A look at the Ojibwe (Chippewa) Indians

Ojibwe Bands in Wisconsin

• Red Cliff• Lac Courte Oreilles• Bad River• Lac du Flambeau• Mole Lake• St. Croix

All 6 of these Wisconsin tribes are part of the Lake Superior Bands of Ojibwe Indians.

Wisconsin Indian reservations as they sit today

How do the Ojibwe come to be on the reservations?

• Series of treaties cedes land to government– Definition: to relinquish (hand over) lands in

your possession

1837 “Pine Tree Treaty”• Results: ~1/2 of WI ceded • Why: Govt. wants pine in north

woods• Terms:

– Govt. pays Indians - $19,000– Indians retain “traditional” rights to

lands• Problems

– Division of $– Understanding meaning of

languages

1842 “Copper Treaty”• Cession of lands for

mining around Lake Superior

• Indians need money… agree

• Treaty hints at removal

View from Lake Superior shoreline

Indians React• Ojibwe send

delegation to D.C.– Leader: Chief Buffalo– Interpreter Benjamin

Armstrong• Issues to discuss

– Removal order– Wrongs done to

Indians– “traditional rights”

agreed upon in ceded areas

“Symbolic Petition of the Chippewa Chiefs, 1849”Delegation to Washington carried this pictograph with them indicating their

wants. The animals represent the various Lake Superior clans traveling alongLake Superior. Their unity of purpose is depicted by the lines linking togetherTheir hears and eyes to a chain of wild rice lakes in ceded territory south of

Lake Superior.

Indian pictograph that was sent to Washington to show the president how the Indians felt about him and what they were willing to do.

Result of trip: 1854 Treaty atLa Pointe

• Terms of Treaty– Refuse to cede more land until reservations in

WI established• Takes 20 yrs for land to be chosen & given

– Allotment of individual Indian lands• Individual Indians earn titles to land• Indians forced to sell lands… don’t understand

TAXES

Life on the Reservations

1922 Lac du Flambeau IndianIndustrial Survey

What is the 1922 Industrial Survey?

Government wanted to know how Indians on the reservations were doing

Sent workers out to visit Indians to find out Document is housed in the Regional

National Archives in Chicago

Assignment

With a partner read your section of the 1922 survey and in your journals complete the following three parts:

1.What did you learn about the Lac du Flambeau Indians living on the reservation during this time?

- be specific with your observations & be sure to look at various aspects of their

lives… what can you learn about them

Assignment continued2. What questions do you have when looking at

this document? What would you like to learn more about?

3. Make a comparison of life for the Indians on the reservations and life for white people not part of the reservations that we have learned about.

Create a Venn diagram to complete your comparison of the different

cultures

1922 Industrial Survey Discussion

What did you learn about life on the reservations during the 1920s?

What questions did you have while reading this survey?

What did you find particularly interesting about the survey?

Do you think that the surveyors held any bias while completing the survey of the Indians? If so explain.

The Depression and Indian New Deal

What are the conditions in Indian reservations at this time?Government commissions a study to find out:

The Problem of Indian Administration, 1928 (the Meriam Report)

Actions after study:Revised Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Reorganization Act

Assignment

Read the segment of the Meriam Report that is handed out and answer the six worksheet questions

Meriam Report:“The Work of the Government in Behalf of the Indians”

“The work of the government directed toward the education and

advancement of the Indian himself… is largely ineffective.”

Some Findings on Government Management (Meriam Report)

Poorly trained educators for school & lifeLack of $ = poor health care systemEducation in boarding schools most common

Poor diets, crowded living quartersUnder-trained teachersInflexibility of curriculum – expect same from all students (even those who don’t speak English)

Little Economic development on reservations

Little agricultural trainingFew jobs on/off reservation

Indian Boarding School – Tomah, WI

Date: 1910 http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7248/7595464924_6e0176

2ded_o.jpg

Date: 1912

Life on the Reservations

Lac du Flambeau family – notice what’s in the background. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Chippewa_men_Bad_River.jpg

Discussion… speculation!!

How do you think the Great Depression affects Indians on the reservations?

Why do you think life on the reservations was so poor at this time?

