Chief Buffalo and Benjamin Armstrong
How tribal bands of Chippewa describe parts of their history
From the Web history page of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on Chief Buffalo as the ‘founder’ of band’s reservation:
“In 1854, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs arranged a treaty council in an attempt to get the Chippewa Indians to give up their titles to certain pieces of land on Lake Superior. Several Ojibwe chiefs responded to the call, and they convened in the town of La Pointe on Madeline Island, one of the 22 Apostle Islands in the Chequamegon Bay of Northern Wisconsin. Chiefs from all over traveled to this council, including Chief Buffalo. Chief Buffalo was the ‘founder’ of the Red Cliff reservation. So many supporters traveled with him to the treaty council, that in 1856 an executive order created a Reservation for his followers who had come for the council and decided to stay.” To read more, click on this link to the Web site of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
From the Web history page of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on the reservation’s founding (by D.L. Jackson):
“The Bad River Band Of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians is located on a 125,000+ acre reservation in Northern Wisconsin on the south shore of Lake Superior (known by the tribe as Gichi Gami) in Ashland and Iron Counties. Territory ceded by the tribe to the U.S. government includes the upper one third of what is now the State of Wisconsin … The land base plus almost 200 acres on Madeline Island was set aside for the Bad River Band (then known as the Lapointe Band) in the treaty of 1854. This treaty was finalized on September 30, 1854 at Lapointe on Madeline Island, longtime capital and cultural/religious center of the Ojibwe AKA Chippewa Nation … The Ojibwe people have been located in this area since well before Columbus stumbled onto the Americas; historically, the French explorers Radisson and Groseilliers ‘discovered’ Ojibwe people here in the mid-1600s. The Bad River Band is one of six Ojibwe bands in Wisconsin that are federally recognized tribes, four set aside reservation treaty lands in the Treaty of 1854.” To read more, click on this link to the Web site of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
From the Web history page of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (by Rick St. Germaine) on the Sandy Lake Tragedy during the winter of 1850-1851:
“A deceptive scheme was orchestrated against the Wisconsin Chippewa to dislodge them from their homelands and remove them to the west. First, the LaPointe Agency was closed and its functions moved ... Then the Wisconsin Chippewa were refused their annuities, except at the distant location. The adult males were required to bring with them their families. Once the Indian families arrived, the rations and goods were purposefully delayed until the winter had set in and the Indians had not received the opportunity to prepare for the season. Hundreds perished at Sandy Lake …” To read more, click on this link to the Web site of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe
From the Web history page of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa:
“The Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe (also referred to as Chippewa) has lived in northern Minnesota for centuries, but they did not originate there. The people journeyed from the east coast up the Saint Lawrence River, around the Great Lakes and followed rivers and lakes inland. The community first entered into a treaty with the United States in 1854 that set aside an undefined region around Lake Vermilion as a reservation. The regions at Nett Lake and Itasca County – Deer Creek – were officially established in an 1866 treaty, and the Lake Vermilion lands were defined in an 1881 executive order.” To read more, click on this link to the Web site of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
From the Web site of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community of Mole Lake:
“The Sokaogon Ojibwa are also known as the Lost Tribe because the legal title to the 12-mile square reservation from the Treaty of 1854 was lost in a shipwreck on Lake Superior. The band, under the leadership of Chief Willard Ackley, finally, after a long struggle, received federal recognition and reservation status in 1937.” To read more, clink on this link to the Web site of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community
Who are the Chippewa (Ojibwe) people?
The Chippewa people are one of the largest tribal groups in North America, with communities in the United States and Canada. The English and later the U.S. government generally used the name Chippewa. The words Ojibwa, Ojibway and Ojibwe are French versions. Tribal people themselves also use the name Anishinaabe — or variations such as Anishinabe, Anishinaabeg, Anishinaubag or Anishinabek. It means the first people or the original people.
The Web site of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa puts it this way: “To end any confusion, the Ojibwe and Chippewa are not only the same tribe, but the same word pronounced a little differently due to accent. If an ‘O’ is placed in front of Chippewa (O'chippewa), the relationship becomes apparent. In the United States, Chippewa was used in all treaties and is the official name. We call ourselves Anishinabeg (Anishinaubag) meaning ‘original men’ (sometimes shortened to Shinob and used as a nickname among ourselves).”
Chippewa Tribal Links
Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission
Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Lac du Flambeau band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
S. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
Sokaogon Chippewa Community of Mole Lake
Birch Bark petition of the Lake Superior Chippewa from the mid-1800s. Different stories exist about the image’s symbolism and history. You can click here for one or click here for other information
This site is published by a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Click here for more information
