Little Turtle, whose Indian name was Michikinikwa, was born in a Miami village on Eel River, twenty miles northwest of Fort Wayne (now Whitley County), Indiana, United States. His father was a Miami chief and his mother is said to have been a Mahican. Of his early life little is known.
Little Turtle was on good terms with the British and rendered some service to them in the American Revolution. He took part in the massacre of De La Balme's forces, at Aboite River, in 1780. In the troublous years that followed, when the early Ohio settlements were being made, Little Turtle grew no more friendly toward Americans. With great military shrewdness he acted as one of the principal leaders of the Indians at the defeat of Harmar, in 1790, and of St. Clair, in 1791. In the autumn of 1792 he commanded the Indian forces in a skirmish with a company of Kentuckians.
When General Anthony Wayne marched his troops into the Northwest, Little Turtle led the attack on Fort Recovery in 1794 and sought British aid against the Americans, but, later, counseled peace. His advice was not taken by the other chiefs, who were elated over their former successes; he lost his leadership in council and was not in command at Fallen Timbers.
When William Henry Harrison undertook the rapid acquisition of title to Indian lands, Little Turtle was granted a special annuity by the United States and, with his son-in-law, William Wells, was sent to obtain Indian support for the cession; but his activities failed to satisfy Harrison. Nevertheless, in 1805 his annuity was increased by fifty dollars and he was given a negro slave. He visited the cities of the United States several times and became a popular Indian hero to the Americans. He met the French philosopher, Volney, who questioned him about the native races, and he received gifts from the great Kosciuszko.
In 1801 he delivered, before a committee of Friends in Baltimore, a speech against the introduction of whiskey into the Indian country. The United States built him a house at his village. He adopted some American ways and acquired a white man's disease, gout. Among his own people his prestige declined sharply. A frequent visitor at Fort Wayne, he received medical attention from the army surgeon and died there shortly after the beginning of the second war with England.
Little Turtle was regarded as one of the most important chiefs in the old Northwest and military leaders. He distinguished himself in the battles against United States forces in the 1790s during the Northwest Indian Wars. He signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 and many subsequent treaties with the United States. He was also credited with keeping the Miami from joining the confederacy of Tecumseh.
