the British in a conflict known as Pontiac’s War. During the American Revolution (1775-1783), however, the Miami sided with the British because they opposed the expansion of American settlers into their lands.
The Miami and allied tribes, known as the Miami Confederacy, fought against U.S. forces in the Indian wars of the Ohio Valley in the 1790’s. Under their most famous war chief, Little Turtle, the Indians won several major battles. However, Major General “Mad Anthony” Wayne defeated the Miami Confederacy in 1794 at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
In 1846, the U.S. Army tried to force many of the Miami to leave Indiana. Some members of the tribe escaped from the Army and remained in the state. Others were allowed to stay. Those who left eventually settled in Oklahoma. Today, about 4,000 Miami live in the United States. About half of them live in Indiana and Oklahoma.
