Pontiac , also known as Obwandiyag, became chief of his band of Ottawa Indians in 1755. He was influential in the Council of Three Tribes, an intertribal group consisting of the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwa people. Pontiac organized his and other tribes in the Great Lakes area to fight the British, in what is now known as Pontiac's War in 1763-64.
The federally recognized Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians are the people of the Three Fires Confederacy, the Odawa (Ottawa) the Ojibwa (Chippewa) and Bodowadomi (Pottawatomi) people.
The Little River Ottawa descend from members of certain Grand River Ottawa Bands who lived in villages located on the Manistee River, Pere Marquette River, and at several villages on the Grand River system in Michigan.
On Sept. 21, 1994, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB) was federally reaffirmed under Public Law 103-324, signed into law by President Clinton.
Federal recognition of the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan became effective on August 23, 1999. The tribe says they are a body of mixed-blood Chippewa, Ottawa, and Pottawatomi who trace their descent from principal Potawatomi chief, Match-e-be-nash-she-wish.
Who are the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe?
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is a federally recognized political union of six Ojibwe bands, including the Mille Lacs Band, Bois Forte Band, Fond du Lac Band, Grand Portage Band, Leech Lake Band, and White Earth Band. There are Ojibwe communities in both Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the second-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by the Cree. In the United States, they have the fourth-largest population among Native American tribes, surpassed only by the Navajo, Cherokee and Lakota.