At Medicine Lodge, KS in October 1867, Kiowa, Comanche, Araphoe, Apache and Cheyenne Indians signed peace treaties with the United States government. Fifteen thousand Indians camped nearby during the council, among them the famous chiefs Satanta, Little Raven and Black Kettle. Five hundred soldiers acted as escort for the U.S. commissioners.

The Blackfoot Nation consists of three tribes, the Pikunis or Piegans, the Bloods and the Blackfoot. Each tribe is divided into clans based on blood relationship. Many years ago, the Blackfeet ranged from North of Edmonton, Alberta to the Yellowstone River. They were quick to resent and avenge insult or wrong, but powerful and loyal allies when their friendship was won.  They were greatly feared by early American trappers and settlers because of the vigor with which they defended their hereditary hunting grounds from encroachment by later settlers.

Location(s) Northampton CountyEaston, PASee map: Google MapsNorthampton County, PA was formed on March 11, 1752 out of Bucks County and was named for Northamptonshire in England. Easton, the county seat, was incorporated in 1789.

Location(s) Montour CountyDanville, PASee map: Google MapsMontour County, PA was formed on May 2, 1850 from Columbia County. Named for the Indian woman leader, Madame Montour.

Location(s) Forest CountyTionesta, PASee map: Google MapsForest County, PA was formed on April 11, 1848

Looking at the past is not always a pleasant activity. Some people prefer selective sideswipes with history through disconnected factoids or self-indulgent atmospheres.

Some of the most common questions asked about local history concern the people who originally lived in this region. The answers hinge on who was where and when.

Native American History     As shown on old maps, an Indian path from Frankstown, at that time the Indian town of Assunepachla, their oldest settlement on the Juniata River, converged with an Indian path from Standing Stone, the present site of Huntingdon. The joint paths then traversed the Kitchinaki, or Great Spruce Pine Land, in a northwest direction from the Indian fording on Spruce Creek, to Oligonunk, the Lenape name for "The Place of the Cave". This was known as a "sleeping place", and offered grateful shelter to weary travelers. Today, Oligonunk is known as Franklinville, the location of Indian Caverns.     The following is an extract from a 1931 article by Dr. George P. Donehoo, State Librarian of Pennsylvnia, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, contributor to the Smithsonian Institution's Handbook of American Indians and author of The Indian Trails of Pennsylvania: