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The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the
Eastern Woodlands The Eastern Woodlands is a cultural area of the indigenous people of North America. The Eastern Woodlands extended roughly from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Great Plains, and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, which is now p ...
region, commonly known as the northeastern
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and southeastern
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. They have long had territory that crosses the current border between the two countries, and they are federally recognized as Native American tribes in the United States and have numerous recognized
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 ...
bands in Canada. They are one of the
Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...
g, related to but distinct from 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 peoples. After migrating from the East Coast in ancient times, they settled 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 ...
, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, 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 Island, ...
in the present-day province of
Ontario 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 ...
, Canada. They considered this their original homeland. After the 17th century, they also settled along the Ottawa River, and in the present-day states of
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and Wisconsin, as well as through the Midwest south of the Great Lakes in what became the United States. In the 21st century, there are approximately 15,000 Odawa living in Ontario, and Michigan and Oklahoma (former
Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
, United States). The Ottawa dialect is part of the
Algonquian language family The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically simi ...
. This large family has numerous smaller tribal groups or "bands," commonly called a "Tribe" in the United States and "First Nation" in Canada. Their language is considered a divergent dialect of
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 ...
, characterized by frequent syncope."Odawa", ''Canadian Oxford Dictionary''


Tribe name

''Odawaa'' (syncoped as ''Daawaa'', is believed to be derived from the Anishinaabe word ''adaawe'', meaning "to trade," or "to buy and sell"); this term is common to the Cree,
Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...
, Nipissing, Innu, Odawa, and Ojibwe. The Potawatomi spelling of ''Odawa'' and the English derivative "Ottawa" are also common. The
Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...
word for "Those men who trade, or buy and sell" is ''Wadaawewinini(wag).'' Fr.
Frederic Baraga Irenaeus Frederic Baraga (June 29, 1797 – January 19, 1868; sl, Irenej Friderik Baraga) was a Slovenian Roman Catholic missionary to the United States and a grammarian by and author of Christian poetry and hymns in Native American langua ...
, a Catholic missionary in Michigan, transliterated this and recorded it in his '' A Dictionary of the Otchipwe Language'' as ''"Watawawininiwok,"'' noting that it meant "men of the bulrushes", associated with the many bulrushes in the Ottawa River. But, this recorded meaning is more appropriately associated with the ''Matàwackariniwak,'' a historical
Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...
band who lived along the Ottawa River. The only American tribe that is Odawa are the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, the rest are considered Ottawa. Their neighbors applied the "Trader" name to the Odawa because in early traditional times, and also during the early European contact period, they were noted as intertribal traders and barterers. The Odawa were described as having dealt "chiefly in cornmeal, sunflower oil,
fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
s and
skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...
s,
rugs Rug or RUG may refer to: * Rug, or carpet, a textile floor covering * Rug, slang for a toupée * Ghent University (''Rijksunversiteit Gent'', or RUG) * Really Useful Group, or RUG, a company set up by Andrew Lloyd Webber * Rugby railway station, N ...
and mats,
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
, and medicinal roots and herbs."Burton, Clarence M. (ed.) (1922). ''The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701–1922'', p. 49. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. The Odawa name in its English transcription is the source of the place names of Ottawa,
Ontario 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 ...
, and the Ottawa River. The Odawa home territory at the time of early European contact, but not their trading zone, was well to the west of the city and river named after them. Ottawa, Ohio, is the county seat of Putnam County, developed at the site of the last Ottawa reservation in Ohio.


Language

The Odawa dialect is considered one of several divergent dialects of the
Ojibwe language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian lan ...
group, noted for its frequent syncope. In the Odawa language, the general language group is known as ''Nishnabemwin'', while the Odawa language is called ''Daawaamwin''. Of the estimated 5,000 ethnic Odawa and additional 10,000 people with some Odawa ancestry, in the early 21st century an estimated 500 people in
Ontario 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 ...
and
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
speak this language. The Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma has three fluent speakers.


