The period spanning the 1820s and 1830s was a crucible for Ottawa communities, a time marked by profound shifts in their economic, political, and social landscapes. This era witnessed the culmination of pressures that had been building for decades, forcing the Ottawa to navigate treacherous waters of resource depletion, encroaching settlement, and the ever-present threat of removal from their ancestral lands. The story of the Ottawa Indians during this period is one of resilience, strategic negotiation, and the enduring struggle to maintain their cultural identity in the face of overwhelming odds.
Economic Pressures and the American Fur Company
The once-abundant fur trade, a cornerstone of the Ottawa economy, was in steep decline. Decades of intensive hunting practices had decimated populations of key animal species, leaving Ottawa hunters and trappers with dwindling returns. This decline had a direct impact on the Ottawa’s economic well-being and their ability to acquire essential goods. Compounding the issue was the dominance of the American Fur Company (AFC).
The AFC, a powerful economic and political force in the Michigan Territory, held significant sway over the fur trade. The company bought furs from Ottawa hunters, and in turn, extended credit for supplies and goods. However, the AFC itself began to experience financial difficulties, leading company owners and operatives to aggressively pressure Ottawa leaders to cede their lands to settle outstanding debts. This put the Ottawa in a precarious position, facing the loss of their land as a consequence of economic hardship within a system they did not control.
The Influx of Settlers and the Push for Statehood
Simultaneously, the Michigan Territory was experiencing a surge in population as settlers streamed in from the East, drawn by the promise of land and opportunity. This influx of settlers created an insatiable demand for land, further intensifying the pressure on the Ottawa. The rapid population growth pushed the Michigan Territory towards statehood. Territorial leaders, eager to establish a new state free from Indian land claims, actively sought the cession of Ottawa territories.
Land speculators, driven by profit motives, joined the chorus urging the Ottawa and other tribal communities to sell their lands. They worked in concert with territorial officials, missionaries, and federal agents, all promoting the idea of land sales as a necessary step towards lumbering, settlement, and the eventual establishment of Michigan as a state. The convergence of these powerful interests – territorial government, settlers, speculators, and the American Fur Company – created a relentless wave of pressure that ultimately compelled the federal government to pursue land cessions from the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Chippewa bands residing in the Michigan Territory.
Hardship Beyond Politics
The 1820s and 1830s were not only politically challenging but also brought significant hardship to Ottawa communities. The arrival of settlers introduced diseases to which the Ottawa had no immunity, most notably smallpox, which ravaged their villages and decimated populations. The traditional food sources upon which the Ottawa relied – wild plants, animals, and fish – were becoming increasingly scarce, further straining their ability to sustain themselves.
Despite these intense pressures and the formidable obstacles they faced, Ottawa leaders remained steadfast in their commitment to protecting their people’s homeland. Their strategy focused on reserving specific tracts of land for their continued use and preserving access to vital natural resources, ensuring the survival of their communities.
The 1821 Treaty of Chicago: A Controversial Agreement
The desire to acquire Ottawa lands was evident as early as 1820 when Territorial Governor Lewis Cass advocated for the complete cession of all Ottawa territory within present-day Michigan. Federal officials initiated negotiations with Potawatomi and Grand River Ottawa leaders in Chicago, seeking a treaty to cede lands south of the Grand River. However, the majority of the Ottawa refused to participate in these negotiations, recognizing the potential consequences of such an agreement.
Only one Ottawa leader, Kewaycooshkum, and a small group of followers attended the treaty talks. Critically, Kewaycooshkum lacked the authority from the wider Ottawa community to cede any of their territory. Despite this, the 1821 Treaty of Chicago was signed, with Kewaycooshkum as the sole Ottawa signatory, ceding all of the Grand River Bands’ territory south of the Grand River.
The legitimacy of the treaty was immediately challenged by other Grand River Ottawa leaders, who refused to recognize it as a valid agreement. However, their position was consistently rejected by federal officials, who were eager to proceed with the implementation of the treaty. Kewaycooshkum’s actions were met with extreme disapproval by his own people, leading to his assassination as a warning to any future chiefs who might be tempted to act against the interests of the community.
Following the ratification of the 1821 Treaty of Chicago, federal and state officials wasted no time in surveying and selling the ceded lands to non-Indians. Settlers rapidly occupied the territory, sometimes even seizing Ottawa homes and gardens, further displacing the Ottawa Indians and disrupting their traditional way of life.
The Shadow of Removal: The 1836 Treaty of Washington
By 1834, the pressure on the Ottawa to sell more land had reached a fever pitch. Grand River Ottawa leaders convened a solemn council with Little Traverse Ottawas to discuss the agonizing question of whether to sell their remaining Michigan lands. The threat of forced removal to lands west of the Mississippi River loomed large, fueled by increasing calls from Michigan settlers for the federal government to relocate the Ottawa.
