History of Ohio

Native Indian Tribe

Names of the Ohio Indian Tribes
Ohio is a state of the north-central United States in the Great Lakes region. The tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy drove out the native tribes of the Ohio valley during the Beaver Wars. There are many famous Native American tribes who played a part in the history of the state and whose tribal territories and homelands are located in the present day state of Ohio.

The names of the Ohio tribes included the Illinois tribe (Illini), Iroquois, Chippewa, Delaware, Erie, Ottawa, and Potawatomi (see above picture), Kickapoo, Kaskaskia, Miami, Wyandot and Shawnee.

Fast Facts about the History of Ohio Indians
The climate, land, history, environment and natural resources that were available to the indigenous Indian tribes in Ohio resulted in the adoption of the Northeast Woodlands culture.

  • Name of State: Ohio
  • Meaning of State name: From the Iroquois Indian word for "beautiful river."
  • Geography, Environment and Characteristics of the State of Ohio: Rolling plains and plateau areas
  • Culture adopted by Ohio Indians: Northeast Woodlands Cultural Group
  • Languages: Iroquoian and Algonquian
  • Way of Life (Lifestyle): Hunter-gatherers, farmers, fishers, trappers
  • Types of housing, homes or shelters: Chickees, Wigwams (aka Birchbark houses) and Longhouses

History Timeline of the Ohio Indians

  • 10,000 B.C.: Paleo-Indian Era (Stone Age culture) the earliest human inhabitants of America who lived in caves and were Nomadic hunters of large game including the Great Mammoth and giant bison
  • 7500 BC: Eastern Woodland Culture of Fisher Hunters begins. Permanent houses and farming
  • 7000 BC: Archaic Period in which people built basic shelters and made stone weapons and stone tools 1700 BC: Mound Builders culture, a feature of many Woodland tribes. Two of these mounds in Ohio are called "Serpent Mound" and "Alligator Mound"
  • 1000 AD: Woodland Period including the Adena culture (mounds, a burial complex and ceremonial system. The Adena lived in a variety of locations, including: Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, and parts of Pennsylvania and New York.) and Hopewell cultures
  • 1000 AD: Woodland Period including the Hopewell cultures established along rivers in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States which included trade exchange systems and burial systems
  • 1688: 1688 - 1763 The French and Indian Wars between France and Great Britain for lands in North America. The Iroquois Indians were allied to the French and the Algoquian speaking tribes were allied to the British. The French and Indian Wars was a generic names for a series of wars, battles and conflicts involving the French colonies in Canada and Louisiana and the 13 British colonies consisting of:
    King William's War (1688-1699)
    Queen Anne's War (1702-1713)
    King George's War (1744 - 1748)
    French and Indian War aka the Seven Years War (1754-1763)
  • 1750: The Ohio Company of Virginia claims the Ohio region for England
  • 1751: Christopher Gist explores the region along the Ohio River
  • 1754: 1754 - 1763: The French Indian War is won by Great Britain against the French so ending the series of conflicts known as the French and Indian Wars
  • 1763: Treaty of Paris
  • 1764: 1764 Indian War / Pontiac's Conspiracy aka Pontiac's Rebellion broke out in the Ohio River Valley.. The British treated the former Indian allies of the French like conquered peoples, which prompted the Ottawa Chief Pontiac (1720-1769) to lead a rebellion of a number of tribes against the British
  • 1775: Lord Dunmore's War in Southern Ohio. Governor Dunmore commanded a force to defeat the Shawnee, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, down the Ohio River.
  • 1775: 1775 - 1783 - The American Revolution.
  • 1776: July 4, 1776 - United States Declaration of Independence
  • 1785: Northwest Indian War (1785–1795) in Indiana and Ohio, also known as Little Turtle's war - see Little Turtle. The Americans suffered 2 humiliating defeats by the American Native Indians until they won the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794.
  • 1794: General "Mad Anthony" Wayne's victory at Fallen Timbers in Ohio ends Indian attacks in Kentucky
  • 1795: Treaty of Greenville temporarily ends the Indian Wars in Ohio
  • 1803: The United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France for 15 million dollars for the land
  • 1811: 1811 William Henry Harrison led forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe against the Shawnee lead by Chief Tecumseh, a victory that reduced the Native American threat in the Old Northwest
  • 1812: 1812 - 1815: The War of 1812 between U.S. and Great Britain, ended in a stalemate but confirmed America's Independence
  • 1830: Indian Removal Act
  • 1832: Department of Indian Affairs established
  • 1842: The Wyandots, Ohio's last Indian tribe, leave Ohio
  • 1861: 1861 - 1865: The American Civil War.
  • 1862: U.S. Congress passes Homestead Act opening the Great Plains to settlers
  • 1865: The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9 1865 signalled the end of the Confederacy
  • 1887: Dawes General Allotment Act passed by Congress leads to the break up of the large Indian Reservations and the sale of Indian lands to white settlers
  • 1969: All Indians declared citizens of U.S.
  • 1979: American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed
     

History of Ohio Indians - Destruction and Decline
The history of the European invasion brought epidemic diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, influenza, measles and smallpox. The Native Indians of Ohio had not developed immunities against these diseases resulting in huge losses in population. Exploitation including the leverage of taxes, enforced labor and enslavement were part of their history, taking their toll on the Ohio Indians.

History of Native Americans
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Updated 2018-01-01

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