Early history


Oral histories and early recorded histories

According to Anishinaabeg tradition, and from recordings in Wiigwaasabak (birch bark scrolls), the Odawa people came from the eastern areas of North America, or Turtle Island, and from a region called Dawnland along the East Coast (where there are numerous Algonquian-language peoples). Directed by the ''miigis'' (luminescent) beings, the Anishinaabe peoples moved inland along the
Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
. At the "Third Stopping Place" near what is now
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, Michigan, the southern group of Anishinaabeg divided into three groups, the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi. There is archaeological evidence that the Saugeen complex people, a Hopewell-influenced group who were located on 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 Island, ...
during the Middle Woodland period, may have evolved into the Odawa people. The Hopewell tradition was a widely extended trading network operating from about 200BCE to 500 CE. Some of these peoples constructed earthwork
mounds A mound is an artificial heap or pile, especially of earth, rocks, or sand. Mound and Mounds may also refer to: Places * Mound, Louisiana, United States * Mound, Minnesota, United States * Mound, Texas, United States * Mound, West Virginia * ...
for burials, a practice that ended about 250 CE. The Saugeen mounds have not been excavated. The Odawa, together with the Ojibwe and Potawatomi, were part of a long-term tribal alliance called the
Council of Three Fires The Council of Three Fires (in oj, label=Anishinaabe, Niswi-mishkodewinan, also known as the People of the Three Fires; the Three Fires Confederacy; or the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians) is a long-standing Anishina ...
, which fought the Iroquois Confederacy and the Dakota people. In 1615 French explorer Samuel de Champlain met 300 men of a nation which, he said, "we call ''les cheueux releuez''" (modern French: ''cheveux relevés'' (hair lifted, raised, rolled up)) near the French River mouth. Of these, he said: "Their arms consisted only of a bow and arrows, a buckler of boiled leather and the club. They wore no breech clouts, their bodies were tattooed in many fashions and designs, their faces painted and their noses pierced." In 1616, Champlain left the Huron villages and visited the "Cheueux releuez," who lived westward from the lands of the Huron Confederacy.Frederick Webb Hodge, "Ottawa"
''Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico,'' Vol. N-Z, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1910, pp. 167–172
The ''
Jesuit Relations ''The Jesuit Relations'', also known as ''Relations des Jésuites de la Nouvelle-France'', are chronicles of the Jesuit missions in New France. The works were written annually and printed beginning in 1632 and ending in 1673. Originally written ...
'' of 1667 report three tribes living in the same town: the Odawa, the Kiskakon Odawa, and the Sinago Odawa. All three tribes spoke the same language.


Fur trade

Due to the extensive trade network maintained by the Odawa, many of the North American interior nations became known by the names their trading partners used for them, rather than by the nations’ own names (endonyms). For example, these exonyms include ''Winnebago'' (from ''Wiinibiigoo'') for the Ho-Chunk, and Sioux (from ''Naadawensiw'') for the Dakota. From the start of the colony of
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
, the Odawa became so important to the French and
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
s in fur trade that before 1670, colonists in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
(then called
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
) usually referred to any Algonquian speaker from the Great Lakes region as an Odawa. In their own language, the Odawa (like the Ojibwe) identified as
Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...
(''Neshnabek'') meaning "people." The mostly highly prized fur was beaver. Other furs traded included deer, marten, raccoon, fox, otter, and muskrat. In exchange the Odawa received "hatchets, knives, kettles, traps, needles, fish hooks, cloth and blankets, jewelry and decorative items, and later firearms and alcohol." Up to the time of Nicolas Perrot, the Odawa had a monopoly on all fur trade that came through Green Bay, Wisconsin, or Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. They allegedly did "their best to exploit" the tribes in those areas "who did not use the canoe, by bartering with them bits of iron and steel and worn-out European articles for extravagant quantities of furs." For example, "the Crees gave the Ottawas 'all their beaver robes for old knives, blunted awls, wretched nets and kettles used until they were past service.'"


