of his death in 1841 and owned thousands of acres of land in Indiana, as well as his stately brick home in Fort Wayne. Some sources have claimed that Richardville eventually controlled more than along the St. Joseph, St. Marys, Mississinewa, Salamonie, and Wabash Rivers. Historian Stewart Rafert acknowledged that Richardville was the recipient of a total of of land granted under the terms of various treaties and $31,800 in cash settlements, but went on to explain that most of Richardville's land went to his associates. In his later years, Richardville retained only a few hundred acres in Indiana, including the site of his home in Fort Wayne and land at the Forks of the Wabash. He also often offered his private lands as a refuge for family members and other Miamis living in Indiana who had no other place to live. Death and legacy Richardville died on August 13, 1841, at his home along the Saint Marys River, southeast of Fort Wayne, in Allen County, Indiana. His remains were interred in the cemetery at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne. In addition to his landholdings and other property, Richardville allegedly left about $200,000 in cash. Under the terms of his will, Richardville bequeathed his property to his surviving children and other relatives. Richardville's son-in-law, Francis La Fontaine (Topeah), the husband of his daughter, Catherine Richardville (Pocongoquah), succeeded him as chief of the Miamis. About half of the Miami people, including members of Richardville's, Francis Godfroy's, and Chief Metocinyah's family, among others, remained in Indiana after the U.S. government officially removed the Miamis to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River, in 1846, five years after Richardville's death. Under the provisions of treaties signed with the Miami people in 1838 and 1840, a total of 126 Miamis were allowed to remain in Indiana; 43 of them were members of Richardville's family; 28 were members of Francis Godfroy's family; and the remaining 55 were members of Metocinyah's family. These individuals, along with 22 others, became the original 148 members of the Miami Nation of Indiana, which began on October 6, 1846. Since the 1860s, some of Richardville's descendants have migrated from Indiana to settle in Kansas and the present-day state of Oklahoma, but many more of his descendants remained in Indiana. Richardville's life experiences are an example of many métis leaders in the Midwest after the War of