St. Clair’s Defeat Revisited: A New View of the Conflict

This traveling exhibit introduces you to the complex history of St. Clair’s Defeat, on November 4, 1791, and its context and aftermath with respect to the nine Tribal Nations who orchestrated this great defeat of the U.S. Military.

The exhibit’s four themes, design, and immersive qualities will contextualize the: 1) Background; 2) Battle and Native crescent strategy; 3) Aftermath including broken treaties, removal, and boarding schools; and 4) Persistence of Tribes today.

Exhibition Sites and Dates

• November 4, 2023 to January 7, 2024 - Fort Recovery Museum, Fort Recovery, Ohio. "St. Clair's Defeat Revisited: A New View of the Conflict" will be open 11:00-4:00 on the dates listed below. All free of charge.
  • Nov 24, 25, and 26 – Fri, Sat, Sun
  • Dec 1, 2, and 3 – Fri, Sat, Sun
  • Dec 8, 9, and 10 – Fri, Sat, Sun
  • Dec 15, 16, and 17 – Fri, Sat, Sun
  • Dec 21, 22, and 23 – Thurs, Fri, Sat
  • Dec 28, 29, and 30 – Thurs, Fri, Sat
  • Jan 5, 6, and 7 – Fri, Sat, Sun
    
    
• January to May 2024 - The History Center, Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, Fort Wayne, Indiana
• May to December 2024 - KahNe Hall, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Miami Oklahoma
• January to September 2025 or beyond - Ohio History Center, Ohio History Connection, Columbus, Ohio

Video & Photos

• Welcome Video (15 minutes)
• Introduction Trailer
• Background Trailer
• Battle Trailer  
• Aftermath Trailer 
• Persistence Trailer 1
• Persistence Trailer 2
• "Nothing About Us, Without Us" - presentation by Diane Hunter (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma) and Christine Thompson on November 5, 2023
  

• Exhibit at Fort Recovery Museum

Exhibit Guides

• Digital Exhibit Guide - StoryMap of entire exhibit
• Print Exhibit Guide  

Media

• WYSO (Yellow Springs, Ohio) 11/6/23 - 'Nothing About Us, Without Us' - new Fort Recovery exhibit explores historic battle from Native perspectives
• Daily Standard (Celina, Ohio) 11/6/23 - St. Clair's Defeat, Fort Recovery State Museum exhibit is battle through Native American eyes

Principle Investigators

(please contact for more information)

• Christine Thompson, Assistant Director and Archaeologist, Applied Anthropology Laboratories, Ball State University
• Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, Director and Senior Archaeologist, Applied Anthropology Laboratories, Ball State University

Acknowledgements

Tribal Humanities Scholars

• Nekole Alligood (Delaware Nation), Ohio History Connection NAGPRA Specialist
• Matthew Bussler (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians), Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
• Chief Ethel Cook (Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma)
• Stacey Halfmoon (Caddo Nation), Shawnee Tribe Executive Director of Cultural and Historic Preservation
• Rhonda Hayworth (Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma), Historian and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
• Larry Heady (Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma), Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
• Second Chief Norman Hildebrand (Wyandotte Nation)
• Diane Hunter (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma), Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
• William Tarrant (Seneca-Cayuga Nation), Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
• Tonya Tipton (Shawnee Tribe), Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
• Chief Glenna Wallace (Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma)

Additional Tribal Review

• Erin Paden, Tribal Historic Preservation Specialist, Shawnee Tribe

Exhibit Designer

• Dr. Kristin Barry, Associate Professor of Architecture, Department of Architecture, Ball State University

Funding Acknowledgements

This traveling exhibit has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this video do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities

This StoryMap and Welcome Video has been funded by National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Telling the Full History Preservation Fund, with support from National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Trust or the National Endowment for the Humanities.