Indymonks Trail of Tears - Kickapoo Indians Traditional Cache
Indymonks Trail of Tears - Kickapoo Indians
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Number nine of twelve caches on Indymonks Trail of Tears. Indiana the state name means Land of Indians, and it was at one time. These caches are to celebrate their rich heritage, and our great loss. Indiana was a paradise that provided for all the needs of its tribal inhabitants. There were only about 20,000 people living in the area around the year 1600.
The Kickapoo, also an Algonquian speaking people, were living in Indiana along the Wabash River when LaSalle's expedition came through in the late 17th century. The Kickapoo tribe lived primarily in Wisconsin and on the Vermilion River in Illinois, but also occupied areas in western Indiana. Their name means “he moves about, standing now there, now there.”
Living in fixed villages the Kickapoo dwelt in bark houses in the summer and flag reed oval lodges in the winter months. They grew corn, beans, and squash, and were known to hunt buffalo on the plains and rode horses.
The Kickapoo belonged to the Wabash Confederacy with the Wea to their north, the Piankashaw to their south, and the mighty Miami to their east. They were known to be the strongest allies of Tecumseh in his battle with the whites after many of the treaties they had signed were broken.
The Kickapoo were the first tribes to leave Indiana when the sentiment became to rid the State of all Indian tribes. They agreed to some land in Kansas and received a subsidy on a yearly basis for leaving.
There were no horses in Indiana when the white man first came here and they had not yet invented the wheel; the natives traveled by foot and canoe.
Indiana's waterways gave them the ability to travel from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and beyond. Without roads for horse drawn wagons, the Indians had no practical use for the wheel.
The Native American Hoosiers created paths called portages between the lakes, streams, and rivers. They built light weight canoes and carried them from waterway to waterway. This is one of the reasons the tribes built villages near rivers and creeks.
The Indians also followed animal trails, the most famous in Indiana being the Buffalo Trace. It ran from the grassy plains of Illinois, crossing the Wabash River at Vincennes, going across Indiana to Clarksville Indiana across the Ohio River into Kentucky. US 150 in Indiana is based on the Buffalo Trace.
The Buffalo Trace was dangerous to travel. Cougars often attacked travelers and Indians and thieves also set up ambushes along the trail. When a family was attacked in 1807 by Indians, US soldiers began to patrol the Buffalo Trace. During the War of 1812 William Henry Harrison sent 150 men to protect the travelers. Washington County resident Major George Beck's letter to William Henry Harrison, (the governor of the Indiana Territory who later became Indiana's only US President) requested more patrol of the area after the Pigeon Roost Massacre.
The Delaware and the Shawnee Indians are not indigenous to Indiana but had moved to Indiana from Ohio as the settlers moved West into their tribal grounds. They were allowed to settle there by the Miami Tribe. Indiana was under the rule of Miami Chief Little Turtle, who had many tribes under his rule. It is difficult to accurately depict the area each tribe occupied. They weren't at war and made their villages near each other in a spotty fashion.
The Indians had their own commerce system and transportation system with connected communities throughout Indiana. The tribes traded goods with each other and Indian businessmen were plenty. Although they didn't use money, the Indian Trader was a profit seeking businessman who didn't hunt or farm to make a living.
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