Admitted to the Union: as the 19th State on December 11, 1816.

Indiana means "land of the Indians"

Nickname: The Hoosier State

Motto: Crossroads of America (Crossroads is a place of gathering and a place of decision)

Capital: Indianapolis (Corydon was the state capital until 1825)

State Flag: The blue and gold state banner was adopted by the 1917 General Assembly as part of the commemoration of the state's 1916 Centennial celebration. The winning design was by Paul Hadley of Mooresville, Indiana. The torch stands for liberty and enlightenment; the rays represent their far-reaching influence. The thirteen stars in a circle represent the original thirteen states; the five stars in the circle represent the next five states; the large star is Indiana, the nineteenth state.

General Indiana History

History records the first white man to enter Indiana was Hernando de Soto on June 8, 1541 when he crossed the "Great River" (Ohio River) near Evansville. He marched up the east bank of the Wabash River to secure what would prove to be a giant Indian village complex, the town of Casqui (Vincennes). "There the Christians placed the cross they carried on a mound, drove in the Cross and with much devotion, knelt to kiss the foot of the cross." Reportedly, "the Indians did as they saw us do."

In 1746, five black slaves belonging to French settlers in Vincennes are the first documented living in what is now Indiana. The underground railroad was organized in 1800, but was mostly used beginning 20 years before the Civil War. Cincinnati, Lawrenceburg, Madison, New Albany, Leavenworth and Evansville were the points where the fleeing slaves could cross the Ohio with some hope of finding friends, who would help them northward. These friends would convey them from one "station" to another, usually by night; sometimes concealed beneath what appeared to be a wagon load of produce on its way to market. The people most zealous in this risky humanitarian effort were the Quakers and the most famous of the various routes was the one that traversed the chief Quaker settlements in the eastern part of Indiana. Wayne Co. was the most conspicuous anti-slavery center and Newport (now Fountain City), about nine miles north of Richmond was its hub.

Fourteen Native American tribes are known to have made treaties regarding Indiana. They are: Eel River, Wyandot, Piankashaw, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Delaware, Potowatami, Miami, Wea, Seneca, Shawnee, Ottawa, Chippewa and Munsees. The U.S. Government ordered the Potowatami, along with other tribes, removed from the state. This is historically called the "Trail of Death" and began in Plymouth, IN on September 4, 1838. There were 859 natives which included some from Michigan. They were marched on foot to Kansas and most died on the way. Our research reports 108 treaties made with the various tribes and all were broken by our government.

Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, his brother, known as the "Prophet," and Wm. Henry Harrison are three key figures in our state's history. The Shawnee emblems still on their head-dresses are the black panther for Tecumseh and a white swan for Wm. Henry Harrison with a staff between which stands for brotherhood and respect for one another. After the Battle of Tippecanoe, the "Prophet" released a curse on Wm. Henry Harrison and all "Great White Chiefs" (presidents) of our nation. This is historically known as the Zero Year Curse. It is recorded that since that time until President Ronald Reagan, every president who took office in a zero year died in office. Gary Bergel and Derrick Prince along with approximately 200 men met in Michigan and broke the curse before President Reagan took office. Vincennes was the territorial capital of the Indiana Territory. Wm. Henry Harrison governed both the Indiana Territory and the Louisiana Territory from Vincennes. More land was governed from Indiana than from anywhere else in the nation other than Washington, D.C. The Indiana Territory included: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Louisiana Territory was made up of all or part of the following 13 states: Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, No. Dakota, So. Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Colorado and Montana

INDIANA was admitted to the Union as the 19th State on December 11, 1816. It has been nicknamed "The Hoosier State," and is often referred to as, "The Crossroads of America” owing to the fact that it has more than 11,000 total highway miles and is intersected by 8 interstate highways, more than any other state in the nation. It is North America’s leading logistics hub and a global hub of international investment and manufacturing.

Indiana was first part of the Indiana Territory which was carved in 1800 from the Northwest Territory. Its population (estimate 2008) is 6,376,792 and is 38th in size among the 50 United States.  The name, Indiana means "Land of the Indian." The State Flag is a prophetic statement of Indiana’s redemptive purposes. The torch in the center stands for liberty and enlightenment, and the rays represent their far-reaching influence.