Wars and refugees

The Odawa had disputes and warfare with other tribes, particularly over the lucrative fur trade. For example, the tribe once waged war against the Mascouten. In the mid-17th century the Odawa allied with other Algonquian tribes around the Great Lakes against the powerful Mohawk (of present-day New York) and their Iroquois allies in the Beaver Wars. The traditional balance of power in the region had been destroyed by the European introduction of guns and other weapons, changing economic risks and rewards. All indigenous peoples on both sides were disrupted or decimated; some groups, such as the Iroquoian
Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
, were exterminated as tribes. By the mid-17th century, the tribes were more severely affected by disease than warfare. Lacking acquired immunity to the new European infectious diseases, they suffered epidemics with high fatalities. In 1701 the French colonists built
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 established a trading post. Many Odawa moved there from their traditional homeland of Manitoulin Island near the Bruce Peninsula, and Wyandot (Huron) also moved near the post. Some Odawa had already settled across northern Michigan in the Lower Peninsula, and more bands established villages around and south of Detroit. Their area extended into present-day Ohio. With movements of the tribes in relation to warfare and colonial encroachment, the tribes settled in roughly the following pattern: "Sandwiched between the French, in the north and west, and the English, in the south and east, the
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
settled in present-day Indiana and western Ohio; the Ottawa settled in Northwest Ohio along the Maumee, the Auglaize, and the Blanchard rivers; the Wyandot settled in Central Ohio; the
Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
in Southwest Ohio; and the
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
(Lenape) in Southeast and Eastern Ohio."Helen Hornbeck Tanner, ed., ''Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History'' (University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1986) pp. 3, 58–59; and R. Douglas Hurt, ''The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720–1830'' (Indiana University Press: Bloomington, 1998), pp. 8–12. In the mid-18th century, the Odawa allied with their French trading partners against the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
in the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
, known as the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
in the North American colonies. They made raids against Anglo-American colonists. The Odawa chief Pontiac has historically been reported to have been born at the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize rivers, where modern Defiance, Ohio, later developed. In 1763, after the British had defeated France, Pontiac led a rebellion against the British, but he was unable to prevent British colonial settlement of the region. A decade later, Chief
Egushawa Egushawa (c. 1726 – March 1796), also spelled Egouch-e-ouay, Agushaway, Agashawa, Gushgushagwa, Negushwa, and many other variants, was a war chief and principal political chief of the Ottawa tribe of North American Indians. His name is loosel ...
(also spelled Agushawa), who had a village at the mouth of the Maumee River on
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
where Toledo later developed, led the Odawa as an ally of the British in the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. He hoped to build on their support to exclude the European-American colonists from his territory in northwest Ohio and southern Michigan.Barnes, Celia (2003). ''Native American Power in the United States, 1783–1795'', p. 203. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. . The defeat of the British by the United States had a far-ranging influence on British-allied Native American tribes, as many were forced to cede their land to the United States. Following the Revolutionary War, in the 1790s, Egushawa, together with numerous members of other regional tribes, including the Wyandot and Council of Three Fires, Shawnee, Lenape, and Mingo, fought the United States in a series of battles and campaigns in what became known as the Northwest Indian War. The Indians hoped to repulse the European-American pioneers coming to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains, but were finally defeated. In a campaign during 1794,
Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...
built a string of forts in the upper Maumee River watershed, including Fort Defiance, across the river from the site of Pontiac's birth. While the British had encouraged this effort, they did not want to get drawn into open conflict again with the United States and withdrew from offering direct support to the Native Americans. Wayne's army defeated several hundred members of the Indian confederacy at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United State ...
, near the future site of Maumee, Ohio and about 11 miles upriver of present-day Toledo.


