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Ohio's Native Americans
Before I began doing some intense research into the subject I had this general impression that before the early settlers came into Ohio, the land was teaming with Native Americans that had lived here peacefully for thousands of years before descendents of European tribes came and forced them out.
Prior to when the first white settlers entered the Ohio territory, there were a number of different groups throughout the state. But these groups had only arrived in Ohio around the 1700s after having been driven from their homeland in southern Canada and the Great Lakes regions by other warring Native Americans. There were also some that came from the east coast that were trying to stay ahead of the Europeans that had started settling the coastal areas of the continent.
Before the 1700s, Ohio was pretty much a no-man's land with occasional bands of Native Americans passing through the area, but with no permanent settlements being established. Hundreds of years before this time, there were a number of large groups of people that were established throughout the state, and in fact, throughout most of the northeast area of the country.
The Ancient People of Ohio
These people are generally called the mound builders because of the numerous raised mounds of dirt they created during the time they spent here. There is evidence that they were made up of various groups, and they were widespread throughout the entire state. These ancient peoples have been divided into 3 cultures that are overlap each other.
The earliest group of people that have left archeological records were the Adena Culture that lived in Ohio from around 800 BC to 100 AD. These people were both hunters and farmers. They also built the first mounds. These mounds were used primarily for burial purposes. Some of their mounds became quite large (see: Miamisburg Mound south of Dayton). They were also identified by their pottery used for storage and food preparation.
As t he Adena Culture grew older, it began to change until it was transformed into what we call today as the Hopewell Culture. The Hopewell Culture expanded the idea of using earth to create structures. They typically are identified as creating massive earthwork enclosures in geometric shapes that sometimes included interior burial mounds. The earthwork shapes such as the Octagon Earthworks in Newark usually included a surrounding wall with several entry points. These earthworks were probably not year round villages, but locations that served as periodic gathering places where clans came from all over the country for celebrations and honoring those who may have died since the last time they met. These structures are sometimes aligned in certain ways with the extreme moon rises and moon sets. Other structures are aligned with sun rises and sets.
The other culture associated with southern Ohio is the Fort Ancient Culture. This group is named for the characteristics discovered at the massive Fort Ancient site in southwest Ohio. That site was called Fort Ancient only because it was assumed by early explorers to be a fort, but further investigation suggests that it was not used for that purpose, and like many other earthworks found in central and southern Ohio, they were gathering places. The Fort Ancient Culture was the final phase of the Ancient Cultures found in Ohio. When they disappeared, there is no further evidence of them being replaced by another culture with any of their typical characteristics.
There is no historical description of accounts regarding these people, other than the artifacts that have been unearthed. There is evidence that they were wide-spread, with large cities and they traveled great distances for trading between other cities that had been established throughout North America. For some reason, these people disappeared around 400 - 700 AD and weren't seen again anywhere else, at least not as a recognized civilization like they had developed in Ohio.
Why they disappeared is not known. It is quite possible the climate changed drastically for a period of time that either drove them out or they died as a result. Whatever the cause, the loosely described mound builders disappeared and for anywhere from 1000 to 1300 years, Ohio was only inhabited by extremely small groups of independent groups that hunted in the land for brief periods as they followed herds of buffalo. It was equivalent to the Dark Ages in Europe where there was little development and communities remained isolated.
See also:
Fort Ancient
Hopewell Mounds Chillicothe
Jeffers Mound
Miamisburg Mound
Newark Earthworks
Seip Mound
Serpent Mound
Early 18th Century Native Americans in the Ohio Territory
In the late 1600s, Ohio began to see increasing numbers of people from various tribes throughout the east and northeast parts of North American begin to migrate into the Ohio territory. By the early 1700s, several villages had become established, and the various tribes began setting up settlements that more or less co-existed with each other. In time, many of these tribes would unique against a common enemy: European settlers moving into the Ohio Territory. These confederations of Native Americans were supported by both French and English forces, giving them food, weapons, and other supplies necessary to wage war against the Americans.
Our immediate predecessors consisted of a number of different peoples, but the primary groups were the Miamis, Shawnees, Delawares and Ottawas all of the Algonquin linguistic family. There were also numbers of Wyandots and Mingos of the Iroquois linguistic family. In eastern and northeastern Ohio there were a few Seneca's and Tuscarawas, who were also of the Iroquois family. Their presence was for hunting purposes and mostly temporary in character. They had permanent homes farther east in New York and northern Pennsylvania. Their tribal relations were with the Six Nations of the Iroquois. In the early part of this century some of the Seneca's broke away from their original tribal relations and settled near Sandusky, within the territory claimed by the Wyandots. They were inconsiderable both in numbers and influence, and came into Ohio after the formation of the State, and cannot therefore be considered as having an original occupancy of the country.
Ohio's Indian Nations
The following is a rough estimate of these Nations. Some where large and others consisted of a single small village.
