At the time of first contact with Europeans, the Ottawa Indians (Odawa in Canada) were living on Manitoulin Island.
The Ottawa Indians homeland for at least three centuries prior to European contact was the Michigan Lower Peninsula.
The tribes of the Three Fires Confederacy – Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi – were once a single people living in the east according to oral tradition.
At the time of separation, the tribes were living in the area of the Straits of Mackinac, a channel connecting Lakes Michigan (west) and Huron (east) and forming an important waterway between the Upper and Lower peninsulas of Michigan.
The Potawatomi moved south into present-day Michigan. It is estimated that the three tribes may have separated as late as 1550.
The Indian nations of the Three Fires Confederacy spoke Central Algonquian languages which are closely related to Miami, Illinois, Shawnee, Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, Menominee, Cree, Montegnais, and Naskapi.
As with the other Indian farmers of the Northeast, they raised corn, beans, tobacco, and squash, but these crops were relied upon less than hunting and gathering due to the short growing seasons.
Among the Ottawa, women would remain in the summer village to tend the crops while the men went off to hunt.
Tobacco was an important ceremonial and trade plant.
Among all of the tribes of Great Lakes area, tobacco is used for all important activities.
This includes sprinkling of tobacco on the water as an offering to the underwater spirits just before getting into a canoe; offering a pinch of tobacco to the earth where other ceremonial plants are gathered; providing tobacco to someone when a special request is made.
The oldest form of tobacco which was cultivated and used in this culture area was Nicotaina rustica. This tobacco, often described as “strong-tasting”, was cultivated in small patches and was used in religious ceremonies.
Hunting territories were allocated to specific families. While these families did not own the land in the European sense of land ownership, they did have the exclusive hunting rights for a specific area.
Game taken by a hunter was generally shared freely among all in the camp or village, including strangers.
Deer and moose were important food sources. Deer were sometimes hunted by a group of hunters using dogs to drive the deer into a V formed by chopped down trees. Sometimes deer were hunted at night when they came to the stream or lake for water.
Fishing was a year-round occupation for the Ottawa. Fish were taken with fishhooks, nets, spears, traps, lures, and bait. One method of spearing fish involved fishing at night with a torch.
During the spring and fall, when the fish crowded into shallow water, the Ottawa Indians caught them by the thousands using gill nets.
Women worked basswood, nettle, and other natural fibers into nets.
One of the important foods in the Great Lakes area was maple sugar. This was more than something good to eat: maple sugar was a symbol of good relations and harmony between the people, the natural world, and the unseen supernatural.
The making of the maple sugar began in late March or early April with the arrival of the first crow.
The entire village would then move to the maple area where they would tap the trees, boil the sap down, and separate it into syrup, sugar, and cakes, which were then stored in birch-bark containers tied with willow.
In a good season, a family would prepare 400-500 pounds of sugar.
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, chokecherries, and cranberries were also a staple food source.
An Ottawa infant was placed in the cradleboard shortly after birth and the cradleboard was used for the child until it was weaned from the mother, often at about three years of age.
While land was not owned by individuals in the European sense of land ownership, individual families did hold the hunting and gathering rights to a particular area of land. They gave up their rights when the land was no longer used.
The Ottowa Indians lived in palisaded villages similar to those used by the Huron. Villages were located near river banks or lake shores. Since the women did the farming, they formed the core of the year-round residents. The men would travel as far as 75-100 miles in search of game.
There were two kinds of houses. There was a permanent long house (o-na-ge-ho-g-ameg) which was constructed with an ironwood post framework and horizontal elmwood pieces. These houses were covered with birch bark.
The permanent houses were 10-20 feet wide and 20-40 feet long. The larger houses were occupied by several families and would have a fireplace at either end.
The wigwam (wig-wa-si-ga-mi) which was a round or slightly rectangular structure made with a bent pole frame and covered with birch bark or woven mats. These dome-shaped structures were about 12 feet long and 10 feet wide. Some would have two doors.
The birch bark for the wigwams was sewn in strips about 36 inches wide and 12-18 feet in length. The raw edges were bound with cedar and sewn with basswood bark to prevent breaking and tearing. The strips were then rolled for transport. It would take 10-12 sheets to cover a wigwam.
Leadership power came from the Manitous or spirits and was given to individuals or to clan ancestors.
The power given to the clan was symbolized in objects in the clan bundle which related to the original vision from the Manitous. The clan chief was responsible for carrying out the ceremonies which involved the clan bundle.
Village chiefs were often the heads of the chiefly clans, but this did not mean that leadership was hereditary.
