A Very Brief History Of The Miami Indians

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The Miami Indians, known as Algonkian people, are closely related to the Illinois peoples. Miami comes for the Miami-Illinois word Myaamia, which means “allies” (Peregrine, 1996). Throughout their history, the tribe has faced many relocations as well as push back from the US Government. The story of the Miami Indians begins as a united tribe along Lake Michigan and ends with them separated into two subgroups located in Indiana and Oklahoma. There are many characteristics that make up the depth of the Miami tribe. How they lived with in their cultural area, their contact with the Europeans, and issues that the tribe still faces today due to relocation are just a few characteristics that defines their history. The Miami have always lived in …show more content…

They used the skins of animals to help keep themselves warm and to make houses in the winter. Their clothing was made out of deer skins, and their houses were made of reeds and animals skins. The Miami’s houses were known as Wigwams. They were small oval houses usually about eight to ten feet tall that had walls made of woven reeds and animal skins (Rafert, 2003). It had a central fire pit and a smoke hole to keep the inside smoke free. This tribe was very resourceful and fully took advantage of the opportunities that their cultural area offered to them. From food to clothing and shelter, the Miami used the land the best that they could and created a thriving …show more content…

Around this time was also when tobacco and alcohol were introduced to the tribe. The Miami traded both beaver skins and corn for the items own by the French. With this new opportunity for trade, the Miami has started to relocate to portages between major rivers where they were able to control the trade to their advantage. The French were the ones who ultimately regulated the trade and set their separation from the Miami. The Miami were smaller in population than the other tribes the French had aligned themselves with and therefore less useful. The Miami traded with the French but didn’t always meet their needs and were more likely to shift their loyalty depending on their trading