INDIAN WARS SPOON EXHIBIT


Wikipedia describes the various conflicts
"American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonists who continuously sought to expand their territory, pushing the indigenous populations westwards. The wars were spurred by ideologies such as Manifest Destiny, which held that the United States was destined to expand from coast to coast on the American continent, and which resulted in the policy of Indian removal, by which indigenous peoples were removed from the areas where Europeans were settling, either forcefully or by means of voluntary exchange of territory through treaties."

indian war spoons

all spoons are sterling
1. Penn Treaty.  by George Bell, Colorado
2. although spoons 1 and 2 look alike and are the same dies were used, they are slightly different lengths (about 1/4 inch) due to the attachment of the stem to the bowl
3. Fort Dearborn massacre monument , Chicago. by Mechanic div of Watson
4. First battle with the Iroqois. Champlain, Vermont. no maker mark
5.  Fort Dearborn 1830, by Wallace



penn treaty spoons

In 1683 William Penn  entered into a treaty of peace with a chief of the Lenape Turtle Clan named Tamanend

penn treaty spoons
Detail of Penn Treaty spoon bowl



indian war champlain spoon

French explorer Champlain made a treaty with the Huron and Algonquin Indians who lived near the St. Lawrence river.
They demanded his help in their battles with the Iroquois. On July 29, 1609 a small group of French explorers and their indian allies met a
group of Iroquois. Champlain fired his muzzle loaded gun and killed two of he chiefs with one blast. A third chief was also killed and the Iroquois fled.
For the next 100 years, the French and Iroquois were enemies.




dearborn spoon

Detail of  #5

indian dearborn spoon

A 15 minute battle between US troops and Potawatomi Indians on Aug. 15, 1812 resulted in a complete victory for the Indians.
Fort Dearborn was burned and captives were later ransomed. The fort was rebuilt in 1816 but relations with the indians were still bad.





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