Francis La Fontaine

Who was Francis La Fontaine?

Francis La Fontaine, or Topeah was the last principal chief of the unified Miami tribe, and oversaw the split into the Western and Eastern Miami tribes.

La Fontaine's grandfather, Peter LaFontaine, was a French trader from Fort Detroit who came to Kekionga in 1776. He arrived with Charles Beaubien, and both men married Miami women and declared their loyalty to the Miami. In 1828, at age 18, La Fontaine became the chief of his Miami village. The same year, he married Catherine, the daughter of Chief Jean Baptiste Richardville. Richardville and La Fontaine worked together on a treaty in 1840 which removed half of the Miami nation to an area west of the Mississippi River.

Chief Richardville died in 1841, and Chief La Fontaine became the new principal chief of the Miami. He moved his family into Richardville's house at The Forks Of The Wabash, which doubled as the tribal headquarters.

In 1846, the Miami nation was forcibly split. Although the terms of the treaty allowed La Fontaine to stay in Indiana with the Eastern tribe, he first travelled with the Western tribe to Kansas. On his return trip, he died in Lafayette, Indiana. Speculation exists that he may have been poisoned by a member of the Western Miami tribe who viewed La Fontaine with suspicion. La Fontaine's body was returned to the Forks of the Wabash, and his remains lie in Mt. Calvary Cemetery near Huntington, Indiana.