The Piankeshaw, Piankashaw or Pianguichia were members of the Miami tribe who lived apart from the rest of the Miami nation, therefore they were known as Peeyankihšiaki ("splitting off" from the others, Sing.: Peeyankihšia - "Piankeshaw Person"). When European settlers arrived in the region in the 1600s, the Piankeshaw lived in an area along the south central Wabash River that now includes western Indiana and Illinois. Their territory was to the north of Kickapoo (around Vincennes) and the south of the Wea (centered on Ouiatenon). They were closely allied with the Wea, another group of Miamis. The Piankashaw were living along the Vermilion River in 1743. History The first Peeyankihšionki or Piankeshaw Village ("Place of the Piankashaw") was at the confluence of the Peeyankihšiaki Siipiiwi ("River of the Peeyankihšiaki/Piankashaw, i.e. Vermilion River") and the Waapaahšiki Siipiiwi ("white shining", "pure white" or "River over white stones, i.e. Wabash River") northeast of the town of Cayuga, Indiana. Sometime after the founding of the first Peeyankihšionki, a group split off and moved south following the Waapaahšiki Siipiiwi to just above its confluence with the Embarras River. In that spot they built a village called Aciipihkahkionki / Chippekawkay / Chippecoke ("Place of edible Roots"). This name referred to the abundance of tuberous plants that grew in the area. Today the city of Vincennes, Indiana lies in the vicinity of this historic Peeyankihšia village. Many of the descendants of the Peeyankihšia who built this village and the village to its north are citizens of the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. A smaller settlement was located at the confluence of the two main arms of the Vermillion River (near Danville, Illinois). In the 18th century a third important settlement outside the historic Wabash River Valley was established along the Ahsenisiipi ("Rocky, Stony River; i.e. Great Miami River") and called Pinkwaawilenionki / Pickawillany ("Place of the Ash People") and developed into today's Piqua in western Ohio. The Piankeshaw are usually regarded as being "friendly" towards European settlers. They intermarried with French traders and were treated as equals by residents of New France in the Illinois Country. A principal Piankeshaw village was established on the Wabash River near what became Vincennes. In fact, some have suggested that the land around the Grand Rapids Hotel that existed in the 1920s was part of a Piankeshaw Summer campground. Like their French neighbors, the Piankeshaw generally sided with the Americans during the