Ottawa

Treaty of September 8, 1815

A Treaty between the United States of America and the Wyandot, Delaware, Seneca, Shawanoe, Miami, Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatimie Tribes of Indians, residing within the limits of the State of Ohio, and the Territories of Indiana and Michigan. Whereas the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatimie, tribes of Indians, together with certain bands of the Wyandot, Delaware, Seneca, Shawanoe, and Miami tribes, were associated with Great Britain in the late war between the United States and that power, and have manifested a disposition to be restored to the relations of peace and amity with the said States; and the President of the … Read more

Treaty of July 4, 1805

A treaty between the United States of America, and the sachems, chiefs, and warriers of the Wyandot, Ottawa, Chipawa, Munsee and Delaware, Shawanee, and Pottawatami nations, holden at Fort Industry, on the Miami of the lake, on the fourth day of July, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred and five. ARTICLE I. The said Indian nations do again acknowledge themselves and all their tribes, to be in friendship with, and under the protection of the United States. ARTICLE II. The boundary line between the United States, and the nations aforesaid, shall in future be a meridian line drawn north and … Read more

Treaty of September 26, 1833

Articles of a treaty made at Chicago, in the State of Illinois, on the twenty-sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, between George B. Porter, Thomas J. V. Owen and William Weatherford, Commissioners on the part of the United States of the one part, and the United Nation of Chippewa, Ottowa and Potawatamie Indians of the other part, being fully represented by the Chiefs and Head-men whose names are hereunto subscribed—which Treaty is in the following words, to wit: ARTICLE 1. The said United Nation of Chippewa, Ottowa, and Potawatamie Indians, … Read more

Ottawa Tribe

Ottawa Indians, Ottawa First Nation, Ottawa Nation, Ottawa People (from ǎdāwe, ‘to trade’, `to buy and sell,’ a term common to the Cree, Algonkin, Nipissing, Montagnais, Ottawa, and Chippewa, and applied to the Ottawa because in early traditional times and also during the historic period they were noted among their neighbors as intertribal traders and barterers, dealing chiefly in cornmeal, sunflower oil, furs and skins, rugs or mats, tobacco, and medicinal roots and herbs). Ottawa Tribe History On French river, near its mouth, on Georgian bay, Champlain in 1615 met 300 men of a tribe which, he said, “we call … Read more

Ottawa Indian Divisions

In the latter part of the 17th century the Ottawa tribe consisted of 4, possibly 5, divisions. It is repeatedly stated that there were 4 bands, and no greater number is ever mentioned, yet 5 names are given, as follows: Kishkakon Sinago Keinouche Nassauaketon Sable La Mothe Cadillac says there were 4 bands : Kiskakon Sinago Sable Nassauaketon Outaoutiboy, chief of the Ottawa, speaking at the conference with Gov. de Callidres, Sept. 3, 1700, said: “I speak in the name of the four Outaouais nations, to wit: The Outaouaes of the Sable, the Outaouaes Sinago, the Kiskakons, and the people … Read more

Ottawa Indian Chiefs and Leaders

The following were chiefs or leaders of the Ottawa Indians. Pontiac An Ottawa chief, born about 1720, probably on Maumee river, Ohio, about the mouth of the Auglaize. Though his paternity is not positively established, it is most likely that his father was an Ottawa chief and his mother a Chippewa woman. J. Wimer says that as early as 1746 he commanded the Indians, mostly Ottawa, who defended Detroit against the attack of the northern tribes. It is supposed he led the Ottawa and Chippewa warriors at Braddock’s defeat. He first appears prominently in history at his meeting with Maj. Robert Rogers, in … Read more

Akonapi Tribe

Akonapi Indians.  A people mentioned in the ancient Walam Olum record of the Delawares , with whom they fought during their migrations. Brinton, who identities them with the Akowini of the same tradition, thinks it probable that they lived immediately north of Ohio River in Ohio or Indiana. He regards Akowini as “correspondent” with Sinako, and Towakon with Towako; the latter he identities with the Ottawa, called by the  Delawares Taway. If this identification be correct, it is likely that the Akonapi were the Sinago branch of the Ottawa.

