The Treaty of the Wabash, 1826

The Treaty of the Wabash, also known as the Treaty of Mississinewas, was signed in 1826 between the Miami nation and the U.S. government. It included Michigan Road, one of the earliest roads in Indiana going from Michigan City in the northwest corner of the state through Indianapolis to Madison in the southeast corner. The land for the road was a narrow vertical stretch through northern central Indiana, bought from the Potawatomi in 1826 and sometimes considered a part of the Treaty of the Wabash. The Treaty of the Wabash sold a large section of Miami nation lands in the northeast of the state, from the new Michigan Road in the west to the border of the state in the east. The lands the Miami sold in this treaty were most of which they had from previous agreements. As more American colonizers went west more land was needed, so lands promised to Native nations would be taken again. These nations were either given smaller and smaller bits of land or be pushed further west.

The home of Chief Richardville of the Miami was built with $600 in federal funds and was equivalent to the finest homes of white residents in the state. A bribe to a prominent Native leader, Native signatories were offered wealth and luxuries in exchange for agreeing with U.S. government treaties and ensuring their people remained compliant. Such gifts and payments were often ongoing. Leaders would be motivated to stay friendly with the U.S. government to not risk their newfound wealth. Chief Richardville, over the course of his life as a Miami Chief and treaty negotiator, was given over 20,000 acres of land and over $30,000 in payments by the U.S. government.