When the leading candidate from the chiefly clan was felt to be unsuitable for village leadership, the village council would meet and select a new village chief.
Village chiefs could rule only by persuasion of the villagers to follow his advice. They had no power to order anyone to do anything.
War Chiefs, however, had to be obeyed during raids and battles.
Warfare consisted mainly of raids carried out by relatively small raiding parties. There were two primary reasons for these raids: (1) to avenge a slain member of the tribe, and (2) to gain personal war honors.
Warfare tended to be seasonal (war parties did not usually go out during the late fall, winter, and early spring as these were prime hunting times) and carried out at a leisurely pace. The battles were usually very short, usually only a few minutes.
The primary military strategy among the tribes in the Great Lakes area was that of surprise. War parties sought to come upon the enemy unawares. Ambushes and decoys were often a part of this stratagem.
Ottawa warriors would go into battle naked carrying a large (about 4 feet in diameter) shield made of rawhide.
It was not uncommon for women to become warriors. Women became warriors because of visions which they had received. In some instances, women also functioned as war leaders.
Both men and women were tattooed.
Women would have parallel lines on the cheeks and chins while the men would have more elaborate designs.
Some Ottawa men had designs of snakes, lizards, and geometrical figures which covered most of the body.
Ottawa men characteristically wore their hair short and upright in front. They pierced both their nasal septum and their earlobes, ornamenting them with stone, copper, and shell ornaments.
Ottawa family descent was patrilineal, meaning they emphasized descent through the male line. People were members of their father’s clan.
At birth, every Algonquian, by virtue of his or her descent, clearly belonged to a patrilineage and a patrilineal clan, but in daily life, that clan or lineage was not effectively composed simply of those genealogically assigned to it.
A woman’s status or social position was not dependent on her husband.
Nanabush: A trickster figure who is often portrayed as a mischievous but lovable character. He is known for his clever pranks and his ability to outwit his opponents.
Kitchi-Manitou: The Supreme Being in Ottawa cosmology. Kitchi-Manitou is often depicted as a benevolent creator who watches over the Ottawa people.
The White Buffalo Calf Woman: A sacred figure who is said to have brought the sacred pipe to the Ottawa people. The White Buffalo Calf Woman is often depicted as a beautiful young woman who is accompanied by a herd of white buffalo.
The Four Winds are often seen as guardians of the Ottawa people. Each wind is associated with a different direction and a different color.
The Thunderers are a group of powerful beings who are said to control the weather. The Thunderers are often depicted as a group of men who ride on horseback and carry lightning bolts.
The Water Spirits are a group of powerful beings who are said to live in the water. The Water Spirits are often depicted as beautiful women who lure men to their deaths.
The Creation Story
The Story of Nanabush
The Story of Kitchi-Manitou
The Story of the White Buffalo Calf Woman
The Story of the Four Winds
The Story of the Thunderers
The Story of the Water Spirits
The Story of the Great Flood
The Story of the Lost Tribe
The Story of the Talking Rocks
The Story of the Magic Water
The Story of the Golden Eagle
The Story of the White Buffalo
The Sun Dance
The Ghost Dance
More Ottawa Links:
Despite the fact that the 1855 Treaty was intended to provide the Grand River Ottawa with permanent Reservation homelands, many officials representing the United States government responsible for protecting the Grand River Reservations actively assisted non-Indians in taking lands reserved for the Grand River people. Nearly two-thirds of the land within the Grand River Ottawa Reservations was transferred to non-Indians by 1880.
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, George Mannypenny, had intended that the Reservations established for the Ottawa in the 1855 Treaty be clearly defined, protected from non-Indian intruders and that they be permanent. Unfortunately, many people, including people in government posts charged with protecting those Reservations, worked to undermine the goal of preserving the Ottawa peoples right to establish protected homelands on permanent Reservations. The 1855 treaty contained a carefully outlined 5-year timetable and process for Ottawa members to select 40-80 acre allotments within their reservations.
The problems created for our Grand River Ottawa ancestors and relatives by the 1821 Treaty of Chicago and the 1836 Treaty of Washington continued to grow during the 1840s and early 1850s. The Senate hoped that by limiting the Ottawa’s right to remain on their Reservations, they would be influenced to relocate to Kansas.
The 1820s and 1830s were years of great change for Ottawa communities. Fur trade hunting practices had depleted most animal species. The American Fur Company which bought furs that Ottawa hunters and trappers collected, was a major economic and political power in the Michigan Territory. The Company was losing money. Company owners and operatives wanted Ottawa leaders to sell their lands to pay off debts to the Company.