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"Certain Reservations Should Be Made for the White People in Our Country": Reevaluating Michikinikwa's Path from Warrior to Diplomat, 1795-1812

Dean, Brandon
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1564741493466128

Abstract Details

2019, Master of Arts, University of Akron, History.
Generations of historians have discussed the Miami akima Michikinikwa’s pivotal role in the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795); however, the life of Michikinikwa following the 1795 Treaty of Greenville until his death in 1812 is a seventeen-year period that has drawn surprisingly little attention from recent historians. When written about, historians have interpreted Michikinikwa’s later years as a period of assimilation, accommodation, and capitulation. This thesis refutes that characterization through a careful reevaluation of known sources and suggests that the Miami leader was employing a diplomatic strategy aimed at retaining a degree of Native American autonomy vis-a-vis the American government. The intellectual inspiration for this argument hinges on Michikinikwa’s particularly fascinating 1802 statement to President Jefferson when referring to the Treaty of Greenville, “by the Treaty it was mentioned that certain reservations should be made for the white people in our country.” Seen through this lens, Michikinikwa’s path from Greenville until his death presents an opportunity to flip the traditional perspective of Native American history. While Americans may have been looking westward with ideas of territorial expansion, Native American leaders were turning their attention eastward and devising means of containing that expansion while securing their own future on their ancestral lands, as well as attempting to adjust to a rapidly changing political and economic world. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that Michikinikwa was seeking to use his diplomatic influence, as well as the terms of the Treaty of Greenville itself, to define, control, and limit white settlement while simultaneously advocating for and protecting Miami sovereignty.
Gina Martino, PhD (Advisor)
Walter Hixson, PhD (Committee Member)
89 p.
History; Native Americans

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Dean, B. (2019). "Certain Reservations Should Be Made for the White People in Our Country": Reevaluating Michikinikwa's Path from Warrior to Diplomat, 1795-1812 [Master's thesis, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1564741493466128

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dean, Brandon. "Certain Reservations Should Be Made for the White People in Our Country": Reevaluating Michikinikwa's Path from Warrior to Diplomat, 1795-1812. 2019. University of Akron, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1564741493466128.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dean, Brandon. ""Certain Reservations Should Be Made for the White People in Our Country": Reevaluating Michikinikwa's Path from Warrior to Diplomat, 1795-1812." Master's thesis, University of Akron, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1564741493466128

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by University of Akron and OhioLINK.