Raid on Pickawillany

In the winter of 1751–1752, Charles Langlade began assembling a war party of Odawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe warriors who traveled to
Pickawillany "ash people" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_map1 = OHMap-doton-Piqua.png , mapsize1 = 22 ...
. They attacked the village in mid-morning on June 21, 1752, and killed thirteen
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
men and captured five English traders. Down to as few as twenty warriors the Miami tried to negotiate terms of surrender, and Langlade promised to allow the Miami men to return home if they handed over the English. The Miami only sent three of the five Englishmen. When the Englishmen reached Langlade's lines one of his men stabbed one of the Englishmen to death, scalped him and ripped his heart out and ate it in front of the Miami men. Langlade's men then seized the Miami chief Memeskia, and he was killed, boiled and eaten in front of his Miami men. Afterward the Odawa released the Miami women and left for Detroit with four captured Englishmen and more than $300,000 worth (in today's dollars) of trade goods. This victory over the English led to the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
and contributed to the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
.


Treaties and removals

In 1795, under the
Treaty of Greenville The Treaty of Greenville, formally titled Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., was a 1795 treaty between the United States and indigenous nations of the Northwest Territory (now Midwestern United States), including the Wyandot and Delaware peoples ...
, the Odawa and other members of the Western Confederacy ceded all of Ohio except the northwest area. This was part of the area controlled by the Detroit Odawa. In 1807, the Detroit Odawa joined three other tribes, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi and
Wyandot people The Wyandot people, or Wyandotte and Waⁿdát, are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. The Wyandot are Iroquoian Indigenous peoples of North America who emerged as a confederacy of tribes around the north shore of Lake Ontario ...
, in signing the Treaty of Detroit under pressure from the United States. The agreement, between the tribes and
William Hull William Hull (June 24, 1753 – November 29, 1825) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and was appointed as Governor of Michigan Territory (1805–13), gaining large land cessions from several Am ...
, representing the Michigan Territory, gave the United States a large portion of today's
Southeastern Michigan Southeast Michigan, also called southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries as well as slightly over half of the state's population, most of whom are c ...
and a section of northwest
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 ...
near the Maumee River. Many Odawa bands moved into northern Michigan. The tribes retained communal control of relatively small pockets of land in the territory of the Maumee River. Bands of Odawa occupied areas known as Roche de Boeuf, and Wolf Rapids on the upper Maumee River. In 1817, in the first treaty involving land cessions after the War of 1812, the Ohio Odawa ceded their lands, accepting reservations at Blanchard's Creek and the Little Auglaize River (34 square miles total). These were only reserves, for which they were paid annuities for ten years. Pressure continued to build against the Odawa as European-American settlers moved into the area. After passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the US government arranged for the Odawa to cede their reserves in 1831. The four following bands eventually all removed to areas of Kansas: Blanchard's Creek, Little Auglaize, Roche de Boeuf, and Wolf Rapids bands.


Modern history

The population of the different Odawa groups has been estimated. In 1906, the Ojibwe and Odawa on Manitoulin and Cockburn Island were 1,497, of whom about half were Odawa. There were 197 Odawa listed as associated with the Seneca School in Oklahoma, where some Odawa had settled after the American Civil War. In 1900 in Michigan there were 5,587 scattered Ojibwe and Odawa, of whom about two-thirds are Odawa. In the early 21st century, the total number of enrolled members of the federally recognized Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma numbers about 4,700. There are about 10,000 Odawa in the United States, with the majority in Michigan. Another several thousand live in Ontario, Canada. There has been one major anthropological study of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. Jane Willetts Ettawageshik devoted approximately two years of study in the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians community. Jane Willetts Ettawageshik recorded
Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...
stories speak of how the
Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...
people related to their land, to their people, and various other means of communicating their values, outlooks and histories in and around Northern Michigan. These stories have been translated into a book "Ottawa Stories from the Springs, Anishinaabe dibaadjimowinan wodi gaa binjibaamigak wodi mookodjiwong e zhinikaadek" by Howard Webkamigad.  


