The period between 1855 and 1870 represents a pivotal chapter in the history of the Ottawa Indians, specifically those belonging to the Grand River Bands in Michigan. This era, defined by the implementation of the 1855 Treaty of Detroit, was intended to establish permanent reservations for the Ottawa, safeguarding them from the relentless pressures of westward expansion and the erosion of their traditional way of life. However, the path toward achieving these goals was fraught with challenges, marked by governmental inconsistencies, external exploitation, and the inherent complexities of cultural assimilation. Understanding this period requires delving into the circumstances leading up to the treaty, the treaty’s provisions, and the subsequent events that shaped the Ottawa experience on these newly designated reservations.
The Seeds of Change: Treaties and Tensions
The groundwork for the 1855-1870 reservation era was laid by earlier treaties, notably the 1821 Treaty of Chicago and the 1836 Treaty of Washington. These agreements, while seemingly establishing certain rights and protections for the Ottawa, ultimately proved to be sources of increasing hardship. The underlying intent of the U.S. government, particularly within the Senate, was to encourage the Ottawa to relocate to Kansas, effectively opening up valuable land in Michigan for settlement. This agenda manifested in policies that subtly undermined the Ottawa’s right to remain on their ancestral lands, creating an environment of constant uncertainty and the looming threat of removal.
Throughout the 1840s and early 1850s, the Ottawa people, especially those from the Manistee and Grand River areas, maintained a seasonal presence on their 1836 reservation lands. They relied on these lands for sustenance, practicing traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering. However, this connection to their heritage was increasingly threatened as these reservation lands were systematically sold off to lumber companies, land speculators, and incoming settlers. The Ottawa witnessed the gradual erosion of their land base, fueling a sense of displacement and vulnerability.
A Shift in Policy: The 1855 Treaty of Detroit
The election of President Franklin Pierce and the subsequent appointment of George Mannypenny as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, along with Henry Gilbert as Superintendent for Indian Affairs in Michigan, marked a shift in U.S. Indian policy. Commissioner Mannypenny advocated for the establishment of protected reservations, believing that these designated areas would shield Native populations from the detrimental influences of non-Indians, such as the introduction of liquor, dishonest traders, and land speculators. This policy, rooted in a paternalistic view, also aimed to facilitate the "civilization" and assimilation of Native Americans by exposing them to "American" customs and practices.
Superintendent Henry Gilbert recognized the impracticality of relocating the Ottawa to Kansas, acknowledging their deep-rooted connection to their ancestral homeland. He proposed the creation of reservations that would allow the Ottawa to "be withdrawn to a great extent from the bad influences to which they are now exposed, and brought together in situations where educational enterprise and missionary labor" could more effectively assimilate them. Gilbert further recommended that the reservation lands be held in trust by the government, protecting tribal members from being defrauded and ensuring the long-term preservation of Indian ownership.
Commissioner Mannypenny embraced Gilbert’s recommendations, initiating preparations for a new treaty with the Ottawa and Chippewa between 1853 and 1855. The U.S. government’s objectives in these negotiations were threefold: to consolidate the various Ottawa and Chippewa bands onto a limited number of reservations, settle outstanding financial obligations (annuity payments) stemming from previous treaties, and provide resources intended to accelerate the "civilization" and adoption of American customs.
However, the primary goal of the Ottawa leaders was to secure permanent homelands in Michigan, ending the perpetual threat of removal. This desire was powerfully articulated in a petition signed by numerous leaders, expressing their profound attachment to the land where their ancestors were buried and their desire to rest alongside them. The Ottawa and Chippewa leaders entered into treaty negotiations in Detroit between July 25 and July 31, 1855, determined to secure their future in their ancestral territories.
The treaty negotiations were meticulously documented in a journal maintained by Richard Smith, who later became a key figure in efforts to protect the reservations established by the 1855 Treaty. The journal confirms that Ottawa leaders prioritized the establishment of permanent reservations, expecting the U.S. government to protect these lands by holding them in trust and shielding them from taxation. In essence, they sought lands held by "strong title," locations that safeguarded their existing villages, traditional gardens, and access to the natural resources that sustained them both physically and culturally.
In contrast, Commissioner Mannypenny and Agent Gilbert aimed to consolidate the various bands onto a smaller number of reservations, potentially requiring the Grand River Ottawa to relocate from their established villages along the Grand, Thornapple, and other rivers to newly selected reservation lands. Mannypenny also sought to promote the "civilization" of the Ottawa by dividing the reservations into family farms, a process known as "allotment." This concept of transforming Native Americans into "family farmers" was a recurring strategy employed with numerous tribes.
While most Native Americans desired secure homelands to continue their traditional way of life, including access to hunting, fishing, and gathering areas, the 1855 Treaty marked one of the first instances of the allotment process being implemented. The basic premise was that heads of households or single adults would receive 40 or 80 acres of land, with the federal government providing farm implements, oxen, and blacksmiths to encourage agricultural endeavors. The assumption was that this would accelerate the adoption of "civilized" habits, instill "the value of private property," reduce dependence on communal tribal lands, and curtail the seasonal "wanderings" associated with traditional subsistence activities.
The Ottawa negotiators, while not objecting to Mannypenny’s plan to create farms on their new reservations, insisted on holding the land by a "strong title." They requested 160-acre allotments for every man, woman, and child, ensuring that reservation lands would be available for future generations. They also sought assurances that the U.S. government would continue to administer funds held in trust for the bands and that their lands would be protected from state taxation. Commissioner Mannypenny addressed most of these concerns, assuring them that the U.S. intended to create "permanent homes" for the Ottawa and that "a restriction upon the individuals power of alienation" would ensure that "the land will [not] be pulled from under" the Ottawa tribal members. Mannypenny also addressed the issue of taxation, stating that he was "disposed to manage it for your benefit."
