(pg. 85-95)
After the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 the Potawatomi appear with increasing frequency in treaties involving land cessions. They are among the participants in a treaty negotiated by William Henry Harrison in 1803 at Fort Wayne on the Miami of the lake. This primarily involved a clarification of some provisions of the 1795 teary and the Potawatomi are probably concerned largely through the presence of the one small band on the Wabash. The Potawatomi are also involved in the Treaty of 1805 held at Fort Industry on the Miami of the lake which is concerned with tracts 53 and 53 of Royce's map of Ohio. The Potawatomi are specifically mentioned only in article 5 of this treaty where we find:
"To prevent all misunderstanding hereafter, it is to be expressly remembered, that the Ottawa and Chippewa nations, and such of the Pattawatami nation as reside on the river Huron of lake Erie, and in the neighborhood thereof, have received from the Connecticut land company, and the company incorporated by the name of 'the proprietors of the half million acres of land, lying south of lake Erie, called Sufferers' land,' the sum of four thousand dollars in hand, and have secured to the President of the United States, in trust for them, the further sum of twelve thousand dollars, payable in annual installments, of two thousand dollars each;..."
Now there is a Huron river located in Ohio within the tract ceded. The question may well arise, as to whether these are the Potawatomi who live on this river and are therefore being paid for the land which they held in the area. Again we can only state that there is no evidence for Potawatomi occupation this far east. The treaty negotiations were being held at Fort Industry, located at the present Toledo, Ohio, immediately below the Michigan state line, some distance west of the tract under consideration. This was immediately south of the area of Potawatomi occupation in Michigan and it should be recalled that the Potawatomi of the Huron were present at the treaty of Greenville. Okia, a chief of this group, specifically says in a speech quoted above, "I come from the river Huron, near Detroit."
If the Potawatomi were not actual occupants of this area, why were they compensated so generously for the land? The answer is perhaps to be seen in the political situation of the time. Officially America and Britain were at peace but relations were nevertheless strained and the latter were attempting to use the Indians as a pawn in the anticipated renewed struggle between the two nations. The Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Chippewa who lived in the vicinity of Detroit were of crucial importance to the United States simply because they were just across the Detroit river from Malden, the center of British intrigue in the area. If they could be kept loyal, then it would be unlikely that he other tribes would be seriously influenced by British propaganda and presents. Payments to the Potawatomi, as well as the Ottawa and Chippewa, may have been largely a matter of expediency to keep these groups faithful allies. It is to be noted that the payments were carefully spaced over a period of six years.
In general the same comments might be made in reference to the other treaty negotiated in 1805 in which the Potawatomi participated, the treaty of Grouseland, August 21,1805. The major point involved here was the Miami claim that land ceded by the Delaware was actually theirs, and that they therefore deserve to be compensated too., Perhaps again, it was simply the nuisance value of the Potawatomi due to their close proximity to some Miami villages that led to their being included in the treaty payments. Certainly in the treaty itself we find a very clear statement as Article 4, that the related Miami tribes are to be considered the owners of the Wabash country:
"Art. 4. As the tribes which are now called the Miamies, Eel River, and Weas, were, formerly, and still consider themselves, as one nation, and as they have determined that neither of those tribes shall dispose of any part of the country, which they hold in common'; in order to quiet their minds on that head, the United States do hereby engage to consider them as joint owners of all the country on the Wabash, and its waters, above the Vincennes tract, and which has not been ceded to the United States, by this or any former treaty; and they do further engage, that they will not purchase any part of the said country, without the consent of each of the said tribes: Provided always, that nothing in this section contained shall, in any manner, weaken or destroy any claim which the Kickapoos, who are not represented at this treaty, may have to the country they now occupy, on the Vermillion river."
The Potawatomi did sign this treaty and they are specifically mentioned only in article 5 which states that he Delaware had the right to cede the land they did in the treaty of August 18, 1804. The impression is clearly given that the Potawatomi have no fundamental claim to territory in this area. This is borne out in a letter from William Henry Harrison to the Secretary of War in March, 1803:
"...The Potawatomies, so far from having any claim to land on the South East side of the Wabash, acknowledge that they have trespassed upon the Miamis by settling on the north bank of that river" (Harrison, William Henry. Messages and Letters. Indiana Historical Collections, VIII, p. 80, 1922).