Known villages

The following are or were Odawa villages:


Former villages not on reserves/reservations

* Aegakotcheising * Agushawas' Village * Anamiewatigong * Apontigoumy * Machonee * Menawzhetaunaung *
Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region ...
* Ogontz's Village * Saint Simon Mission * Shabawywyagun * Wequetong


Former reserves/reservations and their villages

By the end of the eighteenth century, the Ottawa in Ohio were concentrated in the northwest area along the Maumee River (which has its mouth at Lake Erie.) The reservations and reserves below resulted from the Treaty of Greenville (1795), and following ones. These are listed by
Frederick Webb Hodge Frederick Webb Hodge (October 28, 1864 – September 28, 1956) was an American editor, anthropologist, archaeologist, and historian. Born in England, he immigrated at the age of seven with his family to Washington, DC. He was educated at America ...
in his 1910 history of ''American Indians North of Mexico.'' Also see Lee Sultzman, "Ottawa History"Lee Sultzman, "Ottawa History"
website
* Auglaize Reserve, Ohio – Oquanoxa's Village * Blanchard's Fork Reserve, Ohio – Lower Tawa Town, Upper Tawa Town * North Maumee River Reserve, Ohio – Meshkemau's Village, Wassonquet's Village, Waugau's Village * Obidgewong Reserve, Ontario – Obijewong, Ontario (located east of Evansville, Ontario) * Roche de Bœuf Reserve, Ohio – Nawash's Village, Tontaganie's Village * South Maumee River Reserve, Ohio – 34-mile square reserve on the south side of the river. McCarty's Village (''"Tushquegan"'') was the principal one, located near Presque Isle. Ottokee and his band lived at the mouth of the Maumee River; he was a son of Otussa and grandson of chief Pontiac. His group were the last of the Odawa to remove from Ohio to Kansas in 1839.Janet E. Rozick, "Side Cut, Farnsworth, Bend View, and Providence Metroparks", pp. 10–11 (Cited to Tanner, 48 – 51), Larry Angelo, ''The Migration of the Ottawas from 1615 to Present,'' (1997), pp. 3–6 * Wolf Rapids Reserve, Ohio – Kinjoino's Village (''"Anpatonajowin"'' (''Aabitanagaajiwan'')) * Ottawas of Blanchard's Fork Indian Reservation, Kansas – Ottawa * Ottawas of Roche de Bœuf and Wolf Rapids Indian Reservation, Kansas


Current reserves/reservations and associated villages

* Grand Traverse Indian Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, Michigan – Peshawbestown * Little River Indian Reservation, Michigan – Manistee,
Muskegon Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...
* Little Traverse Bay Indian Reservation, Michigan ("Wequetonsing" (''Wiikwedoonsing'')) –
Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...
,
Cross Village Cross Village Township is a civil township of Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 281. Communities * Cross Village is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the town ...
,
L'Arbre Croche L'Arbre Croche, known by the Odawa people as Waganagisi, was a large Odawa settlement in Northern Michigan. The French called it L'Arbre Croche for the large crocked tree that marked the center of the settlement and was visible for many miles. It c ...
("Waganakisi" (''Waaganaakizi'')), Middle Village, Petoskey * M'Chigeeng 22 Indian Reserve, Ontario – M'Chigeeng (formerly known as "West Bay") * Ottawa OTSA, Oklahoma –
Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capital of ...
* Point Grondine Indian Reserve, Ontario – Beaverstone * Sheshegwaning 20 Indian Reserve, Ontario – Sheshegwaning * Walpole Island 46 Indian Reserve, Ontario (''Bakejiwanong'' 'Bkejwanong''Foreplex, Myersville,
Wallaceburg Wallaceburg ( 2016 population 10,098) is an unincorporated community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southern (Southwestern) Ontario, Canada. Originally a small settlement, it was recognized for its significant contribution to the lumber ...
, Walpole Island, Williamsville * Wiikwemkoong Unceded Reserve, Ontario – Buzwah, Kaboni, Maiangowi, Murray Hill, South Bay, Two O'Clock, Wabozominissing, Wikwemikong, Wikwemikonsing * Zhiibaahaasing 19 Indian Reserve, Ontario (formerly known as "Cockburn Island 19 Indian Reserve") * Zhiibaahaasing 19A Indian Reserve, Ontario – Zhiibaahaasing


