History Ojibwe

five ojibwe chiefs in 19th century.

the first historical mention of ojibwe occurs in french jesuit relation of 1640, report missionary priests superiors in france. through friendship french traders (coureurs des bois , voyageurs), ojibwe gained guns, began use european goods, , began dominate traditional enemies, lakota , fox west , south. drove sioux upper mississippi region area of present-day dakotas, , forced fox down northern wisconsin. latter allied sauk protection.

by end of 18th century, ojibwe controlled of present-day michigan, northern wisconsin, , minnesota, including of red river area. controlled entire northern shores of lakes huron , superior on canadian side , extending westward turtle mountains of north dakota. in latter area, french canadians called them ojibwe or saulteaux.

an ojibwe named boy chief, noted american painter george catlin, made portraits @ fort snelling in 1835. in 1845 traveled paris eleven ojibwe, had portraits painted , danced king louis philippe.

the ojibwe (chippewa) part of long-term alliance anishinaabe ottawa , potawatomi peoples, called council of 3 fires. fought against iroquois confederacy, based southeast of great lakes in present-day new york, , sioux west. ojibwe expanded eastward, taking on lands along eastern shores of lake huron , georgian bay.

often, treaties known peace , friendship treaties made establish community bonds between ojibwe , european settlers. these established groundwork cooperative resource-sharing between ojibwe , settlers. united states , canada viewed later treaties offering land cessions offering territorial advantages. ojibwe did not understand land cession terms in same way because of cultural differences in understanding uses of land. governments of , canada considered land commodity of value freely bought, owned , sold.

the ojibwe believed shared resource, along air, water , sunlight—despite having understanding of territory . @ time of treaty councils, not conceive of separate land sales or exclusive ownership of land. consequently, today, in both canada , us, legal arguments in treaty-rights , treaty interpretations bring light differences in cultural understanding of treaty terms come legal understanding of treaty obligations.

in part due long trading alliance, ojibwe allied french against great britain , colonists in 7 years war (also called french , indian war). after losing war in 1763, france forced cede colonial claims lands in canada , east of mississippi river britain. after pontiac s war , adjusting british colonial rule, ojibwe allied british forces , against united states in war of 1812. had hoped british victory protect them against united states settlers encroachment on territory.

following war, united states government tried forcibly remove ojibwe minnesota, west of mississippi river. ojibwe resisted, , there violent confrontations. in sandy lake tragedy, several hundred ojibwe died because of federal government s failure deliver fall annuity payments. through efforts of chief buffalo , rise of popular opinion in against ojibwe removal, bands east of mississippi allowed return reservations on ceded territory. few families removed kansas part of potawatomi removal.

plains ojibwe chief sha-có-pay (the six). in addition northern , eastern woodlands, ojibwe people lived on prairies of manitoba, saskatchewan, alberta, north dakota, western minnesota , montana.

in british north america, royal proclamation of 1763 following 7 years war governed cession of land treaty or purchase . subsequently, france ceded of land in upper canada great britain. jay treaty signed between great britain , united states following american revolutionary war, newly formed united states did not uphold treaty. still preoccupied war france, great britain ceded united states of lands in ohio, indiana, michigan, parts of illinois , wisconsin, , northern minnesota , north dakota settle boundary of holdings in canada.

in 1807, ojibwe joined 3 other tribes, odawa, potawatomi , wyandot people, in signing treaty of detroit. agreement, between tribes , william hull, representing michigan territory, gave united states portion of today s southeastern michigan , section of ohio near maumee river. tribes able retain small pockets of land in territory.

in canada, many of land cession treaties british made ojibwe provided rights continued hunting, fishing , gathering of natural resources after land sales. government signed numbered treaties in northwestern ontario, manitoba, saskatchewan, , alberta. british columbia had no signed treaties until late 20th century, , areas have no treaties yet. government , first nations continuing negotiate treaty land entitlements , settlements. treaties being reinterpreted courts because many of them vague , difficult apply in modern times. numbered treaties of detailed treaties signed time. ojibwe nation set agenda , negotiated first numbered treaties before allow safe passage of many more british settlers prairies.

during indian removal of 1830s, government attempted relocate tribes east west of mississippi river white pioneers increasingly migrated west. late 19th century, government policy move tribes onto reservations within territories. government attempted anishinaabe in keweenaw peninsula in upper peninsula of michigan.