This picture of Potawatomi occupation in the more southerly regions and also in the country immediately to the west of this area probably undergoes a marked alteration around this time. One factor in this changing situation was doubtless the unrest, in part stimulated by the British and in part capitalized upon by them, which has been previously mentioned. The local factor in the situation is the fact that around 1805 Tecumseh and the Shawnee Prophet began spreading a new messianic religion that advocated a return to old customs and that soon became a focus for anti-American sentiments in the region. A portion of the Potawatomi became adherents to this new religion, two leaders among them being Poque and Shaubena. On the other hand Gomo and his followers maintained an opposition to this group and maintained their loyalty to the Americans. After considerable opposition had developed to a village of the Shawnee Prophet in Ohio, a settlement was established in 1808 by the Prophet and his followers on the upper Wabash, at the mouth of Tippecanoe creek. This center might well be regarded as a magnet which would tend to attract the Indians with a similar orientation, including the Potawatomi. Thus we have developing a new factor which would encourage the movement of Potawatomi in larger numbers into this region and tend to destroy the exclusive claim of the Miami tribes to the region.
While this ferment was going on in the area to the south, a treaty was negotiated by William Hull, Governor of the territory of Michigan at Detroit on November 7, 1807, with the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot, and Potawatomi. The treaty resulted in a cession of a large tract of land in the southeast quarter of the lower peninsula of Michigan by the portions of the four tribes occupying the region, yet at the same time reserving from this land cession small tracts of lands surrounding the villages still remaining in the area. The land cession can be regarded as another causative factor pushing the Potawatomi southward and westward. During this period the Potawatomi, as well as the other tribes, still relied extensively on winter hunts to provide a large portion of their food during this season as well as to provide a large portion of their food during this season as well as to provide furs which could be bartered for guns and powder and other items of white manufacture need by the Indian. The restriction of Indian land to the small areas about their villages did not eliminate this economy, for the Indians still retained hunting and trapping rights over the broader territory, but the implications of white expansion were that only a small population could continue to exploit the territory. Increased white settlement clearly meant a marked dimunition of wild life and would accelerate a tendency for the Potawatomi near Detroit to Join their fellow tribesmen at the St. Joseph River as well as those in Illinois and Indiana. This tendency would have been present before this treaty since white settlement of the region preceded the treaty mentioned above. The extent of white settlement in the area prior to the treaty is indicted by a report which C. Jouett, Indian agent at Detroit, transmitted in 1803 to Henry Darbron, then Secretary of War (American State Papers. Class II, Vol. 1 Indian Affairs, pp. 758-59. Washington, 1832). It is evident from this report that the area along Lake Erie, the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River, as well as along the lower reaches of creeks and rivers emptying into this region, had already been rather heavily settled by white farmers. A very large proportion of these farmers had already purchased their farms from the former Indian occupants of the area.
Shortly after this, on September 30, 1809, the Potawatomi along the Delaware, Miami and Eel River Miami participated in another treaty with the United States. This was negotiated by William Henrty Harrison, Governor of Indiana. As in the earlier treaties of Fort Industry and Gourseland in 1805, there seems to have been no real reason for Potawatomi participation and compensation other than perhaps in broader aspects of diplomacy in a futile attempt to maintain peace on the frontier. This appears to be borne out in a separate article attached to the treaty in which it is stated:
"As the greater part of the lands ceded to the United States, by the treaty, this day concluded, was the exclusive property of the Miami nations, and guarantied to them by the treaty of Grouseland, it is considered by the said commissioner, just and reasonable that their request to be allowed some further and additional compensation should be complied with..."(Ibid., pp. 761-62).