Governments


Recognized/status Odawa governments

United States: * Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan (formerly ''Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Unit 2'') *
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 recog ...
, Michigan (formerly ''Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Unit 7'') *
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 ...
, Michigan (formerly ''Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Unit 1'') * Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma Canada: * M'Chigeeng First Nation (formerly "West Bay First Nation") *
Sheshegwaning First Nation Sheshegwaning First Nation is an Odawa First Nation on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. Its land base is located on the Sheshegwaning 20 reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana ...
, Ontario *
Walpole Island First Nation Walpole Island is an island and First Nations in Canada, First Nation Indian reserve, reserve in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the border between Ontario and Michigan in the United States. It is located in the mouth of the St. Clair River on ...
, on
unceded territory Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...
of Walpole Island located between
Ontario 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 ...
and
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
*
Wiikwemkoong First Nation The Wiikwemkoong First Nation is a First Nation on Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario. The Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory (nicknamed Wiky, previously named Wikwemikong) is the First Nation reserve in the northeast of Manitoulin Island in Man ...
, located on the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Reserve, Ontario *
Zhiibaahaasing First Nation Zhiibaahaasing First Nation (formerly Cockburn Island First Nation) is a First Nation band government in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a member of the United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin. An Odawa and Ojibwe community located in t ...
, Ontario (formerly "Cockburn Island First Nation")


Other recognized/status governments with significant Odawa populations

Canada: * Aamjiwnaang First Nation (Sarnia), Ontario * Aundeck-Omni-Kaning First Nation (Sucker Creek), Ontario * Chippewas of Kettle & Stony Point, Ontario *
Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation ( oj, Neyaashiinigmiing Anishinaabek) is an Anishinaabek First Nation from the Bruce Peninsula region in Ontario, Canada. Along with the Saugeen First Nation, they form the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. The C ...
, Ontario (formerly "Cape Croker First Nation") * Chippewas of the Thames (Caradoc), Ontario * Garden River First Nation, Ontario * Mattagami First Nation, Ontario * Mississauga First Nation, Ontario * Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, Ontario *
Saugeen First Nation Saugeen First Nation ( oj, Saukiing) is an Ojibway First Nation band located along the Saugeen River and Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. The band states that their legal name is the "Chippewas of Saugeen". Organized in the mid-1970s, Sauge ...
, Ontario * Serpent River First Nation, Ontario * Sheguiandah First Nation, Ontario *
Thessalon First Nation Thessalon First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nation in Algoma District, Ontario. Their reserve is located at Thessalon 12. They are a member of the Anishinabek Nation The Anishinabek Nation, also known as the Union of Ontario Indians, is a First ...
, Ontario *
Wasauksing First Nation Wasauksing First Nation (formerly named as Parry Island First Nation, oj, Waaseyakosing, ''meaning: "Place that shines brightly in the reflection of the sacred light"'') is an Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi First Nation band government whose re ...
(Parry Island), Ontario * Whitefish Lake First Nation, Ontario * Whitefish River First Nation (Birch Island), Ontario United States: * Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan (formerly ''Gun Lake Band of Grand River Ottawa Indians'' and as part of ''Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Units 3 and 4'') * Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation, Michigan


Unrecognized Odawa governments

* Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan (formerly "Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Unit 8", currently recognized by Michigan) * Genesee Valley Indian Association (formerly ''Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Unit 9'') * Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, Michigan (formerly ''Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Unit 3'', currently recognized by Michigan) * Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians, Michigan (formerly "Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Units 11 through 17", currently recognized by Michigan) * Maple River Band of Ottawa, Michigan * Muskegon River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan (formerly "Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Unit 5") * Ottawa Colony Band of Grand River Ottawa Indians, Michigan (currently recognized only as part of the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan) (formerly part of ''Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, Unit 3'')


