Wyandotte Nation facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wyandotte Nation
Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma
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Location (Blue) in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
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 Wyandotte Nation
Location in Oklahoma
Wyandotte Nation
Location in the United States
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| Capital | Wyandotte | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Tribal Council | ||
| Population
(2022)
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| • Total | 6,883 | ||
| Demonym(s) | Wyandot | ||
| Time zone | UTC-6 | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) | ||
| Area code(s) | 539/918 | ||
| Website | https://wyandotte-nation.org/ | ||
The Wyandotte Nation is a Native American tribe that the United States government officially recognizes. Their main offices are in northeastern Oklahoma.
The Wyandotte people are descendants of the Wendat Confederacy. Their original lands were near Georgian Bay and Lake Huron in Canada. Over time, they moved south and west. This was due to pressure from other tribes like the Haudenosaunee, and later from European settlers and the U.S. government. They moved through Michigan, Ohio, and Kansas, finally settling in Oklahoma.
Contents
How the Wyandotte Nation is Governed
The main office for the Wyandotte Nation is in Wyandotte, Oklahoma. Their tribal area is in Ottawa County, Oklahoma.
Billy Friend is the elected Chief. He serves a four-year term. The Wyandotte Nation creates its own vehicle license plates. They also run their own housing programs. A police department with ten officers provides law enforcement for the Nation and nearby areas.
In 2022, there were 6,883 members in the Wyandotte Nation. About 25 percent of the members live in Oklahoma. To become a member, you must be a direct descendant of a Wyandotte person. There is no minimum blood quantum requirement.
What the Wyandotte Nation Does for Business
The tribe runs several businesses and services. These include the Bearskin Fitness Center and the Bearskin Health and Wellness Center. They also have the Wyandotte Nation Environmental Department. The tribe's newspaper is called The Turtle Speaks.
The Wyandotte Nation owns the Wyandotte Nation Casino in Wyandotte, Oklahoma. They also own a truck stop, a gas station, and a smoke shop. They issue their own tribal vehicle tags.
The tribe also owns the 7th Street Casino in Kansas City, Kansas. This casino is in a building that used to be a Masonic Temple. The tribe also legally controls the nearby Wyandot National Burying Ground. In 2010, the Wyandotte Nation bought land in Park City, Kansas. They plan to build a casino and hotel there.
Wyandotte Nation Events
The tribe holds its yearly powwow in Oklahoma. It happens during the first weekend of September. The powwow includes contest dancing, gourd dancing, and a social stomp dance.
History of the Wyandotte People
In their own language, the tribe is called Wendat. They became known as Wyandotte after joining with other related groups. They are Iroquoian-speaking people from the eastern woodlands. The name "Wyandotte" is thought to mean "dwellers on a peninsula" or "islanders."
Early Beginnings and Confederacy
The first Wendat Confederacy formed around 1400 CE. The Attignawantan (Bear Nation) and Attigingueenongnahac (Cord People) joined together. Later, the Arendaronon (People of the Rocks), Ataronchronon (People of One Lodge), and Tahontaenrat (Deer Nation) also joined.
Experts once thought these groups were from the St. Lawrence Iroquoians. These were people who lived near modern-day Montreal. French explorers visited their villages long ago. Archaeologists have found large settlement sites from the 1500s north of Lake Ontario. This suggests the Wendat people may have come together there. They later moved near Georgian Bay, where French explorers met them in the early 1600s.
European Contact and Movement West
French explorers met the Wyandotte around 1536. They called them the Huron. The Wyandotte were strong enemies of the Iroquois Confederacy, who lived in what is now New York.
In the early 1600s, smallpox epidemics greatly weakened the Wendat Confederacy. In 1649, the Iroquois defeated them. Most members moved southwest for safety. They settled with the Odawa and Illinois tribes. Others moved east into Quebec.
The remaining Wendat and Petun peoples formed a new group. This group became known as the Wyandot or Wyandotte. By the early 1700s, the Wyandotte had moved into the Ohio River Valley. Their lands reached into areas that would become West Virginia, Indiana, and Michigan. Around 1745, many groups settled near Upper Sandusky, Ohio.
Land Treaties and Relocation
After the American Revolution, a treaty with the United States in 1785 confirmed their land. However, the 1795 Treaty of Greenville made their land much smaller. The 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs further reduced Wyandotte lands. It left them only small areas in Ohio.
In 1842, the Wyandotte Nation gave up all its land east of the Mississippi River. This was due to the U.S. government's policy to move Native Americans west. They signed a treaty with the U.S. government. This treaty promised them payment for their lands.