“Indian New Deal”

1924 – Indians received full citizenshipJohn Collier – commissioner of Indian affairs (appointed by FDR)

Indian Reorganization Act 1934 Moves away from assimilation toward Indian autonomyHelps restore some reservation lands to tribal ownership

John Collier – Commissioner of Indian Affairs

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Elmer_Thomas,_Claude_M._Hirst,_and_John_Collier.jpg

“Indian New Deal” continued…

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA)

Mandates changes in 3 areasEconomic – Indian lands would belong to entire tribe… prevents lands from being sold offCultural - # of boarding schools cut & children allowed to attend reservation schoolPolitical – tribes given permission to elect tribal councils to rule their reservations

Mixed Reactions to IRA:174 tribes accept / 78 tribes reject

LikeRegained lost reservation landsMoved forward in education / cultural preservationMore control over affairs

Dislike Indians disliked changes of govt. structureUnderestimates diversity of tribeswhite men still telling Indians what’s best for them

End of Indian Reorganization Act…

WWII

WWII – Iconic ImagesTurn to page

788 in your text.

Class reading & discussion of

questions

A Closer Look at Ira Hayes

Pima Indian (Arizona) Chief told him to be a

“honorable warrior” Joined Marines –

parachutist “Chief Falling Cloud” –

respected marine Became part of Iwo

Jima battle & helped raise flag

The Picture Changed His Life…

Traveled country as hero

Struggled w/ “hero” status

After publicity tour returned to his reservation Wants anonymity…

people write hundreds of letters / stop by to see him

Uses alcohol to ease pain

Dies of exposure at age of 33

How involved were Indians in WWII?

No group that participated in World War II made a greater per capita contribution, and no group was changed more by the war. 44,000 Indians saw service / 350,000 Indians in

U.S. (Roughly 12% of the Indian Pop.) This represented 1/3 of all able-bodied Indian

men from 18 to 50 years of age

Indians in WWII

Pearl Harbor awakens “warrior spirit” among Indians Many volunteer

Indian Nations declare war on Axis powers

Indians distinguish themselves as warriors Navajo “code talkers”

allow U.S. to send messages that would never be broken by Japanese

Navajo code talkers in the Pacific - USMC

Indians in WWII Not all served in the military… many

were in the factories ~40,000 Indians work in factories Purchase war bonds Donated money to Red Cross Women learn new roles – on & off

reservations

WWII Impact on Indians Causes Indians to move to cities Exposes Indians to white man’s

world…+ Learn about education, health care,

economic possibilities, many opportunities

- Don’t want to lose tribal identity & custom… work to further promote their interests

** Begin to work within both worlds

Navajo Code Activity Complete the Navajo Code Activity

Sheet

GOOD LUCK!!

Ojibwe Treaty Rights…Today

The Wisconsin Spearfishing Controversy

What was the issue? During the 1980s many Ojibwe Indians

decided to use their off-reservation hunting rights as given to them by mid-19th Century treaties

Some non-Indians felt that this would lead to the closing of certain bodies of water to sport fishers who wanted to fish walleye and eventually hurt tourism in Northern Wisconsin

Spear fishing takes place at night w/ use of a light

Boat landings become prime spot for protests… they become increasingly violent

Traditional spearfishing took place at night with the

use of a spear and fire

This is an example of the spear used by today’s

Indians

Spear This!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NSAQjsCzwcE/TORi68M3CWI/AAAAAAAABSs/g7dHveKUIZE/s1600/SaveAWalleye.gif

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/artifacts/archives/concrete_walleye_2.jpg

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/artifacts/archives/002146.asp

The State Acts Gov. Thompson – wants an injunction to stop

Ojibwe from spearfishing to prevent more violence

Judge rules that Ojibwe broke no laws and therefore should not be punished… more severe punishments were applied to militant protesters

Judge does require Ojibwe to limit & monitor fish harvested

The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) was created to regulate and restock the lakes – both on and off the reservation.

This is an example of an Ojibwe spearfishing permit.

How are things today?

Peace has returned to the Northwoods, but what are today’s issues?

Read the assigned article for tomorrow: From Enemies to Allies: Native Americans and whites transformed violent treaty conflicts into a powerful environmental movement in Wisconsin.