It was not long after this that the sporadic raids and discontent broke out into active war. In 1811, General Harrison marched on and destroyed the village of the Shawnee Prophet previously mentioned. The defeat of the Indians in this engagement only temporarily quieted the frontier for on June 18, 1812 the war between the Americans and Indians merged with the war between the British and Americans. While a preponderance of the Indians on the northwestern frontier sided with the British, the Potawatomi were divided in their allegiance. This divided allegiance is specifically seen in the attack on Fort Daarborn and the subsequent capture and slaughter of large part of the garrison when evacuation was attempted. The leaders of the attack were Potawatomi chiefs (Blackbird, Nus-cot-nu-meg from the Kankakee, and Senachewin, leader of the Prairie band), while on the other hand Black Partridge, Wau-bun-see and other friendly chiefs opposed the attack and aided in rescuing the survivors. (Kellogg, Louise P. The British Regime in Wisconsin and the Northwest, pp. 286-87. Madison, 1935.) Despite this attitude, Governor Ninian Edwards of the Illinois territory, organized an expedition in October, 1812 against the Kickapoo and the Potawatomi. One of the Major results of this party was to raze the village of Black Partridge at the head of Peoria Lake. Because of this misdirected activity, all of the Potawatomi could for a period thereafter be regarded as in the British camp, since they then joined the forces of Tecumseh in the Detroit area. Documents from British sources, however, indicated that the allegiance of the Potawatomi as a whole was not securely attached to either side. (Dickson and Grignon Papers- 1812-1815, Wis. Hist. Collections, XI, pp. 271-315, 1888).
American action against the Indians, after initial setbacks, was prosecuted vigorously. In 1813 General Benjamin Howard marched to Gomo's village, twenty-five miles above Peoria and burned it. As a result of the expedition, the more friendly Potawatomi chiefs began to approach the Americans and ask for peace. Black Partridge, the Potawatomi who had been of considerable assistance to the victims of the Chicago massacre, met with Governor Clark in St. Louis early in January, 1814, to ask for peace. The second shift in allegiance of the Potawatomi cannot be considered as solely the result of the campaign of the previous year since during this period Thomas Forsyth, Indian agent at Lake Peoria, had been very active in influencing the tribe. (Kellogg, Louis P. The British Regime in Wisconsin and the Northwest, pp. 305-311. Madison, 1935). This movement culminates in a treaty of peace which was signed with the Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Seneca and Miami and with the bands of the Potawatomi who "adhere to the grand sachem Tobinipee and to the Chief Onoxa." This treaty was negotiated by Major General William Henry Harrison and Lewis Cass at Greenville, Ohio, July 22, 1814, and not only was aimed at establishing peace between the American and British but also sought Indian aid in the war with Great Britain.
Since the treaty of Chent was signed in the same year, the need for Indian allies was of short duration. In the following year, 1815, several treaties were concluded that brought the news to the Indians that the war was over and attempted to establish friendly relations. One of these was concluded between the United States as represented by William Clark, Ninian Edwards and Auguste Chouteau and the Potawatomi who lived on the Illinois river. The treaty with the Illinois band was concluded at Portage des Sioux, July 18, 1815. Basically, the treaty simply concluded peace but it is most interesting in connection with it to note that Clark, Edwards and Chouteau in commenting on the treaty negotiations state:
"The Pattawatamies now occupy and assert a right to the land on the Illinois river which is contained in the cession made by the Sacs and Foxes in 1804, and, it is certainly to be apprehended that, without some adjustment of the dispute, the surveyors appointed to survey the military land within the Illinois Territory will meet with some serious opposition" (American State Papers. Class II, Vol. 2 Indian Affairs, p. 10, Washington, 1834).
A letter from the War Department, November 10, 1815, signed by George Graham, Chief Clark, to William Clark, Governor of Missouri Territory, states in reference to the above claim:
"It is believed the Pattawatamies can have no well-founded claim to the lands ordered to be surveyed for the Military bounty lands. As they have, however, been in the habit of hunting on these grounds, and as the deprivation may be attended with some inconvenience to them, Governor Edwards has been authorized to give them two thousand dollars as compensation" (Ibid., p. 12).