Chippewa. The name Chippewa is adaptation of Ojibwa which meant 'to roast till puckered up,' referring to the puckered seam on their moccasins. The Chippewa were one of the largest tribes in North America, and they ranged from along the shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior and extending across Minnesota, and North Dakota. Although strong in numbers and occupying an extensive territory, the Chippewa were never prominent in history, owing to their remoteness from the frontier during the period of the colonial wars. While the Chippewa were present in Ohio and representatives of this tribe appear as parties to the Treaty of Greenville, and to treaties concluded in 1807 and 1817 by which lands in Ohio were relinquished to American settlers, they were never a major population within the confines of the state.
Delaware. The Delaware lived in Ohio for a considerable period in the course of their migration west under White pressure. The Delaware consisted of a confederacy, formerly the most important of the Algonquian stock, and occupying the entire basin around the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New York, together with most of New Jersey and Delaware. They called themselves Lenape or Lenilenape, equivalent to 'real men,' or 'native, genuine men'. The first English speaking immigrants to North America called them Delaware based on the name of the principal river flowing through the area. French settlers called them Loups, 'wolves,' a term probably applied originally to the Mohican on Hudson rivers.
The Delawares came from the region of the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers in Pennsylvania and settled for a time along the Muskingum and later upon the Auglaize in northwestern Ohio on territory claimed by the Miamis and Wyandots. Later still, they moved from the Auglaize to the White River in Indiana, which is a branch of the Wabash. They were at one time before they came to Ohio conquered by the five nations of Iroquois and called women and reduced to the grade of women; but after their arrival in Ohio they showed themselves to be brave in war and skillful in the chase and in part redeemed their reputation and standing with the other tribes.
Erie. Meaning in Iroquois, "long tail" the name refers to the panther and they are sometimes referred to as the Cat Nation. They lived across all of northern Ohio (except the upper northwest corner) and southeastern Ohio, perhaps as far south as the Ohio River. Little is known of this tribe except what was related by Iroquois tribe in the a final struggle between the Erie and Iroquois Nations. This bloody conflict resulted in the Erie Nation's complete destruction. The war lasted from 1653 to 165. Some of the so-called Seneca of Oklahoma may have been descendants from Erie refugees that fled Ohio as a result of this extermination.
Honniasont. This tribe occupied parts of the eastern fringe of Ohio after they were incorporated into the Iroquois.
Illinois. The Illinois were a confederacy of Algonquian tribes, that primarily occupied southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and sections of Iowa and Missouri. While not part of Ohio's Native Americans, representatives of the Illinois were parties to the Treaty of Greenville.
Iroquois. After the destruction or dispersal of the Erie and other native tribes of Ohio, many Iroquois settlements were made Ohio, particularly by the westernmost tribe, the Seneca.
Kickapoo. Representatives of this tribe were parties to the Treaty of Greenville by which Ohio lands were relinquished to the Whites.
Mingos were but a small tribe, a branch of the Iroquois which formerly occupied the eastern portion of the State near Steubenville, and later settled upon the banks of the Scioto where Columbus now stands. They only had 3 small villages, one in front of and south from where Nationwide Arena is now located. Another was at the west end of the Harrisburg bridge is now located and the other was near the east side of the Green Lawn bridge. Logan was their most noted chief and at one time possessed great influence not only over his own but all the other tribes northwest of the Ohio River.
Miami. After the original tribes of Ohio had been cleared away, some Miami worked their way into the State, particularly into the western and northern parts, and they gave their name to three Ohio rivers, the Miami, Little Miami, and Maumee.
Mosopelea. When the French first heard of them, they were in southwestern Ohio.
Ottawa. In the eighteenth century, Ottawa worked into the northern part of Ohio and established settlements along the shore of Lake Erie.
Potawatomi. Representatives of this tribe were parties to the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 and to treaties made in 1805, 1807, and 1817 by which their Ohio land were relinquished to the Whites.
Seneca. (see Iroquois)
Shawnee. It is probable that some Shawnee were in Ohio at very early periods. After they had been driven from the Cumberland Valley by the Chickasaw and Cherokee shortly after 1714, they worked their way north into Ohio and, as were joined by the former eastern and southern bands. Ohio became the Shawnee center for a considerable period, until the Treaty of Greenville.
The Shawnees, wandered over a wide swath of southeastern United States including Florida, Georgia and Tennessee before being driven out out by the Creeks and Seminoles and a few other Southern tribes. They eventually made their homes in Ohio along the lower Scioto River in what is now Pickaway and Ross counties and sought protection of the Miamis and Delawares. At this time Black Hoof was their principal chief, but later at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in August, 1794, Blue Jacket became the chief authority of the Shawnee. They were exceedingly restless and aggressive, and constantly annoyed with the early settlers in Virginia and Kentucky. It was these conflicts that the military expedition of Lord Dunmore in 1774 was particularly directed. When Lord Dunmore's forces reached the Scioto about 7 miles south from Circleville, the Indians sued for peace and the celebrated conference took place by which the Shawnees agreed not to again hunt or conduct marauding expeditions south of the Ohio.
Wyandot. Meaning perhaps "islanders," or "dwellers on a peninsula." Occasionally spelled Guyandot. At an earlier date usually known as Huron, a name given by the French from huré, "rough," and the depreciating suffix -on.