Welcome to the Miami history and genealogy page. Whether you are tracing a Miami ancestor, researching a family connected to the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, or exploring the history of the Myaamia people, these resources can help you follow families across generations. The tales of the Miami reach from the Great Lakes and Indiana to Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. Historical records may identify Miami ancestors under different spellings, family names, tribal affiliations, or agency records. Census rolls, payment records, allotment files, agency documents, and school records can provide important clues for connecting Oklahoma families with their earlier generations. Begin with your most recent documented Miami ancestor and work backward, comparing information from several records whenever possible.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1600s | The Miami people lived in the Great Lakes region, including areas of present-day Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. |
| 1700s | Kekionga, near present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana, became an important Miami community and center. |
| 1795 | The Treaty of Greenville resulted in a major cession of Miami and other Native lands in the Great Lakes region. |
| 1818-1840 | A series of treaties resulted in the cession of most remaining Miami lands in Indiana. |
| 1840 | A treaty called for the removal of the Miami west of the Mississippi River. |
| 1846 | Approximately 500 Miami were forcibly removed from Indiana and taken to a reservation in Kansas. |
| 1860s | Miami communities in Kansas continued to maintain their tribal identity while facing increasing pressure to leave their remaining lands. |
| 1867 | A treaty provided for the relocation of the Miami to Indian Territory, in present-day northeastern Oklahoma. The agreement also permitted Miami people to consolidate with the Peoria if they chose. |
| 1870s | Miami people relocated to northeastern Indian Territory and established their community near the present-day city of Miami, Oklahoma. |
| 1873 | The United Peoria and Miami was created by federal legislation, combining several related communities. The Miami continued to maintain a distinct tribal identity. |
| 1885-1900 | Miami families were recorded on Quapaw Agency census rolls, providing valuable information about households and family relationships. |
| 1889-1891 | Miami lands were allotted to individual tribal members. Allotment records became an important source for identifying Miami families, residences, and land ownership. |
| 1936-1939 | Following the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act, the Miami reorganized their government. A constitution was approved in 1939. |
| Today | The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is a federally recognized sovereign nation headquartered in Miami, Oklahoma. |
The Miami, or Myaamia, are an Algonquian-speaking people whose homelands extended across portions of the Great Lakes region. Their historic communities included areas that are now Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. By the eighteenth century, Kekionga, near present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana, was one of the most important Miami communities. The Miami maintained relationships with neighboring Native nations and participated in the changing political and economic world created by French, British, and later American expansion. Treaties beginning in the late eighteenth century gradually reduced Miami territory. By the nineteenth century, federal removal policies placed increasing pressure on the Miami to leave their Indiana homeland.
The Treaty of 1840 provided for the removal of the Miami from Indiana. In October 1846, approximately 500 Miami were forcibly removed from Indiana and transported west to a reservation in Kansas. The removal divided Miami families and communities. Some Miami remained in Indiana, while others became part of the Miami community in Kansas. This division is important when researching an Oklahoma Miami ancestor because the same family may appear in Indiana records, Kansas records, and later Oklahoma records.
In 1867, the Miami agreed to another removal, this time from Kansas to Indian Territory. Miami people relocated to northeastern Indian Territory, where they established a community among other Native nations from the Great Lakes region, including the Peoria, Ottawa, Wyandot, Seneca-Cayuga, and Shawnee. The Miami and Peoria were closely connected during this period. Federal legislation in 1873 created the United Peoria and Miami, along with related communities. Despite this political consolidation, the Miami continued to maintain their own identity and eventually developed the present Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. The Miami Tribe identifies northeastern Oklahoma as its permanent home. The tribal government is headquartered in Miami, Oklahoma.
Miami genealogy can require research across several states and several different types of records. If your ancestor lived in Indiana before removal, you may need to establish the family there before following the family through Kansas and into Oklahoma. Historical records may use the terms Miami, Myaamia, Western Miami, Miami of Indiana, or other descriptions. Some records may also place Miami individuals among the larger groups associated with the Peoria or Quapaw agencies. Do not assume that an ancestor's appearance on a record under another agency or tribal designation means that the person was not Miami. Compare the person's name, age, relatives, residence, land, and other identifying information across multiple records.
Miami census records are among the most valuable sources for Oklahoma family research. The Oklahoma Historical Society identifies Miami census and payment records beginning in the 1870s and Miami census rolls from the Quapaw Agency beginning in 1885. Important records include the list below. These records can provide names, ages, relationships, residences, and other information that can help reconstruct Miami households.
The Miami were administered through the Quapaw Agency in northeastern Oklahoma. For genealogists, this makes Quapaw Agency records especially important even when researching a Miami family. The National Archives identifies Miami records held through the Miami (Quapaw) Agency, including records at the National Archives in Fort Worth and records held by the Oklahoma Historical Society. Agency records may include correspondence, census material, land information, education records, financial records, and other documentation concerning individual tribal members and families.
Miami allotment records are particularly valuable because many Miami families received individual land during the period following their relocation to Indian Territory. Land records can also help connect a Miami ancestor to a specific location in Ottawa County and surrounding northeastern Oklahoma communities.An allotment file may help identify:
Miami & Peoria Allotments
When available, BIA and agency records can supplement civil vital records. Birth and death information may appear in agency records, census records, enrollment material, correspondence, and family files. Because early Oklahoma records are not always complete, use several sources together. A census entry may establish a family group, while an allotment file or later death record may provide the information needed to identify the parents or children of an individual.
School records can be especially useful for placing Miami children within a particular family and community. Depending on the time period, records may be found in federal Indian school files, agency records, school censuses, and records of individual schools. When searching school records, look for alternate spellings of surnames and given names. A child's name may also appear differently on school, census, and allotment records.
The Kansas Historical Society is an important resource for researching Miami families who lived in Kansas. If your Miami ancestor lived in Kansas before moving to Oklahoma, Kansas records may provide the bridge between the family's Indiana and Oklahoma generations. Look for:
For families who were in Indiana before the 1846 removal, begin with federal treaties, Indiana land records, church and mission records, county records, newspapers, and historical works concerning the Miami people. Some Miami families remained in Indiana after the removal period. It is therefore important not to assume that every Miami family followed the same migration path to Kansas and Oklahoma.
Miami genealogy often requires following a family across several generations and several states. A family that appears in Oklahoma records may have earlier connections to Kansas and Indiana, while relatives may have remained in Indiana or continued to appear in Kansas records. Use census, payment, agency, allotment, school, land, and civil records together. The strongest conclusions usually come from finding the same family relationships repeated across several independent records. The Miami story is not only a history of removal. It is also a history of families who maintained their community, identity, and connection to their homeland while establishing a new home in northeastern Oklahoma.
Page updated:
State Coordinator: Linda K. Lewis
Asst State Coordinator: Rebecca Maloney
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