Securing the Land: Location and Ratification
After decades of uncertainty and the persistent threat of removal, the Ottawa leaders embraced the prospect of secure homelands within the new reservation lands of Michigan. Recognizing that their traditional riverside homes were no longer secure, they agreed to Commissioner Mannypenny’s reservation plan. Once the details regarding annuities and services were finalized, they signed the new treaty on July 31, 1855.
The final ratification of the 1855 Treaty for the Grand River Ottawa was delayed while a suitable area of land, large enough and free from prior claims by non-Indians, was located. Initial plans for a reservation consisting of five contiguous townships in Mecosta County were thwarted by the extensive land holdings of lumber companies. The Ottawa Indians then proposed a reservation of five townships along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Muskegon County, but this request was opposed by the Michigan Indian Agent, who feared that easy access to the shoreline would facilitate the sale of liquor to reservation inhabitants.
Ultimately, in December of 1855, Ottawa leaders identified four contiguous townships in Mason and Oceana Counties, believed to be free of non-Indian claims. An additional township in Muskegon County was also selected. To confirm the land’s availability, both Ottawa leaders and federal officials traveled to the Ionia Land Office. The lands were vacant, and federal officials recorded the Ottawa’s reservation selection in the 1855 Treaty.
The 1855 Treaty was amended to include the final selection of lands reserved for the Grand River Bands: Township 12 North, Range 15 West (Holton Township in Muskegon County), and Townships 15 (Elbridge Township), 16 (Crystal Township), 17 (Eden Township), and 18 (Custer Township) North, Range 16 West. The United States ratified the treaty, including the newly selected reservations, on April 15, 1856. This marked the second treaty in which Ottawa Indians leaders were compelled to accept small areas of land within their traditional territories to remain in their homelands and preserve their way of life. These reservation boundaries, established by the treaty and protected by federal law, should have provided the "permanent homes" and "strong title" promised and demanded during treaty negotiations. However, this promise would prove difficult to realize.
Erosion of Intent: Allotment and Exploitation
Commissioner Mannypenny envisioned the reservations recognized in the 1855 Treaty as clearly defined, protected from non-Indian intrusion, and permanent. He emphasized that Michigan residents must understand the U.S. government’s unwavering policy of protecting the tribes and ensuring their undisturbed residence within the limits of their reservations. Unfortunately, the government officials charged with implementing this policy often undermined the treaty’s goal of creating a permanent reservation for the Grand River Ottawa. Even before the 1855 Treaty was amended and ratified in April 1856, non-Indian lumbermen and land speculators began encroaching upon Ottawa reservation lands.
Despite requests that the reservation land be withdrawn from the market, the Ionia Land Office swiftly sold 3,059 acres of reservation land between December 1855 and April 15, 1856, the very date the 1855 Treaty was ratified.
The 1855 Treaty outlined a carefully structured five-year timetable and process for Ottawa members to select their 40 or 80-acre allotments within their reservations. Following the allotment selections, the treaty allowed them to purchase any additional land within their reservation boundaries before any surplus lands were made available to non-Indians. Mannypenny anticipated that Grand River Band members’ selections and purchases would encompass all the lands within the reservations. He had even rejected Ottawa Indians requests for 160-acre allotments because he believed there would be insufficient land within the reservation boundaries to accommodate allotments of that size for all Grand River Ottawa.
However, the timelines established in the 1855 Treaty for completing this process proved to be far too short. Government agents tasked with preparing the lists of lands selected by the Grand River Ottawa were unable to complete the allotment selection process within the specified time. Numerous delays occurred, each encouraging squatters to move onto the reservation, believing that their elected officials would eventually grant them title to the Ottawa reservation lands. Lumbermen also exploited these delays, illegally entering the reservation, claiming ownership of Ottawa land, and cutting timber with or without the permission of federal officials. Federal officials made only feeble attempts to stop this plunder of Ottawa property.
As a result of these continuous delays, the Indian agents were unable to produce an approved selection list of allotments chosen by tribal members within the five-year timeframe originally intended for the entire allotment process. It ultimately took Indian agents fifteen years to complete the process of issuing patents – the "strong title" promised – to Grand River Band members. Had the allotment provisions been carried out as specified in the treaty, first by allotting the land to Grand River Band members, followed by a period in which the Ottawa Indians could acquire the remaining available land within the reservation, the ancestors of today’s tribal members would likely have held "strong title" to almost all the land within their reservation.
Instead, due to fraudulent actions and continuous delays in carrying out the allotment process, non-Indians acquired two-thirds of the Grand River Ottawa’s reservation lands between 1865 and 1880, precisely during the years when the Grand River Ottawa were attempting to make the allotment selections they had been promised by law in the 1855 Treaty. Commissioner Mannypenny clearly intended to protect the reservation lands in Mason, Oceana, and Muskegon Counties for the Grand River Ottawa, including those lands reserved for the branch of the Grand River Bands that now comprise the Little River Band. However, a succession of Michigan Indian agents failed to carry out the allotment process effectively between 1856 and 1870, plagued by poor record keeping, incomplete boundary surveys, and, in some cases, outright neglect by government officials. The failure to uphold the promises of the 1855 Treaty had profound and lasting consequences for the Ottawa people, setting the stage for future struggles to protect their land and cultural heritage.
