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 Go-to-ków-páh-ah, He who Stands by Himself, a Wea warrior, oil portrait byGeorge Catlin, 1830, collection of theSmithsonian American Art Museum. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| extinct as a tribe | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United States (Indiana,Illinois,Ohio, descendants inOklahoma) | |
| Languages | |
| Miami–Illinois | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional tribal religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Miami,Peoria,Kaskaskia |
TheWea were aMiami–Illinois-speakingNative American tribe originally located in westernIndiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to theMiami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.[1]
Today, the descendants of the Wea, along with theKaskaskia,Piankeshaw, andPeoria, are enrolled in thePeoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, afederally recognized tribe inOklahoma.[2][3]
The nameWea is used today as the a shortened version of their numerous recorded names. The Wea name for themselves (autonym) in their own language iswaayaahtanwa, derived fromwaayaahtanonki, 'place of the whirlpool', where they were first recorded being seen and where they were living at that time.[4]
The many different spellings of the tribe's name include Waiatanwa, Ouaouiatanoukak, Aoiatenon, Aouciatenons, Ochiatenens, Ouatanons, Ouias, Ouiatanon, Wah-we-ah-tung-ong, Warraghtinooks, and Wyatanons.[5]
The Wea spoke a dialect ofMiami–Illinois language, part of theAlgonquian language family.
The Wea lived north of theOhio River in parts of western Indiana and southeastern Illinois.[6] The first written mention of the tribe is from 1673.[5] French explorers wrote about them in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Another Miami sub-tribe, the Pepikokia were a separate tribe until 1742 but then later became part of the Wea tribe.[6] In the 18th century, the Wea, Miami, and Piankashaw remained distinct tribes.[7] The Wea population of 1765 is estimated to have been around 1,200.[8]
In the early 18th century, Wea people settled in villages along theWabash River between what would becomeTerre Haute andLogansport, Indiana.[9] They established a large settlement calledOuiatenon, near what is nowLafayette, and the French colonists establishedFort Ouiatenon, which facilitated trade with the Wea andKickapoo.[9]
In 1747, British colonists began trading with a band of Miami living on theGreat Miami River in Ohio. Weas began trading with them as well, until the French destroyed their trading post. By 1763, the Wea joined Odawa war chiefPontiac inPontiac's War against the British.[10] The Wea first were neutral during theAmerican Revolution but later joined the Miami in fighting with the British. The Wea were forced to move to Missouri and Arkansas in 1820.[3] They were later forced into Kansas and finallyIndian Territory,[11] which became Oklahoma.
With increased Euro-American settlement and the United States's policy ofIndian removal, the US federal government made many treaties with these tribes.
In 1854, the Wea signed a treaty that merged them politically with other remnant tribes of theIllinois Confederacy to become theConfederated Peoria Tribe. The Miami people also joined the Confederated Peoria Tribe in 1873.[6]
Listed are just a few villages that were located in Indiana and Illinois.
In 2004, the Indiana Historical Bureau installed a marker in Terre Haute that commemorates the Wea Village and ChiefJacco Godfroy.[12]
Below are some of the many Treaties were made between the US and the Wea.
Some mentions of Wea people in treaties include the following:Treaty of St. Marys 1820 in Article 3: "As it is contemplated by the said Tribe, to remove from the Wabash, it is agreed, that the annuity secured to the Weas, by the Treaty of Saint Mary's, above mentioned, shall hereafter be paid to them atKaskaskia in the state of Illinois."[13]
Treaty of Castor Hill 1832 in Article 4:"The United States will also afford some assistance to that part of the Wea tribe now residing in the State of Indiana, to enable them to join the rest of their tribe on the lands hereby assigned them,...."[14]
