Ohio’s First Peoples

by James H. O'Donnell III

Although founders of the state like Rufus Putnam pointed to the remaining prehistoric earthworks at Marietta as evidence that the architects were a people of “ingenuity, industry, and elegance,” their words did not prevent a rivalry with the area’s Indian inhabitants that was settled only through decades of warfare and treaty-making. Native American armies managed to win battles with Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair, but not the war with Anthony Wayne. By the early nineteenth century only a few native peoples remained, still hoping to retain their homes. Pressures from federal and state governments as well as the settlers‘ desire for land, however, left the earlier inhabitants no refuge. By the mid-1840s they were gone, leaving behind relatively few markers on the land. Ohio’s First Peoples depicts the Native Americans of the Buckeye State from the time of the well-known Hopewell peoples to the forced removal of the Wyandots in the 1840s. Professor James O’Donnell presents the stories of the early Ohioans based on the archaeological record. In an accessible narrative style, he provides a detailed overview of the movements of Fort Ancient peoples driven out by economic and political forces in the seventeenth century. Ohio’s plentiful game and fertile farmlands soon lured tribes such as the Wyandots, Shawnees, and Delawares, which are familiar to observers of the historic period. In celebrating the bicentennial of Ohio, we need to remember its earliest residents. Ohio’s First Peoples recounts their story and documents their contribution to Ohio’s full heritage.

Genres: Native American, History

216 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2004

Reviews

[Paul Lunger · Rating 4 out of 5]

From 2003 & the bicentennial of the state of Ohio comes James H O'Donnell III's "Ohio's First Peoples" which is a slightly better than predicted overview of the native peoples that once called Ohio home. Across a little over 100 pages, we the reader get an overview of the history of these natives from the original settling of the state through the eventual banishment of the Wyandots in the 1840s. O'Donnell tries to keep things a bit simple with the details of these various treaties & discoveries involving the natives, but also does not shy away from the darker moments including Gnadenhutten among other things. Granted the book is written in places as well as a sort of tribute to them for the state's 200th birthday, but it doesn't diminish the fact that for anyone with a basic interest in those tribes & the early history of Ohio this book will be of interest. As someone who has gotten very familiar with these tribes & the history of this state, I as well took away some new information as well.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough and eye-opening account of all of the native people who lived in Ohio from before the arrival of Europeans up to the removal of the remaining tribes in the 1840s. It's amazing how little this is talked about pretty much anywhere...

[Leifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly the heartbreaking saga of Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. Ohio’s first people were killed and removed by an avalanche of tedium, broken promises, and being stuck between the British, frontiersmen, American bureaucrats, and other tribes.

[Lynn Leatherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is I think a must read for anyone who is interested in Ohio Native Americans. So insightful and such a sad story that makes me understand and see my local history in a new way

[Leslie Heaphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solidly researched and thorough. Touches on topic where little has been written.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good