The Wyandot Indians of Kansas

The Wyandot Indians

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The Wyandot are a remnant of the ancient Huron Indians, whose country was the western shore of the lake which bears their name. They were of Iroquois lineage, but, in the wars with the fierce "Six Nations" of the same family, were driven from their old home more than three centuries ago. In 1639, the Jesuits recorded their number as 20,000, owning 32 villages and 700 dwellings. Some of their towns were fortified and the dwellings were neatly constructed, being in formation with a raised platform extending the entire length, the space underneath being utilized as a storeroom. After the Wyandot were driven from Lake Huron, they migrated to the region of Detroit, and gradually extended their settlements south from the shore of Lake Erie, their principal villages being in the vicinity of Sandusky Bay in Ohio.

The first treaty with the United States to which the Wyandot were a party was concluded at Fort McIntosh, Ohio on January 21, 1785. It was a treaty for the renewal of peace Delaware, Chippewa and Ottawa tribes, and the establishment of boundary lines as follows:

Wyandot Warrior

"The boundary line between the United States and the Wyandot and Delaware Nations shall begin at the mouth of the River Cayahoga, and then runs up the said river to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas Branch of the Muskingum River; then down said branch to the forks at the crossing place above Fort Lawrence; then westerly to the portage of the Big Miami River, which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which branch the fort stood which was taken by the French in 1752; then along the said portage to the Great Miami or Ome River, and down the southeast side of the same to its mouth; then along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of Cayahoga River, where it begins."

This tract, excepting a few reservations on which to establish trading posts, was allotted "to the Wyandot and Delaware Nations to live and to hunt on and to such of the Ottawa Nation as now live thereon, the lands east, south and west of the same, to belong to the United States."

A note to the treaty, made at Fort Harmar in 1789 stated:

"Be it remembered, that the Wyandot have laid claim to the lands that were granted to the Shawnee at the treaty held at the Miami River, and have declared that as the Shawnee have been so restless and caused so much trouble, both to them and to the United States, if they will not now be at peace, they will dispossess them and take the country into their own hands, for that the country is theirs of right, and the Shawnee are only living upon it by their permission. They further lay claim to all the country west of the Miami boundary, from the village to the Lake Erie, and declare that it is now under their management and direction."

The Wyandot by this treaty were allowed to remain in their villages near the River Rosine, on United States land.

At the conclusion of the war of 1812, a treaty of peace was concluded with that portion of the Wyandot who had joined the English, the Wyandot of Sandusky having preserved their fidelity to the United States throughout the war.

On September 29, 1817, a treaty was made with the Wyandot at the Rapids of the Miami, Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur being United States Commissioners, by which the tribe ceded a large tract on the southern shore of Lake Erie, in consideration of which the United States agreed to pay the tribe annually, forever, the sum of $4,000, at Upper Sandusky, and to grant to the Wyandot, "a tract of land twelve miles square at Upper Sandusky, the center of which shall be the place where Fort Ferrel stands," and also "a tract of one mile square, to be located where the chiefs direct, on a cranberry swamp, on Broken Sword Creek, and to be held for the use of the tribe."

Wyandot Tribe towns map in Ohio, courtesy Ohio History Central

By a supplementary treaty at St. Mary's, in Ohio, it was provided that the Wyandot should hold their land as a reservation, and not as a grant, and that 55,680 additional acres should be reserved from the cession made in September, 1817, to join the reserve of twelve miles square at Upper Sandusky.

This tract remained the home of the Wyandot until they removed to present day Kansas in what is now the Wyandotte County. A delegation visited the territory in 1839, with a view of selecting a location for the nation, which they were desirous should embrace portions of both the Shawnee and Delaware Reservations. Satisfactory negotiations were not made at that visit, and the removal was not effected until several years later.

In 1842, a treaty was concluded between the United States and the Wyandot, by the provisions of which they sold their lands in Ohio, and moved to the junction of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. The nation, numbering about 700, with Francis A. Hicks as chief, arrived in the summer of 1843, and settled on a tract of 23,040 acres, which they purchased from the Delaware for $185,000. This reservation was situated in the fork of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, and extended six miles on each river from their junction.

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