A view of the fall colors along the Chocolay River. men from lower Michigan to negotiate the treaty in the spring of 1836. This was an irregular move, as important treaty councils were usually held near the concerned lands and interested communities so many people could give their opinions. Anishinaabe treaty decisions were traditionally made by respected men and women, and the exclusion of women contradicted custom. Meeting in Washington, D.C. cut off the usual forms of community input. Holding treaty negotiations in Washington, D.C. was also a way to intimidate the Ojibwe and Odawa diplomats. President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) made no secret of his antipathy towards Native Americans. The populist political campaign that won him the presidency made much of his reputation as an Indian fighter, earned in brutal battles against Native people in the Southeast. After an 1814 battle, Jackson’s troops cut off noses to count their victims and made horse bridle reins from skins of dead Native people. His Native contemporaries gave Jackson the name Sharp Knife. Jackson’s pro-removal policies were part of his political success. The removal program known as the Trail of Tears displaced as many as 100,000 Native Americans in the southeastern United States between 1831 and 1850, mostly Cherokee, Chickasaw and Muscogee (Creek) people. Surely the message to the Great Lakes Anishinaabe diplomats that came to Washington in 1836 was that they were now under the control of an American president who would use force to take their lands if they refused sell. Schoolcraft, who led negotiations for the U.S. government, was uniquely positioned to broker a treaty concerning the area that would soon become the state of Michigan. His wife, Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (1800-1842), also known as Bamewawagezhikaquay ‘Woman of the Sound the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky,’ was the daughter of Irish fur trader John Johnston (1762-1828) and Ozhaguscodaywayquay ‘Woman of the Green Glen’ or Susan Johnston (circa 1775-1840), herself the daughter of the famous Ojibwe warrior and orator Waubojeeg ‘White Fisher’ (circa 1747-1793). Jane Johnston, like her grandfather, was a gifted storyteller. She was also a prolific writer. Schoolcraft lived with his wife’s relatives in Sault Ste. Marie before being reposted at Mackinac Island and knew many of the Upper Peninsula Ojibwe men assembled in Washington. He leveraged these relationships, threatening downstate Odawa that he could make a separate deal
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with the Ojibwe if they did not go along with the joint treaty. The U.S. government bought the land for about 12.5 cents per acre. According to the treaty signed by Schoolcraft and the Anishinaabe delegates, the United States agreed to pay cash and goods upon ratification, provide a cash annuity for 20 years, fund medical care, education, blacksmiths, and agricultural improvement, and to distribute supplies such as tobacco, salt, and fish for 20 years. The government also agreed to pay debts to the American Fur Company and provide agents to help examine claims against Native families. The treaty set aside reservations within the boundaries of the ceded territory. The government said it would establish a voluntary program for removal if Native people should choose to leave the region. Native people retained hunting rights until the land was required for settlement. In an extraordinary move, the Senate changed the terms of the treaty after it was already signed. The version ratified by Congress made the reservations north of the Straits of Mackinac temporary rather than permanent, gave the government discretion to take back reservations to the south and eliminated the provision of agents to examine debt claims by the American Fur Company. Removal remained a threat. Without neutral arbiters helping settle debts, the American Fur Company had final authority to determine what people owed. These amendments were due to political infighting within the U.S. government. Senator Hugh White (1773-1840), in charge of the Senate Indian Committee, wanted to block Jackson from gaining loyal followers in patronage positions that could come from permanent reservations. Ojibwe and Odawa leaders, assembled at Mackinac July 12 to 14, accepted the adjusted terms of the treaty. They chose to do so after the American Fur Company threatened to cut off lines of credit, which would have thrown the local economy into chaos and left Native families with mere months to figure out how to survive the upcoming winter.
About the author: Adam Berger holds a PhD in social anthropology, an MA in educational psychology, and has professional experience in the nonprofit field. Keenly interested in Upper Peninsula local history and ecology, Adam believes that teaching younger generations about the land and its past is the way to protect our unique region. MM