The Toledo Blade
August 21, 1994
by Mike Jones
He said the reference was to events that followed the Battle of Fallen Timbers when the tribes "were forced into a treaty and then didn’t even have a chance to live under that treaty," but had to flee. Neverless, he said. Native Americans are now returning and trying to live in harmony with their neighbors. Dr. G. Michael Pratt, a professor of anthropology at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, told the group of about 900 people, may of them huddled under umbrellas, that when the battle was waged it had also rained. The rain, in fact, had led some of the Indians who had waited in an ambush line for two or more days, to discount the likelihood of an attack, and they left the area for food prior to the beginning of the battle. He said the event "had not burst unexpectedly," and that it was understood its outcome would be important, although no one could predict to what extent.
Two American armies earlier had been defeated decisively in battles in the area, but the victory by the army led by Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne led to a treaty with the Indian tribes a year later and convinced the British, which had continued to occupy posts in violation of the treaty ending the American Revolutionary War, to leave the area. Those events opened land for settlement in not only Ohio, but Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. He said that like all battles it was "messy and desperate and like all battles it was a gamble wagered with men’s lives." A member of the crowd, Donald Moyer, of Bowling Green, said he had come because he has learned that too many people ignore important historical events which have occurred where they live. He added that he is president of a chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and that his group considers the Battle of fallen Timbers to have been the last battle of the Revolutionary War. "The British had signed a treaty ending the war, but they hadn’t really given up. They were still here until the defeat," he said. Joyce Mahaney, Toledo president of the intertribal association, noted that a similar ceremony 60 years ago when a monument was dedicated to soldiers of General Wayne’s army, Indian warriors had been referred to as savages. She said they had only fought to protect their land, which Native Americans cherished for supplying food, shelter, and medicine. She challenged people in the crowd to show the same respect for the earth that is part of the Native American tradition. That statement was echoed during a tree planting ceremony by Nelson Shognosh, spiritual leader of the Walpole Island Indian Reserve, Ontario, Canada. As he placed strings holding small packets of tobacco, a sacred plant to Indians, on the tree he said, "We honor all living things. Even the grass we are standing on. We honor the rain as it’s falling," He said, noting that the slight discomfort was as nothing compared to the suffering of Indians and others on the fateful day 200 years ago. As thunder rumbled overhead Mr. Shognosh said, " we honor the thunder which is going by now. They are our grandfathers." Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Walter Churchill said he recently returned from Guam for a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of battles in the Pacific during Word War II. He noted that Native Americans have served with valor in all of America’s wars and that one of the men in the famous picture of U.S. Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima during World War II was a Navaho.
General Churchill said he was pleased to see the size of the crowd and that "it demonstrates that we are not unmindful of our history." He said those who attended the ceremony are unified in the shared memories of those who have gone before us. U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), in a message to the group, noted that the people from northwest Ohio "are not noted for self-promoting behavior," but that yesterday’s event was an "example of our quiet pride."