Native Americans, Europeans, and the Raid on Pickawillany
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ABSTRACT “THE LAND BELONGS TO NEITHER ONE”: NATIVE AMERICANS, EUROPEANS, AND THE RAID ON PICKAWILLANY In 1752, the Miami settlement at Pickawillany was attacked by a force of Ottawa and Chippewa warriors under the command of a métis soldier from Canada. This raid, and the events that precipitated it, is ideally suited to act as a case study of the role of Native American peoples in the Ohio Country during the first half of the eighteenth century. Natives negotiated their roles and borders with their British and French neighbors, and chose alliances with the European power that offered the greatest advantage. Europeans were alternately leaders, partners, conquerors and traders with the Natives, and exercised varying levels and types of control over the Ohio Country. Throughout the period, each of the three groups engaged in a struggle to define their roles in regards to each other, and to define the borders between them. Pickawillany offers insights into this negotiation. It demonstrates how Natives were not passive victims, but active, vital agents who acted in their own interest. The events of the raid feature a number of individuals who were cultural brokers, intermediaries between the groups who played a central, but tenuous, role in negotiations. It also exhibits the power of ritual violence, a discourse of torture and maiming that communicated meanings to friends and rivals alike, and whose implications shaped the history of the period and perceptions of Natives. Luke Aaron Fleeman Martinez May 2011 “THE LAND BELONGS TO NEITHER ONE”: NATIVE AMERICANS, EUROPEANS, AND THE RAID ON PICKAWILLANY by Luke Aaron Fleeman Martinez A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History in the College of Social Sciences California State University, Fresno May 2011 © 2011 Luke Aaron Fleeman Martinez APPROVED For the Department of History: We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student’s graduate degree program for the awarding of the master’s degree. Luke Aaron Fleeman Martinez Thesis Author Brad Jones (Chair) History Ethan Kytle History William E. Skuban History For the University Graduate Committee: Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER’S THESIS X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship. Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me. Signature of thesis author: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I feel somewhat sheepish in offering acknowledgments for my thesis, as I don't feel I have yet earned the right to thank everyone in such a way, and I will invariably leave someone out. Nonetheless, I am going to attempt this, because I welcome the opportunity to thank the people I treasure. May the gods of history not punish me for my presumptuousness. First and foremost I must acknowledge and thank my advisor, Professor Brad Jones, without whom this thesis would not have been possible. Dr. Jones read and re-read the many pages of this thesis more times than I can count, each time offering insightful and useful commentary that improved the entire project. His patience and generosity have overwhelmed me; he has done more for me as a student, writer, scholar and historian than I could have ever hoped for. It embarrasses me that all I have to offer in return is this acknowledgment. I can never properly express how truly and deeply thankful I am for his tutelage and mentoring. A number of professors and fellow graduate students have made my experiences at Fresno State enriching, enjoyable, educational, and fun. Professors Mark Arvanigian, David Berkey, Dan Cady, Lori Clune, Michelle DenBeste, John Farrell, Melissa Jordine, Ethan Kytle, Maritere Lopez and William Skuban made it a joy to learn, and made going to class every day easy. Fellow students Rowena Bermio, Ryan Brunkhorst, Ernesto Guevara, Armando Hernandez, Maria Lorenzo, Amy Noel, Tiffany Polfer, Charles Slaght, Stephanie Strejan-Hamblen, Michael Tercero, Alicia Wolfe and Emily Wolfe made difficult days much easier, and vi offered me friendship and support in many ways, some not publishable. I cannot thank them enough for their support and friendship. At home I have been blessed to have the love and companionship of a close-knit group of friends who I could not have survived without. Paul Siebuhr, Joseph Schuster, Joe Sousa, Chris Myers, Michael Neer, Steven Dempsey, Kevin Lurz, Andrew Snow, Mark Clark, Chris Lyell and Eric Dillard all are giants among men, wonderful individuals who I am very thankful to for their support and friendship. My life has also been made better, livelier, and more enjoyable by the addition of two stray dogs who now dominate me, Bambi and Thumper. Writing this thesis has been difficult at times, and I could always turn to them for some fun and a break. I am the product