Treaty of Fort Wayne (1809)
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| Type | Land Purchase |
| Signed | September 30, 1809 |
| Location | Fort Wayne, Indiana Territory |
| Condition | Transfer of money and goods to natives; Natives to allow American settlement of purchased land; Contingent on the later acceptance of the Kickapoo and Wea. |
| Signatories | William Henry Harrison, Native leaders |
| Parties | United States of America, Delawares, Potowatomi, Miami, The Eel River band of Miami, Weas (Signed November 1809), Kickapoo (Signed March 1810). |
| Language | English |
The Treaty of Fort Wayne, sometimes called the Ten O'clock Line Treaty or the Twelve Mile Line Treaty, is an 1809 treaty that obtained 3,000,000 acres (approximately 12,000 km²) of American Indian land for the white settlers of Illinois and Indiana. The tribes involved were the Delaware, Eel River, Miami tribe, and Potawatomi in the initial negotiations; later Kickapoo and the Wea, who were the primary inhabitants of the region being sold. The negotiations did not include the Shawnee who were minor inhabitants of the area purchased and had been asked to leave the area previously by Miami War Chief Little Turtle. Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison negotiated the treaty with the tribes. The treaty led to a war with the United States began by Shawnee leader Tecumseh and other dissenting tribesmen in what came to be called "Tecumseh's War".
The treaty also has two nicknames, the "Ten O'clock Line Treaty of 1809" and the "Twelve Mile Line Treaty". The first nickname comes from tradition that says the Native Americans did not trust the surveyors' equipment, so a spear was thrown down at ten o'clock and the shadow became the treaty line. There are other myths that say it was either a tree or a fence that was used. The Twelve Mile Line was a reference to the Greenville Treaty and the establishment of a new 'line' parallel to it but twelve miles further west.
In 1809 Harrison began to push for a treaty to open more land for settlement. The Miami, Wea, and Kickapoo were "vehemently" opposed to selling any more land around the Wabash River. In order to influence those groups to sell the land, Harrison decided, against the wishes of President James Madison, to first conclude a treaty with the tribes willing to sell and use them to help influence those who held out. In September 1809 he invited the Pottawatomie, Lenape, Eel Rivers, and the Miami to a meeting in Fort Wayne. In the negotiations Harrison promised large subsidies and payments to the tribes if they would cede the lands for which he was asking.
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