Chief Cornstalk's Village
Posted by: 
GwynEvie
N 39° 52.382 W 086° 54.173
16S E 508305 N 4413669
Chief Peter Cornstalk's village of Snakefish (Eel River) tribe was located three miles east of here along Cornstalk Creek. Wigwams and an Indian burial ground were near what is now the Harshbarger family cemetery.
Waymark Code: WM4QM1
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 09/20/2008
Views: 24
The full text of the marker reads:
"Chief Peter Cornstalk's village of Snakefish (Eel River) tribe of Miami Indians was located three miles from here along Cornstalk Creek. Wigwams and Indian burial ground were near the little Harshbarger family cemetery. The Indians lived at peace with settlers moving here in the 1800s."
The accuracy of this marker is questioned by descendants of Chief Cornstalk. In 2006 the incorporated Eel River Tribe of Indiana was granted non-profit status by the state. This is one step they have taken in an attempt to reclaim their heritage. According to their website, the Eel River Tribe shared cultural and linguistic similarities with the larger Miami and Wea tribes of the area, but were in fact a distinct anthropological group. Thus the identification of the tribe as "Miami" is incorrect, a purported error that is repeated on the "Indian Cemetery" marker in Thorntown.
More information about the Eel River Tribe of Indiana can be found at their website: (
visit link)