Michigan--Treaty of November 17, 1807 (Royce #66)

(pg. 19-26)

According to the treaty of November 17, 1807, negotiated with the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot, and Potawatomi, a tract of land comprising roughly the southeast quarter of the lower peninsula of Michigan and a small section of Ohio north of the Maumee River was ceded to the United States. This tract is number 66 on Royce's maps of Ohio and Michigan. According to the terms of the treaty, a series of small tracts were reserved by the tribes involved including: (1) a tract of 6 miles square on the Miami of Lake Erie above Roche de Boeuf, to include the village where Tondagaie, (or the Dog) lived; (2) a tract at Wolf Rapids (in lieu of Presque Isle); (3) four miles square on the Waugau lived; (4) Three miles square on the river Raisin at a place called Macon, and where the river Macon falls into the river Raisin, which place is about 14 miles from the mouth of said river Raisin; (5) two sections of 1 square mile each on the river Rouge at Seginsiwin's village; (6) two sections of 1 mile square each on Tonquish's village, near the river Rouge; (7) three miles square on Lake St. Clair above the river Huron, to include Machonce's village and six section of 1 mile square each. [see Indian Village Locations in the State of Ohio Within the Limits of the Land Cessions Designated Nos. 53 and 54 on Royce's Maps] Since the tracts that were reserved by the Indians were designed to preserve the major villages in the area and to provide a place for the Indians to settle, the tribal affiliation of the villages and the Indians occupying the tracts may be examined first. The southernmost of the areas reserved are those at Tondaganie; village and at Wolf Rapids. Both of these areas were reserved for Ottawa who at that time were resident in the region and the land subsequently was purchased from them by the treaty of August 30, 1831. A third tract, also on the Maumee river, but at the mouth and known as Miami bay, contained two Ottawa villages, Meskeman and Waugan, and was ceded to the Government on February 18, 1833. The Maumee River, in the area covered by the land cession, was therefore an important center of the Ottawa.

Moving north into Michigan, we find the next reserves to be withheld in this particular treaty were on the Raisin River. A portion of this tract was ceded September 29, 1817 to the Catholic Church and to Detroit College by the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi tribes. However, the remaining portion of the tract was occupied by the Potawatomi Chief Moran which would suggest that the region was to be considered Potawatomi territory. The Rouge River to the north of the Raisin also had two reserves that contained Potawatomi villages, those of Tonguish and Seginsairn. Presumably the Chippewa also had some rights in the area, however, since these were ceded by the group by treaty of January 14, 1837. The remaining tracts reserved by the Indians consisted of four tracts in the area of Lake S. Clair. These were occupied by the Swan-creek and Black-river bands of Chippewa and ceded to the United States on May 9, 1836.

The distribution of tribal groups as indicated by the specific reserves indicates that the Ottawa occupied the extreme southern portion of the area, primarily on the Maumee River. As short distance to the north, from the drainage system of the Raisin River to the Rouge River, we find Potawatomi groups. Finally, the Chippewa, occupied the area in the vicinity of Lake St. Clair and northward.

A study of the available records concerning village and tribal distribution tends to confirm this general distribution. A study of village distribution in Michigan is facilitated by the availability of The Archaeological Atlas of Michigan, compiled by W.B. Hinsdale and issued by the University of Michigan in 1931. Map 2 is in this Atlas plots the distribution of Indian villages in the historic period and an accompanying table gives the tribal identification of the village. In tabular form, the villages recorded on this map are given below, the counties being arranged in order from south to north and only those villages which fall within the land cession of November 17, 1807 being included.

[see table on village distribution]

The distribution of villages according to this list, in general conforms to the tribal distribution as indicated by the reserves but shows the Ottawa as being present in the more northerly areas as well. Further, the Wyandot (Huron) are indicated as being present in the southerly areas as well as the other three tribes considered. The specific Wyandot villages (Wyandot Villages and Maguagua) mentioned above were actually set aside by treaty with the Wyandot subsequent to the negotiations of the older treaty of November 17, 1807. On February 28, 1809 a treaty with the Wyandot set aside "The U.S. Reserve for the Wyandots, two tracts, not exceeding 5,000 acres, at Brownstown and Maguagua, Michigan territory, provided that if abandoned by them the tracts should revert to the U.S." (Royce, 1899, p. 676).

These tracts were ceded to the U.S. by treaty of September 20, 1818. The United States in consideration for the cession of these two tracts, reserved from the use of the Wyandot a tract of land on both sides of the river Huron. This tract was subsequently ceded to the United States by the treaty of March 17, 1842. Thus although the original treaty of November 17, 1807 did not make provision for the Wyandot to preserve their villages, as had been done for the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Chippewa, this was accomplished through subsequent treaties. Thus the various reserves established would appear to give some indication of the relative position and areas occupied by the bands of the tribes involved.

It cannot be maintained, however, that in this region there existed any rigid demarcation of territory that was exclusively occupied by a particular tribe. For example, the area in the immediate vicinity of Detroit contained a Huron village, an Ottawa village, and a Potawatomi village (see map of Fort Detroit and Environs in 1768; reproduced in , The John Askin Papers , Vol. I: 1747-1795, Detroit, 1928). The Huron and Ottawa villages were on the west bank of the Detroit River, but the Potawatomi village was on the east bank just to the north of the mouth of the Rouge River. In 1771 the tribe deeded the site of the village to Robert Navaree, a resident of Detroit. This entire area would have been included in the tract ceded to the United States in the vicinity of Detroit by the treaty of August 3, 1795 and perhaps is one of the major reasons why the Potawatomi were participants in the treaty. The continuity of Potawatomi occupation on this river is seen in the presence of Seginsavin's village (also written Seginsairn, Seginservin and Seginsiwin) which is mentioned in various sources from 1807 to 1827 and in the village of Tonguish. Joint occupancy of the rivers and area is also indicated by another source. A letter from Col. John Francis Hamtramck to General Anthony Wayne, dated March 5, 1795 states:

"A number of Potawatomi Indians arrived here yesterday from Huron river. They informed me that they were sent by their nation at that place, and by the Ottowas and Chippeways living on the same river, as also in the name of the Chippeways living on Sagiunaw river which empties into lake Huron, in order to join in the good intention of the other Indians, by establishing a permanent peace with the United States." ("Letters of Col. John Francis Hamtramck," Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, XXXIV, 1904, p. 736).

Presumably this refers to the Huron River between the Rouge and Raisin rivers though Cass River which empties into Saginaw Bay was also formerly called the Huron River. It adds the Chippewa to the occupants of the southern section of the area under discussion and establishes the Potawatomi on the Huron River. A Potawatomi village on this river had been mentioned at a slightly earlier period (1770; Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, XIII, 49, 1889). This particular band was specifically mentioned in the treaty of Greenville, Ohio, August 3, 1795 and the treaty of Detroit, November 17, 1807.

Conclusions

In summary, we may say that the Potawatomi in the area ceded by the treaty of Detroit, November 17, 1807, appear to have been settled on the Raisin, Huron, and Rouge rivers. They did not occupy even this area to the exclusion of other tribes since the Wyandot are definitely established on the Huron River as well as in the area between the Huron and Rouge rivers. One source indicts the possibility of Chippewa in the region though they do not seem to have remained in the area in the nineteenth century . The Ottawa are present in some numbers in the area south of the Raisin River and also in the region to the north of Detroit. The area to the north of Detroit, in addition to the Ottawa, contains important Chippewa bands. In terms of total area, the Potawatomi would appear to be restricted to a relatively small section of the region.