The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the Wea, along with the Kaskaskia, Piankeshaw, and Peoria, are enrolled in the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe in Oklahoma. Name The name Wea is used today as the a shortened version of their numerous recorded names. The Wea name for themselves (autonym) in their own language is waayaahtanwa, derived from waayaahtanonki, 'place of the whirlpool', where they were first recorded being seen and where they were living at that time. The many different spellings of the tribe's name include Waiatanwa, Ouaouiatanoukak, Aoiatenon, Aouciatenons, Ochiatenens, Ouatanons, Ouias, Ouiatanon, Wah-we-ah-tung-ong, Warraghtinooks, and Wyatanons. Language The Wea spoke a dialect of Miami-Illinois language, part of the Algonquian language family. History The Wea lived north of the Ohio River in parts of western Indiana and southeastern Illinois. The first written mention of the tribe is from 1673. French explorers wrote about them in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Another Miami sub-tribe, the Pepikokia were a separate tribe until 1742 but then later became part of the Wea tribe. In the 18th century, the Wea, Miami, and Piankashaw remained distinct tribes. The Wea population of 1765 is estimated to have been around 1,200. In the early 18th century, Wea people settled in villages along the Wabash River between what would become Terre Haute and Logansport, Indiana. They established a large settlement called Ouiatenon, near what is now Lafayette, and the French colonists established Fort Ouiatenon, which facilitated trade with the Wea and Kickapoo. In 1747, British colonists began trading with a band of Miami living on the Great Miami River in Ohio. Weas began trading with them as well, until the French destroyed their trading post. By 1763, the Wea joined Odawa war chiefPontiac in Pontiac's War against the British. The Wea first were neutral during the American Revolution but later joined the Miami in fighting with the British. The Wea were forced to move to Missouri and Arkansas in 1820. They were later forced into Kansas and finally Indian Territory, which became Oklahoma. With increased Euro-American settlement and the United States's policy of Indian removal, the US federal government made many treaties with these tribes. In 1854, the Wea signed a treaty