War Chief, Friend of the President, Prohibitionist: Would the “Real” Little Turtle Please Stand Up?

Abstract

A chronological examination of historical newspapers of the late-eighteenth, nineteenth, and early-twentieth century reveals that representations of Mihšihkinaahkwa—popularly known as Little Turtle—a Myaamia, or Miami, tribal leader shifted from that of a fierce warrior, actively battling the army of the United States, to a “friend of the president,” a diplomatic leader who supported assimilationist policies, and was, “surpassed for bravery and intelligence, perhaps, by none of his race.” Important questions remain about the how and why newspaper framing of Little Turtle changed over time and what his conversion from foe to friend tells us about the role of the press in constructing collective memory specifically as it relates to Indigenous issues and individuals. This study examined press representation of Little Turtle using the lens of critical media discourse to examine the ways in which select “exemplar Indians” were created as part of the process of building collective memory within the larger process of nation-building.