What was Kekionga?

Kekionga also known as Kiskakon was the capital of the Miami tribe at the confluence of the Saint Joseph, Saint Marys and Maumee rivers on the western edge of the Great Black Swamp. It became the site of several French, British and American forts and trading posts.

The Miami at first benefited from trade with the Europeans. The French under Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes established a trading post and fort, first at the St. Joseph River, and later at Kekionga. Vincennes and the Miami developed a strong and enduring friendship.

In 1780, Kekionga was sacked by a force of French Americans led by Colonel Augustin de la Balme, who planned to ultimately take Detroit from the British. This force was utterly destroyed by a Miami force led by Chief Little Turtle. In 1790, General Josiah Harmar was defeated by a tribal coalition led by Little Turtle in the Harmar's Defeat. Later, the Miami were gradually forced to give up more and more of their land and eventually lost control of the settlement entirely. The site later became the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana.