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Aaniipiish Aayaayang? (Where are we?)

The History of the Anishinabek Nation, begins with the historical Confederacy of Three Fires. The Ojibwa, Odawa and Potowatomi Nations formed the Council of the Three Fires, a confederacy of peoples whose languages and territories were close, and who met together for military and political purposes. The Council of Three Fires had a number of meeting places: one of the most used, and most central, was Michilimackinack.

Originally one people, or a collection of closely related bands, the identities of Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi developed after the Anishinaabeg reached Michilimackinac on their journey westward from the Atlantic coast. Using the Midewiwin scrolls, Potawatomi elder Shup-Shewana dated the formation of the Council of Three Fires to 796 AD at Michilimackinac.

In this Council, the Ojibwe were addressed as the "Older Brother," the Odawa as the "Middle Brother," and the Potawatomi as the "Younger Brother." Consequently, whenever the three Anishinaabe nations are mentioned in this specific and consecutive order of Ojibwa, Odawa, and Potawatomi, it is an indicator implying Council of Three Fires as well. In addition, the Ojibwa are the "keepers of the faith," the Odawa are the "keepers of trade," and the Potawatomi are the designated "keepers/maintainers of/for the fire" (boodawaadam), which became the basis for their name Boodewaadamii (Ojibwe spelling) or Bodéwadmi (Potawatomi spelling).

During the 1600's and 1700's, the Confederacy held the hub of the Great Lakes and maintained relations with the Iroquois Confederacy, The Sauk, Fox, Menominee, Huron, Winnebago, Sioux, British and French Nations, among others. Often these international relations would deteriorate into wards, though most frequently, trade and peaceful co-existence prevailed.

By the mid 1700's, partly with the encouragement of the British, the Council of Three Fires became the core of the Western of Lakes Confederacy. The Hurons, Algonquins, Nipissing, Sauks, Foxes, and others joined the Confederacy, and this powerful body provided the British with important allies in times of war and a balance to the Iroquois Confederacy to the south and east. The Great Treaty of Niagara of 1764 marked the formal beginning of the peaceful relations with Great Britain.

In 1776, the American Revolutionary War divided the continent, and many of the British as well. Most of the people of the Lakes Confederacy sided with the British, to protect their lands from the American settlers and to honor their alliance with the Crown. After that war, Britain invited many people to cross the lakes and settle on Canadian lands, hoping to gain their military support in any future war with the United States. Many people came: others continued to use the lands of their Nations on both sides of the lakes, ignoring the line that the British and Americans had drawn.

The wars between the Indian Nations and the United States did not end with the making of peace between Britain and the U.S. The Ohio Valley and parts of Michigan continued to be a battleground, and in 1812 the British began to fight the Americans again. In 1815, they again made peace with the United States, and left the Indian Nations to fight alone or make peace alone.

The relations between the Indian Nations and the Crown were usually described as "the Covenant Chain." On Treaty belts, this appears as two people holding hands, or holding up opposite ends of a chain. As long as they grasp the silver chain firmly, it binds them together in friendship. The Covenant Chain was renewed regularly, in meetings in which the peoples would "remove the tarnish" of any misunderstandings, and strengthen their alliance and mutual protection.

During the 1700's, the Council of Three Fires had rules of procedure that were as well known and well respected as any that existed in European Parliaments. The Nation that acted as host to the meeting would first perform the ceremony of condolence for the guests, through its speaker.

Each Nation also sat in Council at its own fire within the larger Councils. The Nation's positions were debated internally first, and when agreement was reached, one speaker from the Nation would make this known to the entire Council. The Chiefs could decide to go to war, but once the decision was made, the conduct of the war was handed over to the War Chiefs: once the hatchet of war was buried the "Peace Chiefs" resumed their control again. All matters were discussed fully, often for days: there was always enough time to spend on important questions to make careful decisions, to get as much agreement as possible, and to give them the importance they deserved.

As the American border became more of a reality, Indian Nations on the south side of the lakes began to make treaties separately with the United States and with Britain: both countries tried to clearly separate "American Indians" from "British Indians." Cross-border council meetings were gradually discontinued: people living in the United States were cut off between 1837 and 1840. The Grand Councils continued, though. Each band had people appointed as runners to carry messages between bands. Chiefs traveled to the Councils with delegations and would stay in tents or people's houses. The Government paid less attention to Indian Grand Council decisions as Indians became less powerful as military or economic threats or allies.

Grand Council records for the years 1840 to 1880 are difficult to locate. Traditional structures and procedures changed. Older ceremonies were replaced and modern political systems became common. Each nation has a unique history and relationship with the past and other nations. Here in Michigan we have 12 federally recognized nations and two tribes with state recognition. Once part of the Three Fires Confederacy, these nations have a history of formal negotiations with France, Britain, the US and Canada that stretches back to 1754 when English colonists drafted a unified Indian policy as part of the Albany Plan of Union. In 1787 the Northwest Ordinance was enacted, promising that "the utmost good faith shall always be reserved for the Indians; their lands and properties shall never be taken from them without their consent and in their property rights and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed." However, in 1787, when the US Constitution was adopted, a series of treaties followed which radically altered the lives of the Indians and created the many states that now surround the various native nations.

The Jay Treaty (1794), the Treaty of Detroit (1807), the Treaty of Saginaw (1819), the Treaty of Chicago (1821), a series of treaties with the Potawatomies in 1828, the Indian Removal Bill (1830) and finally, Treaty of Washington with the Ottawas and Chippewas in 1836 all led to the formation of the state of Michigan. Each treaty allowed less and less land base for the traditional pursuits until, finally, in 1837, all remaining land was gone. In 1855, the bands of Saginaw, Swan Creek, and Black River were removed by Treaty to Chippewa Township, Deerfield Township, Isabella Township, Nottawa Township, Union Township, and Wise Township. In 1864, the Saginaw lands were ceded, with all Tribal members offered land in Isabella County. The land was allotted individually to members rather than to the Tribe as a whole. Many tribal members settled in this area, and their descendants continue to live there to this day.

In the 1930s, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe needed to be reorganized under the federal Indian Reorganization Act, becoming the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. Through the years, remaining tribal in nature, the land housed the Mt. Pleasant Indian School for children of tribal ancestry in Michigan. Many of today's tribal members have ancestors who were educated there. Many others were educated at Carlisle Indian School and Haskell Institute. These schools, and others like them, were a primary cause for loss of the Ojibwe language.

Local language revitalization efforts in Three Fires country are broad and have had some success, yet it is fair to say that we still struggle to create proficient bi-lingual speakers who will carry the language to the next generation. One of our greatest problems is that so many of us labor as teachers and learners without recognition or connection to others in the field. Perhaps that will changes as attendance at ceremonies and conferences increases and serves to build a permanent network of language warriors.

Sources

• Anishinaabek, Ca. www.anishinabek.ca/index.php
• Intertribal Council of Michigan http://www.itcmi.org/
• LeBeau, Patrick. Rethinking Michigan Indian History. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, 2005.
• Loew, Patty. Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal. Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Madison, 2001.
• Streuer, Mark. "The Mapping of the Great Lakes in the Seventeenth Century," Voyageur Magazine, The Historical Review of Brown County and Northeast Wisconsin, Spring, 1984
• Warren, William W. History of the Ojibway People. Minnesota Historical Society Press. St. Paul, 1984.