The fear of removal was not unfounded. President Andrew Jackson had already implemented a policy of forced removal against tribes in the southeastern United States, resulting in the infamous "Trail of Tears," where thousands of Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw people were forcibly marched to Oklahoma Territory.
Despite this ominous precedent, Ottawa leaders remained resolute in their refusal to abandon their traditional Michigan lands. Leaders from the Grand River Ottawa, including ancestors of the present-day Little River Ottawa, firmly declared their intention not to sell any more land to the United States, sending a powerful petition to President Andrew Jackson stating their refusal to sell "the graves of their fathers."
However, former Michigan Territorial Governor Lewis Cass, now the Secretary of War, and Michigan Indian Agent Henry Schoolcraft refused to accept the Ottawa leaders’ position. They orchestrated a plan to bring Ottawa leaders to Washington, D.C., to negotiate a new treaty, believing that the pressure and isolation of the capital would make them more amenable to ceding land. This strategy proved effective.
Faced with the imminent threat of removal and the potential loss of support for their families and communities, the Chiefs and Headmen of the various Ottawa communities reluctantly negotiated the best deal they could under the circumstances. Only after relentless pressure from federal negotiators and self-serving advice from American Fur Company representatives did Ottawa and Chippewa Chiefs agree to sell most of their Michigan lands to the United States. In exchange, they retained a portion of their traditional territories as land Reservations.
Crucially, Article 13 of the 1836 Treaty reserved the right for the Ottawa and Chippewa to continue using the lands they had sold for "hunting and the other usual privileges of occupancy" until those lands were "required for settlement." This reservation of rights – the treaty right to hunt, fish, trap, and gather on the ceded lands – remains a vital legal and cultural issue today, currently being defended by Tribal leaders and attorneys in a lawsuit against the State of Michigan.
Ottawa leaders believed they had secured the best possible outcome, one that would allow their people to remain on a portion of their ancestral lands. However, upon returning to their villages, they discovered that the United States Senate had amended the 1836 Treaty to limit their right to remain on their Reservations to only five years, unless the United States granted them permission to stay longer.
This amendment was met with strong opposition from Ottawa leaders. Only after Agent Schoolcraft assured them that relocation west of the Mississippi was voluntary and that the hunting and fishing rights guaranteed in Article 13 would remain intact did they reluctantly agree to the Senate’s changes.
Uncertainty on the Manistee Reservation
The United States expected Grand River Ottawas from Pere Marquette, Muskegon, and other southern river communities to relocate to the 70,000-acre Manistee Reservation, despite the lack of a guarantee that they could remain there for more than five years. The federal government sent surveyors to mark the boundaries of the Reservation and constructed blacksmith shops and other infrastructure to assist the Grand River Ottawa families expected to move there.
However, the uncertain future of the Manistee Reservation and the lack of security for the people’s right to remain there deterred many Grand River Ottawa from leaving their homelands and traditional gardens to move north to what they perceived as "temporary homes" on the Manistee Reservation. During this time, land speculators and lumber companies continued to lobby federal officials to remove the Ottawa Indians entirely from the State of Michigan.
The Senate’s amendment to the 1836 Treaty effectively made the Ottawa people "tenants" on their own homelands, able to live on their lands only at the discretion of the United States government. Efforts to survey the boundaries of the Manistee Reservation were primarily motivated by the desire to prevent lumber companies and other trespassers from illegally harvesting timber from the Reservation before it could be properly surveyed and sold.
Recognizing the fragile nature of their tenure on the Manistee Reservation, many Grand River Ottawa people began to purchase land near their traditional summer village homes near Muskegon, Grand Haven, and Grand Rapids. They did so while state and federal officials continued to threaten removal to the west. While Ottawa leaders continued to lobby federal officials to end the threat of removal, lumber companies lobbied for access to the timber resources on the remaining Ottawa-controlled lands.
In 1848, after meeting with a Michigan Congressman with close ties to lumber interests, President James Polk signed an executive order opening the Manistee Reservation for sale. Most of the lands in the Manistee Reservation were quickly purchased by lumber companies or individuals acting on their behalf. The opening of the Manistee Reservation lands left the Grand River Ottawa even more vulnerable and the history of the Ottawa Indians even more complex.
Despite the United States acknowledging that they had permitted the Ottawa to remain on their Reservations beyond the initial five-year period, the threat of removal remained constant. Consequently, Grand River Ottawa leaders, along with other Ottawa/Chippewa leaders, continued to press the federal government to negotiate a new treaty that would guarantee them permanent Reservations and permanent homes in their traditional territories in Michigan, a struggle that continues in various forms to this day.
