The Sandy Lake Tragedy was the culmination in 1850 of a series of events centered in
Big Sandy Lake
Big Sandy Lake is a lake in Aitkin County, Minnesota, approximately nine miles north of McGregor. The lake is considered fertile walleye ground with several habitat types, including the open main basin, the deep, cold eastern basin, and a shall ...
, Minnesota that resulted in the deaths of several hundred
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
Chippewa. Officials of the
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
Administration and
Minnesota Territory
The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and wester ...
sought to relocate several bands of the tribe to areas 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 ...
. By changing the location for fall
annuity
In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...
payments, the officials intended the Chippewa to stay at the new site for the winter, hoping to lower their resistance to relocation. Due to delayed and inadequate payments of annuities and lack of promised supplies, about 400 Ojibwe, mostly men
[ James A. Clifton, "Wisconsin Death March: Explaining the Extremes in Old Northwest Indian Removal"](_blank)
in ''Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters'', 1987, 5:1-40, accessed 2 March 2010 and 12% of the tribe, died of disease, starvation and cold. The outrage increased Ojibwe resistance to removal. The bands effectively gained widespread public support to achieve permanent
reservations in their traditional territories.
Background
By the 17th century, the Ojibwe nation occupied much of the
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
region, from east to west, in modern-day
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 Ca ...
of Canada, and
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 ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, and
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
of the United States. The bands in Wisconsin, Michigan, and parts of eastern Minnesota who were located east 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 ...
were effectively included under the terms 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 sought to remove Indians and extinguish their land claims in those regions. It was directed particularly against the tribes in the American Southeast. At that time, numerous European Americans had not yet reached these Lake Superior lands for settlement, and there was little political pressure for Ojibwe removal.
By 1850, however, the mid-century wave of increased migration to Wisconsin and Minnesota had altered the political climate. European Americans pressed Congress and the President for relief from competing with the Ojibwe for land and resources. High-ranking officials in President
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
's administration planned an unlawful and unconstitutional removal of the Ojibwe,
[U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals case 19-1757] breaking multiple treaties in the process.
The policy was planned by
Secretary of Interior Thomas Ewing
Thomas Ewing Sr. (December 28, 1789October 26, 1871) was a National Republican and Whig politician from Ohio. He served in the U.S. Senate as well as serving as the secretary of the treasury and the first secretary of the interior. He is als ...
,
Commissioner of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal government of the United States, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...
Orlando Brown,
Minnesota Territory
The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and wester ...
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Alexander Ramsey
Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 April 22, 1903) was an American politician. He served as a Whig and Republican over a variety of offices between the 1840s and the 1880s. He was the first Minnesota Territorial Governor.
Early years and fam ...
and Sub-Agent John Watrous. Although Ewing and Brown left office before the events took place, Ramsey and Watrous were involved throughout.
Tragedy
To force the Ojibwe west of the Mississippi, Brown directed the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to change the site of the fall payment of annual annuities and provision of supplies. The BIA notified the people that rather than this annuity rendezvous being held at
La Pointe, Wisconsin
La Pointe is an unincorporated community in the town of La Pointe, Ashland County, Wisconsin, United States. It is on the western shore of Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands. Downtown La Pointe is adjacent to the Madeline I ...
, the economic and spiritual center of the nation, as was common, it would be moved to a sub-agency at the more isolated trade-hub location of
Sandy Lake. By bringing the Ojibwe to Minnesota in late fall and planning to delay them there, the BIA expected the Native Americans would have to stay there for the winter. The officials hoped to wear down the resistance of the Chippewa (as they were called in the United States) to relocation. They kept the scheme secret from local European Americans as well as the American Indians.
Officials in favor of relocation knew that the Chippewa would then be spending their annuity payments in Minnesota (west of the Mississippi River) rather than in Wisconsin, and thus benefit the local and regional patronage system. Such an outcome would be economically and politically beneficial to the officials who planned the strategy.
Concerned about the issues of the move, many bands of Ojibwe gathered to deliberate their options. The discussions were so lengthy that the Ojibwe had little time to plant their regular spring crops. As a result, they had to go to Sandy Lake to gain payments and supplies for their very survival. In the fall of 1850, representatives from 19 Ojibwe bands packed up and started the arduous journey to the shores of Sandy Lake, where they had been told to gather by late October. Nearly 3,000 Ojibwe men waited there for several weeks before any government agent arrived.