Indiana has the ability to shift regions, open new territories and shape a nation. The first European post in Indiana was founded in 1715 at Fort Quiatenon which is present day Lafayette. This was built where the Tippecanoe River flows into the Wabash River. Fort Quiatenon was the southernmost point of the boundary of Canada. Well before there were 13 states, a French fur trading post opened its doors in the heart of the Indiana territory. Col. Geo. Rogers Clark's capture of Fort Sackville from the British on February 25, 1779 aided the United States in laying claim to the vast region that later became the Old Northwest Territory. A bill creating the Indiana Territory became a law on May 7, 1800. William Henry Harrison was the Governor of the Indiana Territory from 1800-1812.

Battles fought in the Wabash River area during the Revolution determined the "shape and size of the United States, setting the southern border of Canada for all time at the Great Lakes rather than the Ohio River, thus opening the Far West to American development."

The central northwestern part of Indiana contains the inception point of the Trail of Death. In the early 1800's, President Andrew Jackson ordered Wm. Henry Harrison to start making treaties for removal of the Native Americans from Indiana.  With Indians from Michigan and all over northern and central Indiana, there were more than 859 present when the entire group set out for Kansas on September 4, 1838 (and arrived) at their final destination on November 4, 1838. As a result of this event, a number of curses were placed upon the land in Indiana and the nation.

In 1808, a native village called Prophet Town was founded by two brothers, Shawnee natives, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa (the Prophet), at the junction of the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers. It was out of the brothers' desire to unite native tribes and militarily defend their land from white (men) encroachment. Prophet Town was the "capital of a great Indian Confederacy---equivalent to Washington, D.C." It was a "seat of diplomacy." Prophet Town became a military training center for warriors with an extensive spiritual and athletic regime. Over 1,000 warriors were based there at its peak. US General William Henry Harrison organized an army of approximately 1000 troops to take Prophet Town. Prophet, Tecumseh's brother, attacked Harrison's troops prematurely and lost the battle.

During and after World War II, the General Assembly (of Indiana) began to examine racial discrimination. Robert Lee Brokenburr, the first African American elected to the State Senate, helped draw attention to racial injustices. As a result, the General Assembly passed a landmark legislation that gradually eliminated segregation in public schools years before Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, a 1954 landmark case in national history.

Indiana appears to have both governmental and war mantles; the ability to shift and align, to open up boundaries for expansion and determine borders. It is a land of shields and bucklers that are able to align with governmental heads for defense with support and advancement of the Kingdom of God. Note that both Tecumseh's and Harrison's troops had 1000 warriors. This is a picture of David's warriors in Song of Solomon 4:4, "Your neck is like the tower of David, built for an armory on which hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men."

References:
http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main-pages/madison_archives/era/native , http://www.tcha.mus.in.us/battlehistory.htm http://www.in.gov/sic/about/general_facts.html, http://www.statelib.in.us/www.ihb/emblens/emblflag.html
http://home.att.net/~Local_History/IN_HistoryCAT.html
http://www.tippecanoe.com/tec_hist.html
http://www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/umhtml/umhome.html
http://www.accessgenealogy.comnative/indiana
http://www.tcha.mus.in.usbattlehistory.html

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/18000.html
Indiana's State House booklet, http://www.state.in.us/statehouse
The Indiana State House "A Self-Guided Tour" booklet, www.state.in.us/hoosiermillennium
"Indiana Gives" Center on Philanthropy: www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/
www.indystar.com; Contact Star Washington Bureau reporter Maureen Groppe at (202) 906-8118 or at mgroppe@gns.gannett.com
HeraldTimesOnline.com, Tuesday, March 1, 2005 Section A
www.indystar.com, The Indianapolis Star, Sunday, February 20, 2005, Knox County Sheriff's Department, Indiana State Police data from the EPIC National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System, U.S. Census Bureau

Dorsett, Billy Sunday and the redemption of Urban America, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Erdmann's Pub. Co., 1991, pg. 90

A New Historical Guide by Robert M. Taylor, Jr.; Errol Wayne Stevens, Mary Ann Ponder, Paul Brockman, published 1989 Indiana Historical Society p. 270

George Rogers Clark National Historic Bulletin,401 South Second Street, Vincennes, IN 47501

Past, Present and Future HORIZONS A Special Presentation by the Vincennes Sun Commercial, Sunday, April 18, 2004, p.13