Notable Odawa people

*
Jean-Baptiste Assiginack Jean-Baptiste Assiginack (1768 - 3 November 1866) was an Odawa leader in the early 19th-century. He was also known as "Blackbird," a literal translation of his name in the Anishinaabe language. Early Life and War of 1812 Assiginack is thought ...
, chief and public servant * Andrew Blackbird (ca. 1814/7–1908), tribal leader, historian, and author of tribal histories *
Kelly Church Kelly Jean Church ( Match-e-benash-she-wish Potawatomi/Odawa/Ojibwe) is a black ash basket maker, Woodlands style painter, birchbark biter, and educator. Background Kelly Church, a fifth-generation basket maker, was born in 1967. She grew up ...
, black ash basket weaver and birch bark biter * Cobmoosa (1768–1866), chief *
Egushawa Egushawa (c. 1726 – March 1796), also spelled Egouch-e-ouay, Agushaway, Agashawa, Gushgushagwa, Negushwa, and many other variants, was a war chief and principal political chief of the Ottawa tribe of North American Indians. His name is loosel ...
(ca. 1726–1796), war chief * Enmegahbowh (ca. 1807–1902), first Native American to be ordained as an Episcopal priest * Magdelaine Laframboise, Odawa-French fur trader and businesswoman, also supported public education for children on Mackinac Island; added in 1984 to Michigan's Women's Hall of Fame * Daphne Odjig (1919-2016), Woodlands style painter and member of the Indian Group of Seven * Petosegay (1787–1885), merchant and fur trader * Pontiac (ca. 1720–1769), chief. Leader of
Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–176 ...
against British and Americans *
Wawatam Wawatam (''little goose'') ( ''fl.'' 1762 – 1764) was an 18th-century Odawa chief who lived in the northern region of present-day Michigan's Lower Peninsula in an area along the Lake Michigan shoreline known by the Odawa as Waganawkezee (''i ...
(fl. 1762 – 1764), chief


References


Further reading

* Cappel, Constance, ''Odawa Language and Legends: Andrew J. Blackbird and Raymond Kiogima,'' Xlibris, 2006. (self-published) * Cappel, Constance, ''The Smallpox Genocide of the Odawa Tribe at
L'Arbre Croche L'Arbre Croche, known by the Odawa people as Waganagisi, was a large Odawa settlement in Northern Michigan. The French called it L'Arbre Croche for the large crocked tree that marked the center of the settlement and was visible for many miles. It c ...
, 1763: The History of a Native American People,'' Edwin Mellen Press, 2007. (described by academic journal as a vanity press) * McClurken, James A. ''Our People, Our Journey: The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians''. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 2009. This work was a 2010 Michigan Notable Book selected by the Library of Michigan. * McDonnell, Michael A. ''Masters of Empire: Great Lakes Indians and the Making of America.'' New York Hill and Wang, 2015. Maps. 416 pp. . * Wolff, Gerald W., and Cash, Joseph H. ''The Ottawa People,''
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
: Indian Tribal Series, 1976.


External links


"Ottawa History"
Shultzman, L. (2000). ''First Nations Histories''.
Frederick Webb Hodge, "Ottawa"
''Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico,'' Vol. N-Z, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1910, pp. 167–172, full text online

The Archaeology of Ontario
Odawa
at The Canadian Encyclopedia


Official tribal websites


Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa IndiansLittle River Band of Ottawa IndiansLittle Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa IndiansOttawa Tribe of Oklahoma
{{authority control Anishinaabe groups Algonquian peoples Great Lakes tribes First Nations in Ontario Native American tribes in Michigan Native American tribes in Oklahoma Algonquian ethnonyms