He informed them that the government had been unable to send the annuities and supplies. It was early December before a small portion of the payment and goods finally reached Sandy Lake. Much of the food supplies were spoiled and only a small percentage of the payment arrived. By this time, crowded in inadequate camps, about 150 Ojibwe had already died of
dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
,
measles
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
, starvation, or freezing. They returned to their home territories under peril: aside from being weak from sickness and hunger, the Ojibwe had not expected to have to make such a winter journey. As a result, 200-230 more Ojibwe died before reaching their homes by the following January.
[Wildenthal, Bryan H. (2003). ''Native American Sovereignty on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents'', pp. 172-73. ABC-CLIO. .]
Results
As a result of this tragedy, the
Lake Superior Chippewa
The Lake Superior Chippewa (Anishinaabe: Gichigamiwininiwag) are a large number of Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) bands living around Lake Superior; this territory is considered part of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in the United States. They ...
bands under the leadership of
Chief Buffalo of La Pointe, pressed President
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...
to cancel the removal order. Many of the United States public were outraged about the government's treatment of the Ojibwe and supported the end of removal. Chief Buffalo called on Wisconsin residents to support them in their effort to stay in the territory. Not wanting to live with Indians among them, European Americans encouraged the establishment of
Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
s.
During the three years following the Sandy Lake events, Chief Buffalo negotiated hard and became a proponent for permanent reservations in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. This strategy was detailed under the 1854
Treaty of La Pointe
The Treaty of La Pointe may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in La Pointe, Wisconsin between the United States and the Ojibwe (Chippewa) Native American peoples. In addition, the Isle Royale Agreement, an adhesion to the first Trea ...
. The Chippewa/Ojibwe achieved their major goal - to stay within their traditional territories.
Many of the bands agreed to the founding of Ojibwe reservations and relocation to them. The majority of the reservations were created at already well-established Ojibwe communities. Often the federal government required the aggregation of less powerful bands with their more powerful neighbors.
Under the Treaty of La Pointe, the following reservations were established:
*
Grand Portage
Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage. The area became one ...
;
*
Fond du Lac;
*
Red Cliff;
*
Lac Courte Oreilles
Lac Courte Oreilles ( ) is a large freshwater lake located in northwest Wisconsin in Sawyer County in townships 39 and 40 north, ranges 8 and 9 west. It is irregular in shape, having numerous peninsulas and bays, and is approximately six miles l ...
;
*
Bad River,
*
Lac Vieux Desert
Lac Vieux Desert is a lake in the United States divided between Gogebic County, Michigan, and Vilas County, Wisconsin. Fed primarily by springs in the surrounding swamps, it is the source of the Wisconsin River, which flows out of its southwest co ...
,
L'Anse;
*
Ontonagon; and
*
Lac du Flambeau.
The following year, by the
Treaty of Washington (1855)
The 1855 Treaty of Washington may refer to any of the four treaties signed between the United States and various Native American governments.
Treaty with the Wyandot
Treaty of Washington also known as the Treaty with the Wyandot () was a treaty c ...
, the government created additional reservations in Minnesota.
For the
Pillager Chippewa Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians (or simply the Pillagers; in the Ojibwe language) are a historical band of Chippewa (Ojibwe) who settled at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in present-day Minnesota. Their name "Pillagers" is a translatio ...
:
*
Leech Lake Indian Reservation
The Leech Lake Reservation (''Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag'' in the Ojibwe language) is an Indian reservation located in the north-central Minnesota counties of Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. The reservation forms the land base for the federally ...
s:
[Folwell, William Watts (2006 reprint). ''A History of Minnesota: Vol. IV'', p. 192. Minnesota Historical Society Press. .]
**
Leech Lake
Leech Lake is a lake located in north central Minnesota, United States. It is southeast of Bemidji, located mainly within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, and completely within the Chippewa National Forest. It is used as a reservoir. The lake ...
**
Cass Lake; and
**
Lake Winnibigoshish
Lake Winnibigoshish is a body of water in north central Minnesota in the Chippewa National Forest. Its name comes from the Ojibwe language ''Wiinibiigoonzhish'', a diminutive and pejorative form of ''Wiinibiig'', meaning "filthy water" (i.e., "br ...
reservations.
For the
Mississippi Chippewa Mississippi River Band of Chippewa Indians ( oj, Gichi-ziibiwininiwag) or simply the Mississippi Chippewa, are a historical Ojibwa Band inhabiting the headwaters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries in present-day Minnesota.
According to th ...
:
*
Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is the popular name for the land-base for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Central Minnesota, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The contemporary Mille Lacs Band reservation has significant ...
reservations.
