Piankeshaw

Piankeshaw

Signature of the Piankeshaw on the Great Peace of Montreal depicting a scalp on a pole.
Total population
(extinct as a tribe)
Regions with significant populations
United States (Indiana, Ohio, Illinois)
Languages
Algonquian
Religion
Traditional tribal religion
Related ethnic groups
Miami, Wea, Illinois

The Piankeshaw (or Piankashaw) Indians were Native Americans and members of the Miami Indians who lived apart from the rest of the Miami nation. They lived in an area that now includes western Indiana and Ohio, and were closely allied with the Wea Indians. Piankeshaw villages have been reported along the White River in central Indiana, and along the Vermilion River in Illinois, near Ouiatenon. The Piankashaw were living along the Vermilion river in 1743.

The Piankeshaw are usually regarded as being "friendly" towards European settlers. They intermarried with French traders and were treated as equals by residents of New France in the Illinois Country. A principal Piankeshaw village was established on the Wabash River near what became Vincennes. In fact, some have suggested that the land around the Grand Rapids Hotel that existed in the 1920s was part of a Piankeshaw Summer campground. Like their French neighbors, the Piankeshaw generally sided with the Americans during the American Revolution.

Although part of the Wabash Confederacy, the Piankeshaw nation took no part in the Northwest Indian War that followed the American Revolution. However, Piankeshaw suffered retaliation from Americans for attacks made by other native tribes. President George Washington issued a proclamation forbidding harm to the Piankeshaw.

During the late 18th century, the Piankeshaw population began to decline. Many of the Piankeshaw simply left and joined other Miami tribes. After the Americans and French suffered setbacks in the Revolution, notably the disastrous LaBalme expedition, some Piankeshaw joined tribes aligned with the British. At that time, in the West, the British looked as if they would be the victors.