Peter Chartier

Peter Chartier (c. 1690—c.1759) (Anglicized version of Pierre Chartier, sometimes written Chartiere, Chartiers, Shartee or Shortive) was a fur trader of mixed Shawnee and French parentage. Multilingual, he later became a leader and a band chief among the Pekowi Shawnee. As an early advocate for Native American civil rights, he joined other chiefs in opposing the sale and trade of alcohol in indigenous communities in the Province of Pennsylvania. He first tried to limit the sale of rum in Shawnee communities but expanded that effort to other indigenous peoples.

Because of conflict with the English provincial government, in 1745 he accepted a French commission and left Pennsylvania with his band. Beginning with more than 400 Pekowi Shawnee, he migrated over the next four years through parts of modern Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama and Tennessee. He and his people eventually resettled in the Illinois Country of New France, near a French colonial community. He and some of his warriors later fought on the side of the French against the English during the French and Indian War.

Chartier is memorialized in numerous place names, including communities (Chartiers Township and Chartiers (Pittsburgh)),^[1][2] rivers (including Chartiers Creek^[3]: 272 and Chartiers Run (Allegheny River tributary))^[3]: 352 and school districts such as the Chartiers Houston and Chartiers Valley School Districts.