The Sac and Fox of the Mississippi

Sauk and Fox habitation covered with Elm bark

The history of the Sacs and Foxes of the Mississippi is the same as that of the Missouri portion of the tribes, except that they had never wandered so far from the ancestral home. They lived nearer the Mississippi River, and the other band lived on the Missouri River—or the Osage, a branch of the Missouri, and from these circumstances came the names of the two bands. One band was the Sacs and Foxes of the Mississippi, and the other the Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri. The Sacs and Foxes of the Mississippi owned and held about three-fourths of … Read more

The Pottawatomie of Kansas

abramburnett1

The history of the Pottawatomie, even after they were in communication with the Europeans, is difficult and often obscure. Their name signifies People of the place of the fire. They came to be generally known as the “Fire Nation.” There is reason to believe that the Pottawatomie, the Chippewa, and the Ottawa originally formed one tribe. As one people they lived in that country about the upper shores of Lake Huron. The separation into three parts probably occurred there, and the Jesuits found them at Sault St. Marie in 1640. In 1670 the tribe or some portion of it, was … Read more

Indian Tribes in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Northwest Territories, 1822

The article “Indian Tribes in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and North West Territories, 1822” provides a detailed account of the Native American populations in these regions during the early 19th century. It highlights the differing perspectives on the conditions and sentiments of tribes such as the Delawares in Ohio, and notes the impact of Christian missionary efforts, particularly by the Society of Friends. In Pennsylvania, the article laments the displacement and decline of tribes over the past thirty years. It also discusses the strategic importance of territories like Michigan and the North West Territories, detailing the establishment of military posts to protect and facilitate trade and education efforts. This comprehensive overview includes population statistics and locations for various tribes, illustrating the significant changes and challenges faced by Native American communities during this period.

Early Native American Gardening

Grand River Michigan Ancient Garden Beds - Plate 6

What proportion of the prairies of the West may be assigned as falling under the inference of having been abandoned fields, may constitute a subject of general speculation. It appears to be clear that the great area of the prairies proper is independent of that cause. Fire is the evident cause of the denudation of trees and shrubs in a large part of the area between the Rocky and the Allegheny mountains. Water comes in for a share of the denudation in valleys and moist prairies, which may be supposed to be the result of a more recent emergence from its former … Read more

Pontiac’s War

Map of Pontiacs War

Early in the eighteenth century the French had commenced extending their influence among the tribes who inhabited the country bordering on the great western lakes. Always more successful than the other European settlers in conciliating the affections of the savages among whom they lived, they had obtained the hearty good will of nations little known to the English. The cordial familiarity of the race, and the terms of easy equality upon which they were content to share the rude huts of the Indians, ingratiated them more readily with their hosts, than a course of English reserve and formality could have … Read more

Potawatomi’s Secure All Illinois Tribe Territory

Summertime was when the families of the village lived together in a village.

This great event in Indian history secured to the Pottawatomie all the territory then belonging to the Illinois, and the exclusive right to which was undisputed by other tribes. It extended their possessions to the lands of the Peoria on Peoria Lake. They occupied to the Wabash as far south as Danville and even beyond. On the other side they occupied to the Hock River, though their right to a strip of land on the east side of that river was disputed by the Sac and Fox Indians who ranged the prairies west of there and beyond the Mississippi. They … Read more

Potawatomi Settlement in Illinois

Summertime was when the families of the village lived together in a village.

Soon after their discovery by LaSalle, the great Iroquois Confederation, whose battlefields were strewn with their victims almost from the Atlantic coast to the Wabash, and from the Great Lakes, and even north of them, to the Alleghenies and the Ohio, finally extended their enterprises to the Illinois Tribe. With a great slaughter they defeated this hitherto invincible people, laid waste their great city, and scattered them in broken bands over their wide domain. From this terrible blow they never recovered. For a century later they struggled with waning fortunes against northern encroachments, till finally they were exterminated by the … Read more

End of the Illinois Tribe

Native American caught large fish with spears and smaller fish with nets, traps or baited hooks.

It was very different, however, with the Prairie Indians. They despised the cultivation of the soil as too mean even for their women and children, and deemed the captures of the chase as the only fit food for a valorous people. The corn, which grew like grass from the earth which they trod beneath their feet was not proper meat to feed their greatness. Nor did they open their ears to the lessons of love and religion tendered them by those who came among them and sought to do them good. If they tolerated their presence they did not receive … Read more

The Teepee

teepee1

The teepee, a versatile and historically significant structure, has been widely associated with the Lakota Sioux in popular culture, particularly through depictions in Hollywood Westerns. However, the use of conical dwellings like the teepee extends beyond the Plains tribes to other indigenous peoples across North America, as well as to groups in northern Scandinavia and Siberia. This article explores the origins, construction, and cultural significance of the teepee, with a particular focus on its architectural features and adaptations to various environments. It also addresses misconceptions about indigenous housing styles, highlighting the diverse ways in which Native American tribes built their homes, depending on their resources and needs.