Leatherlips was a Wyandot American Indian

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 leader of the late 18th and early 19th century.

Wyandots were decimated by disease and a disastrous war with the Five Nations of the Iroquois

Iroquois

The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

. Forced out of their homeland near Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

, they moved to the Iroquois hunting ground of Ohio country

Ohio Country

The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...

. Leatherlips, an important leader, signed the Treaty of Greenville

Treaty of Greenville

The Treaty of Greenville was signed at Fort Greenville , on August 3, 1795, between a coalition of Native Americans & Frontiers men, known as the Western Confederacy, and the United States following the Native American loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It put an end to the Northwest Indian War...

 and encouraged cooperation with white settlers near the end of his life. That policy of accommodating Europeans led to conflict with a movement led by two Shawnee

Shawnee

The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...

 brothers, Tecumseh

Tecumseh

Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...

 and Tenskwatawa

Tenskwatawa

Tenskwatawa, was a Native American religious and political leader of the Shawnee tribe, known as The Prophet or the Shawnee Prophet. He was the brother of Tecumseh, leader of the Shawnee...

 (The Prophet). Tenskwatawa reacted strongly against Leatherlips and condemned him to death for signing away native lands, and for witchcraft.

Dispatched by his own brother Roundhead

Roundhead (Wyandot)

Roundhead , also known as Bark Carrier, Round Head, Stayeghtha, and Stiahta, was a Native American chief of the Wyandot tribe...

, six Wyandots traveled to what is now Dublin, Ohio

Dublin, Ohio

Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware, and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 41,751 at the 2010 census. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Approximately 57,000 people live within the Dublin school district....

 just north of Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

 and announced the death sentence. Although white settlers led by Benjamin Sells pleaded for the old chief and attempted to bribe

Bribery

Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...

 the death squad, the trial and sentencing were swift. After clothing himself in his finest attire, Leatherlips, joined by his executioners, sang the death chant and prayed. Then he was killed by tomahawk

Tomahawk (axe)

A tomahawk is a type of axe native to North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft. The name came into the English language in the 17th century as a transliteration of the Powhatan word.Tomahawks were general purpose tools used by Native Americans and European Colonials...

.

According to the book This is Ohio by Grace Goulder, the execution took place at the entrance to the caves that are now known as the Olentangy Indian Caverns, located north of Dublin, Ohio

Dublin, Ohio

Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware, and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 41,751 at the 2010 census. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Approximately 57,000 people live within the Dublin school district....

 and south of Delaware, Ohio

Delaware, Ohio

The City of Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County in the United States state of Ohio. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area...

. According to information from the Olentangy Indian Caverns, the caverns were used by the Wyandot people up until 1810 (the year of Leatherlips' death and also the first recorded incident of a European traveler entering the caves) as a shelter from the weather and a place to seclude themselves from another nearby tribe, the Delaware people.

A monument to Leatherlips and a memorial art sculpture are tourist stops in Dublin, Ohio today.