One of a series of meetings occurs in Sandusky (Ohio) leading to the formation of the Northwest Indian Confederacy (United Indian Nations)
Sept. 7, 1783
Map showing the general distribution of Native American tribes in the Northwest Territory at the time of the Northwest Indian War.
Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) was one of many leaders involved in the Northwest Confederacy, which at the time referred to themselves as United Indian Nations. Native groups part of the confederacy were Cherokee, Haudenosaunee, Lenape (Delaware), Miami, Odawa, Ojibwa, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Wabash Confederacy, and Wyandot. Formed in response to the betrayal on both sides to Native allies at the end of the American Revolutionary War, in which peace talks did not involve Native peoples and the lands south of the Great Lakes were given to Americans. The intent of the confederacy was to stop settler encroachment beyond the Ohio River, and Thayendanegea tried to establish that no treaties were to be made without the agreement of all parties. Americans attempted to divide and conquer during this era, signing treaties with smaller groups of Native peoples behind the back of the confederacy, all of which led to the Northwest Indian War, which is considered the first 'Indian War' by the US Army. This confederacy was also a precursor to Tecumseh's confederacy in the early 1800's. It was in effect from 1783–1795.