The Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma is one of four
federally recognized Native American tribes
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States. ...
of
Odawa people
The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...
in the United States. Its
Algonquian-speaking ancestors had migrated gradually from the Atlantic coast and
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
areas, reaching what are now the states of Michigan and Ohio in the 18th century. In the late 1830s the United States
removed the Ottawa to west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, first to
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, then to
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
in what was
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
. Following the
United States Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, in 1867 they sold their land in Kansas to move again, to purchase land in another section of Indian Territory, in what would become northeast Oklahoma. They were authorized by Congress to buy land from the
Quapaw
The Quapaw ( ; or Arkansas and Ugahxpa) people are a tribe of Native Americans that coalesced in what is known as the Midwest and Ohio Valley of the present-day United States. The Dhegiha Siouan-speaking tribe historically migrated from the Ohi ...
, the predominant tribe in this area.
The other three Ottawa tribes are located in the state of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, part of the traditional Odawa territory. They are the
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians ( oj, Gichi-wiikwedong Odaawaag miina ojibweg) is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in northwest Michigan on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sam McClellan is the current tribal c ...
,
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians ( oj, Gaaching-Ziibi Daawaa Anishinaabe) is a federally recognized Native American tribe of the Odawa people in the United States. It is based in Manistee and Mason counties in northwest Michigan. It was recogn ...
and the
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBBOI, oj, Waganakising Odawa) is a federally recognized Native American tribe of Odawa. A large percentage of the more than 4000 tribal members continue to reside within the tribe's traditio ...
. In addition, there are
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
of Odawa people in
Ontario, Canada
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, including on
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...
, their original homeland.
Government
The headquarters of the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma is
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. Their
tribal jurisdictional area
Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area is a statistical entity identified and delineated by federally recognized American Indian tribes in Oklahoma as part of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 Census and ongoing American Community Survey.
Many of these ...
is in
Ottawa County. In the early 21st century, the tribe has 2,500 enrolled members; some 737 live within the state of Oklahoma.
[ The tribe bases membership qualifications on direct lineal descent;][ that is, they have no minimum ]blood quantum
Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws in the United States that define Native American status by fractions of Native American ancestry. These laws were enacted by the federal government and state governments as a way to establ ...
requirement.[
The current administration is as follows:
* Chief: Ethel Cook
* Second Chief: Kalisha Burtrum
* First Councilman: John Charles Dawes
* Second councilman: Mikal Scott-Werner
* Treasurer: Mary King
Former Chief:
Charles ed CedarA. Todd (1935–2014)
]US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
- Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
Decorated Combat veteran
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that h ...
Council: 1983–2008
Chief: 1999–2008
Todd was a descendant of former Ottawa Chief: Joseph, adger King and Chief Pontiac
Pontiac or Obwaandi'eyaag (c. 1714/20 – April 20, 1769) was an Odawa war chief known for his role in the war named for him, from 1763 to 1766 leading Native Americans in an armed struggle against the British in the Great Lakes region due ...
.
The Ottawa Tribe is working to modernize its Constitution. It was to be voted on at the general council in 2019. The current Business Committee; Ethel Cook, Suzy Crawford, J.C Dawes, Mikal Scott-Werner, Mary King and Charles Ulrey. Previous administration includes, Dr. Kevin Dawes, Dr. Charla Dawes, Burt Kleindon, and John Robert Ballard, who have all been instrumental in helping to update the constitution.
Economic development
The Ottawa Tribe issues its own tribal vehicle tags
Several Native American tribes within the United States register motor vehicles and issue license plates to those vehicles.
The legal status of these plates varies by tribe, with some being recognized by the federal government and others not. Som ...
. They operate two tribal smoke shops, two gas stations, the Otter Stop Convenience Store, and the Adawe Travel Plaza. In addition, they operate the High Winds Casino. In 2021 the tribe opened its first restaurant, the Otter Cove Diner. Their annual economic impact is estimated by the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commissions to be $3 million.
Cultural, language, and programs
The tribe operates a Community Health Program and the Healthy Living Center in Miami, as well as a Department of Environmental Protection.[Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma.](_blank)
Retrieved 1 July 2013. The tribe publishes the ''Adawe News'' for its tribal members. It offers Ottawa language classes.
The Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma's annual powwow
A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...
is held every Labor Day weekend.
History
"Ottawa" or "Odaawaa" comes from the word ', which means "to trade".[Dixon, Rhonda]
"The Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma."
''Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma.'' (16 February 2009). They were known among other tribes as important traders before any European exploration. The French quickly realized how influential they were and used them as middlemen to the tribes to the north and west of them, who supplied them with furs from the 17th well into the 18th century.
The Ottawa are part of the Three Fires Confederacy, together with the Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
and Potawatomi
The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...
. The Oklahoma Ottawa are descended from Ottawa bands that moved south from Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...
and the Bruce Peninsula
The Bruce Peninsula is a peninsula in Ontario, Canada, that divides Georgian Bay of Lake Huron from the lake's main basin. The peninsula extends roughly northwestwards from the rest of Southwestern Ontario, pointing towards Manitoulin Islan ...
