Prairie-Lakes Journeys from a Two Spirited View: Miami - History of a people in Ohio and the names that remain -Myaamia, Miami, Maumee, Miamis-burg - Eicher Weaver relatives in the area history.

Weaver ancestral farm CA 1911 rural Miamisburg Montgomery Co, Miami Twp, 110 acres homesteaded by Phillip Weaver, here front with with Noah Weaver, Hattie holding her grandson, Paul Henry Weaver, Noah Elwood Weaver

back row, two farm labor homestead workers, William Weaver and Edna Eicher Weaver. This farm stead is up bindery hill a 1/2 mile or so from the Miami River on Co 725, today a paved road.

My hankashi "sister" Jane Newell, today is driving to the east, to Ohio and Miami University in Oxford Ohio , as a door opened for her to teach and use her skills as a teacher, facilitator, for social understanding, as a visiting professor. Mari Harris and I drove to West St Paul for a breakfast with Jane and Don Roden, as they prepared to drive east with a full trailer and Jeep. My Weaver, Eicher, Brandt, Paul, Lender, Bolender, German, ancestors settled in the Greater Miami River Valley, in the south of what the white people called the State of Ohio, founded in 1803 - from Wiki "The name Ohio originates from the Iroquois Indian word for "good river." This Indian name was later translated by the French as La Belle Riviere (the Beautiful River). Ohio is the 17th state admitted to the Union March 1, 1803." As a man interested in history, and who finds connections in the spirit of "Mitakuye Oyasin" comforting, and evocative of the living spirits of the land today, I am creating this as an overview of weaving further stories to support life and joy, sunshine too, into the 21st Century.

As I young boy, I visited my grandparents, Noah Elwood and Virginia Magee Weaver in West Carrollton Ohio in the 50's and 60's, which is right on the Greater Miami, and they would take me to Miamisburg Mound and to the Hill Grove Cemetery in the village of Miamisburg nearby. Also trips to Ft Ancient above the little Miami River was a big treat. Also, the name of Maumee, the River in the north of Ohio, that the Blanchard River in Findlay, my mom's home town, is derived from the name for the people, the Miami. Like most people of color in the early history of white "America" on Turtle Is, the politicians had some control issue, around who "owns the land and the stories" back in those days of the post revolution , like in 1785 when the Northwest Ordinance was drafted and the continuing idea the the indigenous people of Turtle Island were different and savages somehow.

Looking to understand :

Interesting from a perspective of what is an "official" political map, here in 1804, that the state of ohio covers a lot of river networks, draining to the south into the Ohio River,La Belle Riviere (the Beautiful River) back then the Good river was the major route of transportation to enter the new lands from the east.And "Indian Lands" in the northwest of the political map with "ownership' etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_people

--> The name Miami derives from Myaamia (plural Myaamiaki), the tribe's autonym (name for themselves) in their Algonquian language of Miami-Illinois. This appears to have been derived from an older term meaning "downstream people." Some scholars contended the Miami called themselves the Twightwee (also spelled Twatwa), supposedly an onomatopoeic reference to their sacred bird, the sandhill crane. Recent studies have shown that Twightwee derives from the Delaware language exonym for the Miamis, tuwéhtuwe, a name of unknown etymology.^[2] Some Miami have stated that this was only a name used by other tribes for the Miami, and not their autonym. They also called themselves Mihtohseeniaki (the people). The Miami continue to use this autonym today.
And whole history of Wars and conflict promoted it seems by the dominator culture...

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Miami_Indians?rec=606

--> Portrait of Mi-A-Qu-A, a Miami chief.
-->

Little Turtle was a great leader of the Miamis, with affiliations to the Eel River tribe. He helped to lead a force of Miami and other American Indians to victory over two United States armies. They defeated the army of General Josiah Harmar in 1790 (Harmar's Defeat) and the army of General Arthur St. Clair in 1791 (St. Clair's Defeat).

General Anthony Wayne defeated the Miamis and other American Indians with Ohio lands at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. The Miamis, along with other American Indians living in Ohio, were forced to surrender most of their Ohio lands with the signing of the Treaty of Greeneville. In 1818, the United States forced the Miami to give up their last reservation in Ohio. Many of the displaced Ohio Miami settled in Indiana, but, once more, the U.S. federal government removed some of them to Kansas during the 1850s, while others were permitted to remain in Indiana.

Descendents of the Ohio Miami are members of the federally-recognized Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, and of the unrecognized Miami Nation of Indiana"

Interesting that most indigenous people I know, are interested more in character and life and connection, that owning land and conquests and living in peace.

Here are some of the images and stories from my recent ancestors, and I am most grateful for the spirit catching abilities of photographer, Noah Elwood Weaver, my grandpa born and raised in Miami of Ohio Lands

Edna Eicher Weaver, with young son, Paul Henry Weaver strolling up the hill to the Weaver farm from Miamisburg "The Burg" to the mostly German immigrants that took over the Miami Indian land that the US government promoted. My Weaver ancestor Jacob Weaver with son Philip got land for his service in the Pennsylvania Militia during the Revolutionary War of 1776 -

1913 temporary bridge over the Greater Miami River during the great flood, by NEWeaver - Looking west toward the Weaver family farm

Miamisburg 827 E Central Ave, Ethyl Elizabeth "Betty" Eicher in front of the family home. CA 1917 as she was born in 1913, the year of the big flood.

Betty Eicher as a young girl in front of the same home.

1939 when Betty Eicher graduated from USU with her BA in Liberal Arts. Miamisburg home.

1937 Steps up Miamisburg Mound by NEW in Album 1932-37 Album archived with Wright State University Archives. Noah Elwood Weaver collection.

1952 Ft Ancient picnic bench. Esther Eicher, Noah Elwood Weaver and left, Tom Weaver, Paul H Weaver Peg Weaver on right..

Paul Henry Weaver and Virginia Magee Weaver 1957 Miamisburg Mound? By NEW

1973 Yellow Springs in Yellow Springs Ohio, Paul H Weaver (age 63)

1984 Hill Grove Cemetery, Miamisburg OH, Tom Weaver at his great grand father and great grandmother's marker, Henry Eicher and Helena Paul Eicher, photo by William H Eicher.