Ottawa Tribes: Difference between revisions

The history of the Ottawa Indians places them, at the first contact with Europeans, in what was to become Ontario, Canada in the 1600s. They are usually associated with Manitoulin Island and the shores of Georgian Bay in Lake Huron, in what is now the Province of Ontario<ref>History of the Ottawa Tribe from the Handbook of American Indians by Frederick Webb Hodge [http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/ottawa/ottawahist.htm Available online]</ref>.  

Many of the Ottawa migrated south and west and settled in what became Michigan in the 1700s and by the early 1800s the Three Fires Confederacy (which include the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi) occupied much of that area. In 1836, the Ottawa ceded nearly two-thirds of their land to the United States and in 1837, Michigan was created from that cession.  

In 1855, the Ottawa signed another treaty with the U.S. government at which time reserves were created in [[Leelanau County, Michigan|Leelanau]] and [[Antrim County, Michigan|Antrim]] Counties. The Bureau of Indian Affairs considered the tribe "terminated" with the signing of that treaty and they were not considered an official tribe from 1855 to 1980. After several petitions for recognition over nearly 50 years, the Bureau of Indian Affairs again officially recognized the tribe in 1980<ref>History of the Ottawa Tribe from the Grand Traverse Band web site [http://www.gtbindians.org/history.html Available online]</ref>.  

Another group of Ottawa Indians lived in northwestern Ohio and participated in the War of 1812 under the leadership of Pontiac, who was a well-known chief of the tribe. They were a party to the Treaty of Greenville, signed on August 3, 1795 in Indiana<ref>The Treaty of Greenville, as it appears in The Laws of the United States, printed by Richard Folwell, Philadelphia, 1796 [http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/greenville/ Available online].</ref>. Some members of this part of the Ottawa Nation were removed to Kansas and later to Oklahome<ref>"Ottawa Indians", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=614</ref>.