, both in Ontario, Canada
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
,[Lovett, John R]
Ottawa.
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of History & Culture.'' (16 Feb 2009). under pressure from the Iroquois and other tribes, and European encroachment. They settled near Fort Detroit
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...
and the Maumee River
The Maumee River (pronounced ) ( sjw, Hotaawathiipi; mia, Taawaawa siipiiwi) is a river running in the United States Midwest from northeastern Indiana into northwestern Ohio and Lake Erie. It is formed at the confluence of the St. Joseph and ...
in Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
.
They were pressured to move again by the United States, after Congressional passage of the Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...
of 1830, which authorized the government to make land exchanges with Native American tribes in order to remove them from east of the Mississippi River and extinguish their land titles there. The Ottawa of the Blanchard's Fork, Roche de Bœuf and Auglaize reserves of Ohio signed a treaty with the US in 1833. The treaty ceded their lands in Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
in exchange for lands in Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, then Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, part of what was known as Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
under the federal government's plan.
The Ottawa did not relocate from Ohio until April 1837. Of the 600 Ottawa who migrated to Kansas, "more than 300 died within the first two years, because of exposure, lack of proper food, and the great difference between the cool, damp woods of Ohio and the dry, hot plains of Kansas."
To survive as a people, the tribe made a remarkable investment in their children's future. Of the the Ottawa controlled in Kansas, they set aside for an upper-level school and sold of land to fund its construction and maintenance. Affiliated with the Baptist Church, which operated missions in Kansas, Ottawa University
Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...
educated both Indians and non-Indians. The university still offers free tuition today to any enrolled member of the Ottawa tribe.
The present-day town of Ottawa, Kansas
Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the c ...
, developed because of the Ottawa Reservation. The Ottawa people remained in Kansas until 1867, after the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Under the leadership of Chief John Wilson, the tribe sold their lands in Kansas and purchased of land in Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
from the Eastern Shawnee
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. They are located in Oklahoma and Missouri.
The tribe holds an annual powwow every September at their tribal complex.
Government
The headquarters of the ...
. More of the tribe died during relocation and only 200 Ottawa arrived in their new lands.
Two decades later, Congress passed the Dawes Act
The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the Pre ...
of 1887, designed to encourage Native American assimilation by having households establish subsistence farming in the European-American model. It dissolved the communal tribal lands and governments, and required communal lands to be divided and allocated in 160-acre plots to individual households of registered members of each tribe in the Indian Territory. The land was so poor in many areas that this amount of farmland proved insufficient even for subsistence farming. In 1891, 157 Ottawa were finally allotted plots of land in Indian Territory; under provisions of the law, the US federal government declared the remainder of their land as surplus and sold it, primarily to non-native buyers. The Dawes Rolls
The Dawes Rolls (or Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, or Dawes Commission of Final Rolls) were created by the United States Dawes Commission. The commission was authorized by United States Congress in 1893 to exec ...
are records for each tribe of their members registered at that time. A number of tribes use the Dawes Rolls as a basis for establishing membership in their tribes at a particular time.
In 1936 the Ottawa tribe in Oklahoma organized their government again under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act
The Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936 (also known as the Thomas-Rogers Act) is a United States federal law that extended the 1934 Wheeler-Howard or Indian Reorganization Act to include those tribes within the boundaries of the state of Oklahoma. ...
and gained federal recognition as a tribe. This entitled them to certain benefits in education, for instance.
But in the 1950s federal policy changed again, and Congress decided it was time to encourage tribes to give up their special status in relation to the federal government. Congress and the Bureau of Indian Affairs determined that some tribes were ready to be terminated; that is, their special status would end and their citizens would be considered simply US citizens. The Ottawa of Oklahoma were one of the tribes whose federally recognized government was terminated in 1956. This deprived them of benefits needed in the harsh environment of Oklahoma, and disrupted their society. The tribe persevered to regain their status; federal recognition was restored under a bill signed by President Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
on May 15, 1978. In 1979 the US Congress recognized the tribal council and ratified the tribal constitution.
In 1980 the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians gained federal recognition. In 1994 two more tribes of Odawa people in Michigan gained federal recognition: the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians ( oj, Gaaching-Ziibi Daawaa Anishinaabe) is a federally recognized Native American tribe of the Odawa people in the United States. It is based in Manistee and Mason counties in northwest Michigan. It was recogn ...
and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBBOI, oj, Waganakising Odawa) is a federally recognized Native American tribe of Odawa. A large percentage of the more than 4000 tribal members continue to reside within the tribe's traditio ...
. There are also status bands of First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
of Odawa peoples on Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...
and in other areas of Ontario, Canada
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
.
The Ottawa Tribe serves free lunches for elders in the town of Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
.
Notes
External links
The Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma
Ottawa Powwow and Celebration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottawa Tribe Of Oklahoma
Native American tribes in Oklahoma
Federally recognized tribes in the United States