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The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the
Miami tribe The Miami ( Miami–Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking the Miami–Illinois language, one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is no ...
or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the Wea, along with the Kaskaskia,
Piankeshaw The Piankeshaw, Piankashaw or Pianguichia were members of the Miami tribe who lived apart from the rest of the Miami nation, therefore they were known as Peeyankihšiaki ("splitting off" from the others, Sing.: ''Peeyankihšia'' - "Piankeshaw Pers ...
, and Peoria, are enrolled in the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, a
federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...
in
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
.


Name

The name ''Wea'' is used today as the a shortened version of their numerous recorded names. The Wea name for themselves (autonym) in their own language is ''waayaahtanwa'', derived from ''waayaahtanonki'', 'place of the whirlpool', where they were first recorded being seen and where they were living at that time. The many different spellings of the tribe's name include Waiatanwa, Ouaouiatanoukak, Aoiatenon, Aouciatenons, Ochiatenens, Ouatanons, Ouias, Ouiatanon, Wah-we-ah-tung-ong, Warraghtinooks, and Wyatanons.


Language

The Wea spoke a dialect of Miami–Illinois language, part of the Algonquian language family.


History

The Wea lived north of the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
in parts of western Indiana and southeastern Illinois. The first written mention of the tribe is from 1673.Callendar, "Miami," 689 French explorers wrote about them in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Another Miami sub-tribe, the Pepikokia were a separate tribe until 1742 but then later became part of the Wea tribe.Callender, "Miami," 681 In the 18th century, the Wea, Miami, and Piankashaw remained distinct tribes. The Wea population of 1765 is estimated to have been around 1,200. In the early 18th century, Wea people settled in villages along the
Wabash River The Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...
between what would become Terre Haute and
Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash River, Wabash an ...
.Callendar, "Miami," 686 They established a large settlement called Ouiatenon, near what is now Lafayette, and the French colonists established
Fort Ouiatenon Fort Ouiatenon, built in 1717, was the first fortified European settlement in what is now Indiana, United States. It was a palisade stockade with log blockhouse used as a French trading post on the Wabash River located approximately three miles ...
, which facilitated trade with the Wea and Kickapoo. In 1747, British colonists began trading with a band of Miami living on the
Great Miami River The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee language, Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Nat ...
in Ohio. Weas began trading with them as well, until the French destroyed their trading post. By 1763, the Wea joined Odawa war chief Pontiac in
Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a confederation of Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754– ...
against the British. The Wea first were neutral during the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
but later joined the Miami in fighting with the British. The Wea were forced to move to Missouri and Arkansas in 1820. They were later forced into Kansas and finally
Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...
,Callendar, "Miami," 687 which became Oklahoma. With increased Euro-American settlement and the United States's policy of Indian removal, the US federal government made many treaties with these tribes. In 1854, the Wea signed a treaty that merged them politically with other remnant tribes of the Illinois Confederacy to become the Confederated Peoria Tribe. The Miami people also joined the Confederated Peoria Tribe in 1873.


Former village sites

Listed are just a few villages that were located in Indiana and Illinois. * Chicago Chicago, Illinois * Kenapacomaqua Logansport, Indiana * Ouiatenon Lafayette, Indiana, where a marker notes the site * Kethtippecahnunk Lafayette * Sugar Creek Village/Reserve Sugar Creek, Indiana * Weauteno / Jacco's Towne Terre Haute, Indiana (a marker is placed at Fairbanks Park) * Upper Wea Village/Town 2 miles above Terre Haute * Old Wea Town, Between Terre Haute and Vincennes * Wea Reserve Parke County, Indiana (a marker notes the site) * Wea Village Danville, Illinois * Paola, Miami County, Kansas In 2004, the Indiana Historical Bureau installed a marker in Terre Haute that commemorates the Wea Village and Chief Jacco Godfroy.


Signed treaties

Below are some of the many Treaties were made between the US and the Wea. *
Treaty of Greenville The Treaty of Greenville, also known to Americans as the Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., but formally titled ''A treaty of peace between the United States of America, and the tribes of Indians called the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanees, Ottawas ...
, Aug 3, 1795 * Fort Wayne Indiana Territory, June 7, 1803, was not at the original treaty but signed later * Vincennes, Indiana Territory, Aug 13, 1803 * Grouseland Indiana Territory, Aug 21, 1805 * Vincennes Indiana Territory, Dec 30, 1805 * Fort Wayne Indiana Territory, Sept 30, 1809 * Vincennes Indiana Territory, Oct 26, 1809 * Fort Harrison, Indiana Territory, June 4, 1816 * Vincennes Indiana Territory, Jan 3, 1818 * St Mary's Ohio Oct 2, 1818, ceded most lands in Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, and established small reservation in Indiana on the Wabash River * Vincennes, Indiana, Aug 11, 1820, ceded last land in Indiana, removed to Missouri and Arkansas * St Joseph, Michigan, Sept 21,1826 * St Joseph, Michigan, Sept 24, 1828 * Treaty of Oct 29, 1832, acquired 250 sections of land in
Miami County, Kansas Miami County is a County (United States), county located in East-Central Kansas, east-central Kansas, United States. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Its county seat and most populous city is Paola, Kansas, Paola. As of the 20 ...
* Treaty of May 30, 1854 * Omnibus Treaty of February 23, 1867 Some mentions of Wea people in treaties include the following: Treaty of St. Marys 1820 in Article 3: "As it is contemplated by the said Tribe, to remove from the Wabash, it is agreed, that the annuity secured to the Weas, by the Treaty of Saint Mary's, above mentioned, shall hereafter be paid to them at Kaskaskia in the state of Illinois." Treaty of Castor Hill 1832 in Article 4: "The United States will also afford some assistance to that part of the Wea tribe now residing in the State of Indiana, to enable them to join the rest of their tribe on the lands hereby assigned them,...."


Notable Wea people

* Stone Eater, 18th-century Wea war chief


Notes


References

* Callender, Charles, "Miami," in ''Handbook of North American Indians,'' Raymond D. Fogelson, ed. (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004), 681–89.


External links


Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
official website {{authority control Native American tribes in Indiana Native American tribes in Oklahoma Native American history of Indiana Algonquian ethnonyms Algonquian peoples Illinois Confederation