Historic Fort Wayne, it seems, was the target of an Indian attack last week, but it took a letter that ended up at the History Center for officials at the Old Fort to realize it had taken place.

The letter, addressed to Historic Fort Wayne and written by someone identifying himself as a Miami Warrior, said that the Miami Nation had not relinquished its claim to its lands and that its members would never be driven from their tribal home.

To drive the message home, the warrior said he had fired two arrows into the walls of the Old Fort to signify the Miami Nation’s resolve.

So the History Center notified Tom Grant, a board member with the Old Fort, who discovered two arrows sticking from the fort’s wall about 20 feet above the ground. Grant then contacted the Parks Department, which contacted the police, and at 5 p.m. Friday firefighters were sent to the fort to retrieve the arrows.

The arrows, according to Sean O’Brien, a board member and re-enactor at the fort, weren’t store-bought arrows but had turkey feather fletchings and steel arrowheads. They appear to be custom-made by someone who knows what he’s doing.

The police took the arrows to preserve the chain of evidence, but at this point O’Brien thinks, judging by the tone of the letter, this is all being done in good humor.

The letter wasn’t written in a threatening way. Perhaps, Grant said, the incident was in anticipation of events this weekend at the Old Fort to mark the 200th anniversary of Indiana becoming a state. When Indiana became a state, Grant said, it was set into law that the Miamis no longer owned the land.

Grant was struck that the unknown warrior "did such a wonderful job – he used turkey feathers and sinew" to attach the fletchings "and old-fashioned metal tips" similar to what was available around 1800. He was impressed that it was all done in such a period manner.

O’Brien has written an open letter of his own to the Miami warrior, responding to the "unprovoked attack." O’Brien signed the letter Major John Whistler, who was commander of the fort back in 1816. After all, when you enter the fort’s grounds, you’re supposed to be walking a couple of centuries back in time.

The letter asks the warrior to remember the wisdom of Little Turtle, who urged peace during the latest war (War of 1812) and invited the warrior to come together at the fort to celebrate the birth of a new state this weekend.

Events at the fort, along Spy Run Avenue, will draw re-enactors from five or six states, Grant said. Among them will be a surveyor from that period. The streets of Fort Wayne were originally laid out using the fort’s gate as a starting point.

There might also be discussion about whether Fort Wayne would be in Indiana or Ohio. Apparently back in 1816, some officers weren’t sure.

Frank Gray reflects on his and others’ experiences in columns published Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. He can be reached by phone at 461-8376, fax at 461-8893, or email at fgray@jg.net. You can also follow him on Twitter @FrankGrayJG.