**
Mille Lacs Lake
Mille Lacs Lake (also called Lake Mille Lacs or Mille Lacs) is a large but shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly 75 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul m ...
**
Sandy Lake;
**
Pokegama Lake;
**
Rabbit Lake;
**
Gull Lake; and
The same treaty established the
Rice Lake Indian Reservation. Because the
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
objected and said the Rice Lake Indian Reservation was within the boundaries of the Sandy Lake Reservation, it was never formally platted.
Unfulfilled hopes
Despite the Sandy Lake Tragedy, the
St. Croix Band and the
Mole Lake Band held out in hopes the
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 territorie ...
would fulfill previously broken treaties. They refused to sign the
Treaty of La Pointe
The Treaty of La Pointe may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in La Pointe, Wisconsin between the United States and the Ojibwe (Chippewa) Native American peoples. In addition, the Isle Royale Agreement, an adhesion to the first Trea ...
. By refusing the treaty and relocation, the two Ojibwe bands lost their
federal recognition
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
and associated benefits.
They did not regain legal recognition until the
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...
of 1934, also known as the Indian "
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
". During the non-recognition period, the Mole Lake Band became associated with the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation. The majority of the St. Croix Band was split and associated with both
Lac Courte Oreilles
Lac Courte Oreilles ( ) is a large freshwater lake located in northwest Wisconsin in Sawyer County in townships 39 and 40 north, ranges 8 and 9 west. It is irregular in shape, having numerous peninsulas and bays, and is approximately six miles l ...
and
Mille Lacs Indian reservations.
Along with the ''Bois Brulé'' Band, the St. Croix Band at the river's
headwaters
The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source.
Definition
The ...
refused aggregation with the La Pointe Band. The US Army forcibly removed them to the Gull Lake Indian Reservation in central Minnesota. Because the action was illegally taken under the Indian Removal Act, although it had officially ended, Chief ''Bagonegiizhig'' of the Gull Lake Band negotiated hard with the
BIA to restore these groups to Wisconsin. Not having much success, Chief ''Bagonegiizhig'' led his people in the
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...
against the United States. The alliance proved ill-fated, resulting in much of the Mississippi Chippewa being uprooted and removed further west. First they were relocated to the vicinity of Leech Lake, and eventually to the
White Earth Indian Reservation
The White Earth Indian Reservation ( oj, Gaa-waabaabiganikaag, "Where there is an abundance of white clay") is the home to
the White Earth Band, located in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in the state by land area. T ...
.
Sandy Lake Memorials
On October 12, 2000, the US erected a memorial commemorating the Sandy Lake Tragedy at the
Sandy Lake Dam Campgrounds. In addition, the state created a rest area with a view of Sandy Lake along
Minnesota State Highway 65
Minnesota State Highway 65 (MN 65) is a highway in the east–central and northeast parts of the U.S. state of Minnesota, which starts at its split from I-35W, skipping past the downtown Minneapolis core, only to resume at the intersection with ' ...
. A Historical Marker plaque memorializes the Sandy Lake Tragedy.
See also
*
Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa
Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa (Ojibwe: ''Gaa-mitaawangaagamaag-ininiwag'') are a historical Ojibwa tribe located in the upper Mississippi River basin, on and around Big Sandy Lake in what today is in Aitkin County, Minnesota. Though pol ...
*
Chief Buffalo
Notes
References
*Loew, Patty (2001). ''Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal.'' Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
*Warren, William W. (1984). ''History of the Ojibway People''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Borealis Books
*White, Bruce M. "The Regional Context of Removal Order of 1850" in ''Fish in the Lakes, Wild Rice, and Game in Abundance: Testimony on Behalf of Mille Lacs Ojibwe Hunting and Fishing Rights'', James M. McClurken, compiler. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2000. .
*
Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...
"Sandy Lake Tragedy"in ''Dictionary of Wisconsin History''.
External links
Chief Buffalo and Benjamin ArmstrongOjibwe leaders tell the story of the Sandy Lake Tragedy in a picture: Chief Buffalo's Petition to the PresidentUS 8th Circuit Court of Appeals case 19-1757Sandy Lake: Tragedy & MemorialSandy Lake Band of OjibweThe Sandy Lake Tragedyvideo, courtesy of the
Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission
The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) is an intertribal, co-management agency committed to the implementation of off-reservation treaty rights on behalf of its eleven-member Ojibwa tribes. Formed in 1984 and exercising authorit ...
{{Indian Removal
Ojibwe in Minnesota
Anishinaabe culture
History of Minnesota
History of Wisconsin