In late September 1833, the governor of Michigan Territory, George Porter, was one of three commissioners who had helped negotiate the Treaty of Chicago with the United Band of Potawatomis, Chippewas, and Ottawas. That particular agreement laid the foundation for a cession of approximately five million acres and the eventual removal of thousands of Indians from northern Illinois. Shortly after concluding the successful negotiations at Chicago, Porter headed east with the intention of securing land cessions in the Wabash River Valley from the Miamis.
The Miamis lived in on reserves in northern Indiana delineated through several different treaties signed in the 1820s. By 1833, however, those lands had become the target of businessmen and politicians in Indiana, all of whom saw the Miami presence as an obstacle to both the construction of a canal in northern Indiana and the general economic development of the region. The Miamis had a long history of trade relationships in the region and had no interest in leaving their homelands. During what was ultimately a failed treaty negotiation in October 1833, the Miami speaker Chapine clearly presented the Miami position to Governor Porter.
October 19, 1833
[Chapine:] Our Father, Listen to us your children — we have little to say. Perhaps you want a short speech, so we will be very short. You have mentioned a great many different tribes who have gone west. What you have said is very true. But your red children here, the Miamies, have no idea to follow their examples; What is the reason when you talk to us, you always talk about going over the Mississippi. We were not raised there. It would be very hard for us to leave the bodies of our friends who are buried here. We have no intention to go there. This place where we are is a fat country. So we don’t like to leave it. It is true you offer us money, but of what use will that be to us. There is not one willing to leave. Don’t expect we shall vary from this. We are of this opinion, and always shall be. The Country is so fat that our hands have got greasy, and if we put our hands on the money and goods you offer, we shall grease them.
October 24, 1833
[Chapine again addresses Governor Porter:] Father, Listen to your children. Your children have listened to you. Your red children have nothing at present to say. They have listened with great attention to everything you have said to them to day. You cannot expect an answer so soon. We will take time, and when we have made up our minds, we will give you an answer. We do not like it when you point across the river. It is not pleasant to us. But still we must consider what you have said, and if we make up our minds to that course, we will let you know.
[Recording secretary then writes:] Gov. Porter stated that he did not wish to be misunderstood. He did not tell them they must go west of the Mississippi. He only said that if they wish to reserve a piece of land, to which they might remove hereafter, it would be given to them. The Commissioners were pleased with the manner in which they had been received, and would meet the Indians when they were ready.
October 25, 1833
[Chapine speaks once more:] Father, listen to your children — We have considered what you said to us yesterday. Your red children understood you. They have made up their minds and will now tell you what they are. You said yesterday you was waiting for an answer. We have thought over what you have said, and we have not changed from what we replied to you at first. We do not intend to change. We listened to you yesterday with patience. But the opinions of your red children, the Miamies, are not altered. We have heard your speech, but are not inclined to give up our country, and have determined not to do so. It is of no use to go over this again. You have asked us to give you a decisive answer. We give you one. All your children here, the Miamies, are of one mind. You offer us a handsome sum of money, but compared with our Country, it is of no more value to us than one skin. This is all we have to say.
Source: “Journal of Proceedings October 1833,” Miami Agency, 1824–1841, 1846–1850, Roll 416, Record Group 75 M234, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–1881, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.
Evaluating the Evidence