The Ottawas

The presence and influence of Native Americans in the Great Lakes region is worthy of a site all its own. The same could be said of many of the individual tribes. The purpose of this site is to present a history of Detroit from the time of European settlement, I would be remiss to not include information on Native Americans, but I feel I must stress that the quantity of information here in no way reflects the presence or contributions of these indigenous peoples. As with all areas in this site, if you feel something needs to be added to corrected, please contact me.

The name Potawatomi means "the people of the place of fire". Before Europeans came to North American, the Potawatomi, Ojibway and Ottawa were one great nation living on the northeastern coast of what is now the United States of America. Some ethnographers believe that the nation originated in the far northwest of the US. By the time the French had arrived in the Great Lakes area, the nation had migrated toward Lake Huron. Around this time, the nation split into 3 distinct tribes: Potawatomi, Ottawa and Ojibway. The tribes referred to themselves as members of "the three fires", but beyond that, had little association with one another.

Ottawa

The Ottawa grew some crops and hunted a little, but largely existed on a trade economy.

According to Jesuit records of 1667, reported the Ottawas living on the Ottawa River. Another Jesuit missionary, Claude Allouez, reported that the Ottawa were "little disposed toward the faith."

In 1703, Cadillac invited the Ottawa to settle near Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit. In City of Detroit, Burton says that the Ottawas accepted the invitation and moved to Sandwich Point across the river from Detroit. Other sources indicate that the Ottawa village was on the Detroit side of the river near the foot of Belle Isle. Due to Ottawa involvements at Fort Ponchartrain, and the later establishment of a Huron mission at Sandwich Point, it is likely that Burton's information is faulty.

The most infamous of the Ottawa people was Chief Pontiac, who helped defend Fort Ponchartrain against Chief Mackinc and the Chippewa, and later brutally attacked Detroit when it fell to British power.

Like most tribes, the Ottawa were given various parcels of land only to have them taken away. Upon the signing of the Chicago Treaty on September 26, 1833, the Ottawas were moved to a reservation near Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.