The tribe was moved to the Delaware Reservation in what is now Kansas. This area was then called Indian Territory. During this move, and in the first few months, many people became sick. In 1843, survivors buried their dead on a high ridge. This ridge overlooked the Missouri River. It became the Huron Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. In 1971, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was later renamed the Wyandot National Burying Ground.
After the American Civil War, some Wyandotte people had not become U.S. citizens in Kansas. They were moved one last time in 1867 to what is now Oklahoma. They settled on about 20,000 acres (81 km²) in the northeast corner of Indian Territory. The Seneca, Shawnee, and Wyandotte Industrial Boarding School opened in Wyandotte, Oklahoma in 1872. It was also called the Wyandotte Mission.
In 1893, the Dawes Act required tribal lands in Indian Territory to be divided. These lands were given to individual tribal members. The land was divided among the 241 tribal members listed on the Dawes Rolls. Wyandotte members in Oklahoma kept some tribal structure. They also kept control of the Huron Cemetery, which was then part of Kansas City, Kansas.
Becoming a Nation Again
In 1937, the Wyandotte members took an opportunity. The U.S. Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1934 allowed tribes to regain their structure and self-government. The Wyandotte members formed the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma. Later, they changed their name to simply Wyandotte Nation. They also gained federal recognition. This act helped Native Americans own property together again. It also helped them develop their own government and independence.
Efforts to End the Tribe's Status
On August 1, 1956, the U.S. Congress passed a law. This law aimed to end the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma's official status. This was part of the federal Indian termination policy. Three years were given to complete this process. One part of the law said that a piece of land in Kansas City, Kansas had to be sold. This land was the Huron Cemetery. It had been given to the Wyandot by a treaty in 1855.
However, a group of Wyandot people filed a lawsuit. They sued the United States and Kansas City. This lawsuit stopped the government from selling the cemetery. It also prevented the Wyandotte Nation from losing its official status. Government records show that the termination of Wyandotte lands was never officially announced. So, they were never officially terminated.
When Congress restored other Oklahoma Tribes, they included the Wyandotte. On May 15, 1978, a single law repealed the termination laws. The three tribes, including the Wyandotte, were reinstated. They got back all their rights and privileges.
The Huron Cemetery Story
For many years, the Huron Cemetery caused disagreements. It is also known as Huron Park Cemetery or the Wyandot National Burying Ground. The Wyandotte Nation wanted to sell the land for new buildings. Some individual Wyandot descendants in Kansas disagreed. Kansas City also wanted to develop the land. By 1907, it was a valuable site. It was near a new Carnegie Library, a hotel, and a Masonic Temple.
In 1906, the Wyandotte Nation allowed the U.S. Secretary of Interior to sell the cemetery. The plan was to move the bodies to the nearby Quindaro Cemetery. But Lyda Conley (Wyandot) and her two sisters in Kansas City opposed this. They started a long campaign to save the burying ground. They gained a lot of support.
In 1916, Senator Charles Curtis of Kansas helped pass a bill. Senator Curtis was a Native American (Kaw/Osage/Prairie Potawatomi). The bill protected the cemetery as a national park. It also provided money for its care. This disagreement over the cemetery actually helped save the tribe from termination in the 1950s.
Over the years, the Wyandotte Nation kept looking for ways to earn money. This included developing the Huron Cemetery. But descendants in Kansas strongly resisted these efforts. In 1971, the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1998, the Wyandotte Nation and the Wyandot Nation of Kansas reached an agreement. They agreed to keep the Huron Cemetery for religious, cultural, and other uses that fit its sacred history.
The Modern Wendat Confederacy
In August 1999, the Wyandotte Nation joined the modern Wendat Confederacy. Other members include the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, Huron-Wendat Nation of Wendake (Quebec), and the Wyandot of Anderdon Nation in Michigan. The tribes promised to help each other in peace, friendship, and unity.
This happened after an important meeting in Midland, Ontario, Canada. It was a meeting for reconciliation among the Huronia. Representatives from the Iroquois Confederacy, Wyandotte nations, British, French, Dutch, Anglican Church, and Catholic Jesuit brothers attended. The Huronia Reconciliation Committee organized the events.
See also
- Leaford Bearskin (1921–2012), chief of the Wyandotte Nation (1983–2011)
- Matthew Mudeater (1812–1878), chief of the Wyandotte Nation
- Bertrand N. O. Walker (1870–1927), writer who published under his Wyandotte name, Hen-Toh
- Wyandot people, for early tribal history in Ohio
