Great Lakes Native American culture since European contact

Image: Trouble At Fort La Pointe: A Novel Of Ojibwa-French Culture Clash By Kathleen Ernst (www.perma-bound.com)

Review: The Anishinaabe culture

“The Original People”

Ancestors of today’s Native Americans in

Michigan

Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwa: Collectively

known as the “People of the Three Fires”

Strong relationships between the three groups

Similar language of Algonquin origin

Review: The Anishinaabe culture

Oral history states that they migrated from areas

to the east – possibly the Atlantic coast of

Canada

Settled in the Great Lakes during the Woodland

Period

The area offered vast water resources and

abundant wild rice

Water is very sacred!

Review: The Anishinaabe culture

Review: The Anishinaabe culture

Several groups continued expansion beyond the

Great Lakes, as far west as the northern plains

In our area: Ojibwa (also called “Chippewa” in

some areas)

Strong cultural, social, and economic influences

across much of Michigan

Review: The Anishinaabe culture

(Image: http://www.firstpeople.us/)

Chippewa wigwam

Review: The Anishinaabe culture

(Image: http://www.d.umn.edu/)

Birchbark canoe

Review: The Anishinaabe culture

(Image: http://www.d.umn.edu/)

Wild rice harvesting

Review: The Anishinaabe culture

Lifestyles very well-adapted to the Great Lakes

environment

Food from numerous sources, throughout the

changing seasons

Hunting

Fishing

Gathering wild plants

Collecting syrup

Review: The Anishinaabe culture

Many uses for virtually all materials available

from the forests

Medicines

Tools

Lodgings

“Art”

Spiritual significance and respect

“Manitou”

Arrival of the French

Early 1600’s: First contact

Explorers and missionaries

Sault Ste. Marie area

Anishinaabe culture

rapidly changed

(Image: http://www.ed101.bu.edu)

Arrival of the French

Early relationships generally respectful: Both

sides benefitted

French learned Ojibwa language and offered

gifts (important social customs)

Inter-marrying occurred

Relationships later developed into military

alliances

French and Indian War

Arrival of the French

Fur trade established

Very profitable for the French

Natives acquired valuable new tools

Christianity introduced

Mixed reception by Natives

Forts constructed throughout region

Centers for trading & military outposts

Arrival of the French

Among European explorers of the era, French

are generally considered to have been the most

respectful towards Natives

French populations were much lower than those

of English explorers

French were more interested in profitable trade

than permanent land claims

The English

By the mid-1700s, English became the dominant

European settlers in the area

Much higher populations than the French

More interested than French in land

French and Indian War: 1754-1763

English won enormous land claims, considered

Natives a conquered people

The English

Relationships with English much different

No gifts; higher prices for trade goods

Availability of arms/ammunition decreased

French and Indian War: 1754-1763

English won enormous land claims, considered

Natives a conquered people

Pontiac’s Rebellion: 1763

One of many Native uprisings against English military

The American Revolution

Natives aligned with English; considered them

the “lesser of two evils”

Early American government faced many clashes

with Natives over territory

Many illegal settlers; much tension on the

frontier

Many battles

The Treaty Era

Treaty of Greenville, 1795

The first of dozens of treaties between Native

Americans and the U.S. government

U.S. strategy was to acquire Native lands by

purchase instead of conquer

Natives accepted U.S. as the sovereign power;

retained rights on ceded lands

The Treaty Era

One treaty at a time, the U.S. gradually acquired

territories to prepare Michigan for statehood

Early to mid 1800s

Additional motive: Gaining access to the vast

natural resources of the region

Forest & mineral resources

(Image: www.clarke.cmich.edu)

The Treaty Era

After acquiring Indian lands, Michigan was able

to become a state in 1837

Much of the northern region still considered “Indian

territory”, however

Around this time, vast copper and iron resources

were discovered in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

Final treaties signed to allow the mining and

logging era to begin

After the treaties

During the late 1800s, mining and logging were

booming across Michigan

According to treaties, Natives still retained rights

on ceded land

Reservations established

Conflicting environmental values

From European exploration through American

expansion, many conflicts became apparent in

how each culture valued nature

Differences in spiritual perspectives

Economic motives?

Caused confusion, misunderstanding between

cultures

Conflicting environmental values

Example: Water

Natives: Water is sacred and alive; is life-giving and

symbolized by the rush of water from the womb at

birth; water bodies support sacred and critical fish

populations and allow transportation by canoe

Europeans: Waters allowed to become degraded and

polluted; rivers diverted, dammed, and channelized;

economically important for the transport of logs and

minerals; fish suffered from pollution and were

overharvested (many to extinction)

Conflicting environmental values

Example: Wetlands

Natives: Wetlands provide habitat for many sacred

animals; many wetland plants provide medicines and

valuable materials for traditional lifestyles; wild rice

grows in the area’s wetlands

Europeans: Wetlands were considered wastelands

that were impediments to progress; were feared for

diseases and hostile creatures; were filled or drained

to convert to farms and cities

Conflicting environmental values

Example: Forests & geologic features

Natives: Forest materials supported the traditional

lifestyles of the people; materials used from forests

were used only as needed and not wasted; everything

had a value; many species considered sacred

Europeans: Logging operations removed 92% of the

state’s original forests in a “cut-and-run” fashion;

tremendous ecological devastation resulted from

logging and mining booms; materials valued for

economic profit only

Conflicting environmental values

Example: Wildlife

Natives: All organisms have a spirit (Manitou), are to

be respected, and help maintain the balance of

nature; many animals considered particularly sacred

Europeans: Many animals hunted to extinction; most

habitats destroyed as logging and mining industries

devastated the region’s ecosystems

Contemporary environmental issues

Fishing rights

Frequent accusations that Natives receive “special

privileges” for fishing in the Great Lakes, accounting

for overharvesting of many fish

Actually, their rights to fish were guaranteed in the

many treaties signed with the U.S. government during

the 1800s

Non-native commercial fishing operations have

repeatedly been shown to have the greatest impact

on fish populations

Contemporary environmental issues

Hunting & gathering on ceded lands

Many Natives fined and/or had equipment confiscated

for hunting without a state-issued license (which is not

required according to treaties)

Many non-Natives do not recognize the many sacred

materials in the area’s forests gathered by Native

peoples

Contemporary environmental issues

Mining on ceded lands

Access to sacred sites, hunting/fishing/gathering

locations restricted by mining companies

Fish, wild rice threatened from acid mine drainage

In many cases, treaty rights seemingly ignored in

favor of profits from mining operations

Eagle Rock, Michigan: Sulfide mining directly at very

sacred site

Opposition to mining

Natural resource management

Most tribes now have their own natural resource

department to oversee their reservation

GLIFWC: Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife

Commission

Represents eleven tribes in Michigan, Wisconsin, and

Minnesota who retain treaty rights on ceded lands for

hunting, gathering, and fishing

www.glifwc.org

Natural resource management

Also providing education

and outreach

Field activities!

Tour the KBIC

Natural Resources

Facilities

• Fish hatchery

• Indigenous plant

greenhouse

• Meet the staff

(Image: ww.wingsandseeds.org)

Field activities!

Explore the Ojibwa

Recreation Area

• Forests

• Wetlands

• Keweenaw Bay

• Ecological restoration

project

• Sacred Powwow grounds

(Image: www.coppercountry.com