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Maps

Tribes from throughout the country were moved to one of nine "centers". With the political feaver for Termination in the background, Tribes were broken up. One of the central concepts behind Relocation was integration into white society. Keeping Tribes together was seen as a threat to integration. Cleveland, for example, became home to over 40 different Tribes.

 

Indian Relocation Centers

Relocation Centers and Reservations, c 1956; Click image to enlarge


With two centers (Clevleand and Cincinnati), Ohio was an important part of Relocation. These cities were chosen for their diverse industrial bases as well as the fact that there were no tribal areas or reservations in, and near, the state. The dual purposes of Termination and Relocation (end of ethnic identity and job training for industrial society) could be accomplished in these areas.

 

The series of maps (to come) below show the extent of "Indian Removal" from the Ohio region from the time of European trade and settlement to 1842, whe the Wyandott Reservation was abandoned, marking the end of organized tribal life in Ohio (until the American Indian Movement in the 1970s)

 

American Indians in Ohio 1650—1842

Ohio Historical Society Map Courtesy of The American Indian Education Center; Click image to enlarge.


The Cyuahoga County Archives

Part of the research included visiting the Cuyahoga County Archives. The Archives contain the raw facts of land ownership and division. Much of Cleveland has not been properly treatied; for example, the Cuyahoga River may still legally belong to the Iriquois Nation.

 

The various Tribes had been scattered in order to promote complete integration into white society; but in their new homes they came together. An unintended consequence of both Termination and Relocation was the development of strong inter-tribal relationships. One could even see the emergance and growth of The American Indian Movement as a result of Relocation.

 

During their research at the Archives, Hulick and Toles were struck by the beauty of the maps they were reading. A slide show of some of those maps can be viewed here soon.

Archive Map