of the love, hard work, determination and sacrifice of my family. One reason I was drawn to History as a discipline was the experiences of my grandparents, and the opportunity to write about such impressive people. Orvil Casey, Maxine Burgess, Charles Martinez and Rufina Falcon all endured hardships I could not imagine to make a better world for their children and grandchildren. My parents, David and Louise Martinez, are the greatest parents anyone could dream of, and my achievements belong to them, as they would be impossible without their patience and love. My sister Kellyn has been everything a brother could hope for, a sibling I love so dearly and feel so close to that I have often told others that we are twins - no other description would do us justice. Most importantly, I must thank the love of my life, Natalie Hernandez. She has been my strength, my faith, and my reason for living for a long time now, and I am ecstatic that I am going to spend the rest of my life with her. I can do vii anything with her in my life, and I hope that I can achieve enough to justify the faith, love and patience she has shown me. She deserves all I can offer, and more. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION: DEATH AND DESTRUCTION ON THE MIAMI RIVER ........................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: NATIVE DIPLOMACY AND AGENCY IN THE COUNTRY BETWEEN .................................................................................................. 17 CHAPTER 2: RITUAL VIOLENCE AND CONFLICTS OF OWNERSHIP ...... 41 CHAPTER 3: A PARADOX OF INFLUENCE: CULTURAL BROKERS AS AGENTS AND PAWNS ............................................................................ 61 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 83 INTRODUCTION: DEATH AND DESTRUCTION ON THE MIAMI RIVER “Fathers [the French], both you and the English are white, we live in a Country between; therefore the Land belongs to neither one nor to other... so Fathers, I desire you to withdraw.” Tanaghrisson, Seneca War Leader, as reported by George Washington in 1753 The great conflicts between the French and British Empires in the eighteenth century stretched across the world, and expressed themselves on many fronts, with a panoply of peoples being drawn between the two belligerents. One such theater of action was the Ohio Country in North America. The French and their Native allies defended the Ohio Valley and its environs as their inviolable territory. British American colonists constantly probed at its frontiers, frequently through trade and their own Native intermediaries. In this “country between” lived a vibrant, active Native American population that played a vital role in the conduct of an imperial conflict that began in Europe. In the Ohio Country lay the Miami village of Pickawillany. Situated on the Great Miami River amongst extensive cornfields, the village frequently hosted British traders from Pennsylvania, as well as contingents from other Native nations. Pickawillany’s location was a threat to the French, as the village was in close proximity to many Native peoples allied to the French, and brought British rivals far into territory the French considered theirs. To make matters worse, the nearest French outpost, Fort Detroit, was almost two hundred miles away; too far to exercise effective control over the area. Leading the village was Memeskia, a 2 Miami who had repeatedly defied the French and rejected their allegiance, and who instead courted the British. His affection for the British was so great that they referred to him as “the Old Briton,” while the French had given him the derisive title “La Demoiselle.”1 By 1752, Memeskia and Pickawillany had become an irritant to the French. The village was hosting the rivals of the French, giving the British access to new allies and goods, and eroding French influence. The Miami subsequently rejected the French alliance, and the ensuing political fallout led to conflicts between the Miami and nearby Natives still faithful to the French. Ultimately, the Miami from Pickawillany would even kill and scalp Frenchmen, and unthinkable proposition not long before Memeskia’s ascension to power. The French resolved to do something about Pickawillany, but were in a difficult position. They wanted to disperse the British traders and secure their borders, but hoped to do so without igniting a full-scale war among the Native Americans of the Ohio Country, who were bound to each other in alliance. French leadership intended to use their own troops to achieve this, and hoped to avoid the involvement of other Native 1 William Trent, The Journal of Captain William Trent, From Logstown to Pickawillany, AD 1752 (New York: Arno Press and New York Times, 1971), 84-86. Trent was a British trader who did business at Pickawillany, and provided an important account of the village before and after the raid.