  Margaret Member Username: Margaret Post Number: 69 Registered: 06-2007 |
just wondering if Detroit has any of its original native population left, or any legacy of that native population... | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 551 Registered: 11-2005 |
http://www.bkejwanong.com/abou t.html This would be my closest guess on a reservation, Walpole island. (Message edited by Urbanoutdoors on August 23, 2007) | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1509 Registered: 08-2006 |
There is a community center for natives on Plymouth Rd. | ||
Detroit_stylin Member Username: Detroit_stylin Post Number: 4784 Registered: 10-2003 |
I think that there is a fairly large community near SW Detroit or Downriver... | ||
Neilr Member Username: Neilr Post Number: 566 Registered: 06-2005 |
The Detroit Public Schools opened Medicine Bear Academy, a school of choice with a focus on Native American culture and heritage. Alas, after several years it developed major administrative problems and then lost its direction. For several years it was housed on the grounds of Fort Wayne, I believe. | ||
Elsuperbob Member Username: Elsuperbob Post Number: 70 Registered: 03-2007 |
Here's an article I remembered from last year in the Metro Times about Native Americans and health care. It says there are about 38,000 in Metro Detroit, 27,000 of whom are without health insurance. http://www.metrotimes.com/edit orial/story.asp?id=9067 | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 105 Registered: 08-2007 |
Yes, as of Census 2000, the metro Detroit area is home to nearly 40,000 American Indians from at least 40 different Indian nations. Bkwedjanong is the closest Indian community, and is on Walpole Island, Ontario, across from Algonac. In Michigan, the closest community is either Saginaw Chippewa at Mt. Pleasant, Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians in Fulton, or the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Potawatomi (Gun Lake) in Dorr. As far as original people in Detroit proper, we do not have a community as such. There are people here from all over the country, and including Mexico, Canada, South and Central America. There are three centers in the area, NAIA on Plymouth, and SEMII on Lawrence south of I-696 in Centerline, and AIHFS on Lawndale in Detroit. | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 106 Registered: 08-2007 |
Part of Southfield was an Indian village in the early 1800s, Seginsiwinong. Tonquishinong was on the Rouge in present day Westland. Both were recognized in the Treaty of Detroit, 1820, but do not exist today. Tonquish and Seginswin were Potawatomi. It is distinctly to be understood, for the accommodation of the said Indians, that the following tracts of land within the cession aforesaid, shall be, and hereby are reserved to the said Indian nations...one mile square each, on the river Rouge, at Seginsiwin village; also two sections of one mile square each, at Tonquishs village, near the river Rouge... | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 107 Registered: 08-2007 |
The Potawatomi Nations are now in Fulton, Dorr, Hannahville and Dowagiac, as well as Walpole. There was substantial displacement through the 1800s, and the US even sought to remove the Potawatomi to Oklahoma. | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 108 Registered: 08-2007 |
Removal was ordered in September 1827. Removal was not completely successful, though it was ordered that all Indians in southern Michigan be sent to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Both the Prairie Band of Potawatomi in Kansas and the Citizen Band in Oklahoma trace their roots to the Great Lakes area. That explains the absence of an original Detroit area Indian population. | ||
Terryh Member Username: Terryh Post Number: 464 Registered: 11-2006 |
Many were killed by diseases brought from Europe. | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 298 Registered: 02-2007 |
A good read is "Ishi in two worlds" by Theodora Kroeber. Amazon has it. http://www.amazon.com/Ishi-Two -Worlds-Biography-America/dp/0 520006755 | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 109 Registered: 08-2007 |
The Potawatomi are part of the Three Fires Confederacy, which also includes the Ojibwe and the Odawa. The order is Ojibwe, older brother, Odawa, middle brother, and Potawatomi, younger brother. The confederacy dates back to 796 AD according to tradition. The Ojibwe were keepers of the faith, the Odawa were keepers of the trade, and the Potawatomi were keepers of the fire. The Ojibwe were hunters and fishers, the Odawa were the traders, and the Potawatomi were the farmers. Of course each of the tribes did all three to some extent. The Three Fires Confederacy is gathering this week near Garden River, Ontario. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 685 Registered: 12-2006 |
Now, Gazhekwe, the people of Walpole/Bkejwanong refer to their organized community as the "Council of the Three Fires", I believe. Is that the same three fires as what you describe? By the way there is a heritage center at roughly the north end of Walpole Island, which is very interesting if you can get to it when it's open. Take the ferry from Algonac, six bucks I believe. | ||
Fareastsider Member Username: Fareastsider Post Number: 550 Registered: 08-2006 |
Large sections of Chesterfield and Ira Twp were Indian reserves that held indians until the 1860s. The lines of the reservations can still be found on maps and in property layouts on aerial photographs. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5170 Registered: 08-2004 |
I would definitely be interested in knowing how that 796AD confederacy date was determined? | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 4020 Registered: 10-2003 |
The area of Southwest Detroit just west of downtown was Potawatami land until the late 1700's, when the French established ribbon farms. I'm not sure how far east or west their territory extended. | ||
Plymouthres Member Username: Plymouthres Post Number: 156 Registered: 02-2007 |
Awesome thread! There is, and there were many Native American burial mounds all along the Detroit River prior to Cadillac settling Detroit. There is a small mound just outside of Officer's row at Fort Wayne. It is believed to have been a Hopwell(?) tribe's mound, and members of the NAIA manage it's upkeep. There is a State Historical marker on Wayne Road just south of Joy that outlines the area as a Potawatami owned land, and I believe tells the story of the Tonquish as well. I also believe that a great Indian chief (perhaps Pontiac?) is buried in the area, too. There was a huge gathering place that the Native Americans used on the northwest side of Whitmore Lake. I read, in a history of Northfield Township, that this area was a huge meeting place for the tribes in the 1600-1800's as well. | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 276 Registered: 02-2007 |
Indians that I've known (at least one-half, not the 1/32nd types who use it as a joke) seem to have roots in Delray. Not a reservation, but a concentration. | ||
Yelloweyes Member Username: Yelloweyes Post Number: 181 Registered: 02-2007 |
I believe there is a place called Indian Village in Detroit, you should take your search there for some Native Americans. (sarcasm applied) | ||
Dannaroo Member Username: Dannaroo Post Number: 137 Registered: 05-2006 |
I know the Oakland County Planning Department just produced a map showing some highlights of Native American culture and history within the county. I am not sure how in depth or accurate their map is, but it may be of interest to some people in this thread: Oakland County Native American Map | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 110 Registered: 08-2007 |
Wow! I can't wait to get that map. Apple Island in Orchard Lake is said to be a former Indian camp. Yes, that is the same Three Fires referred to at Bkejwanong/Walpole. The date was determined from the Midewiwin scrolls by a Potawatomi elder named Shupshewana. Wikipedia has this info, and this reference. ^ Loew, Patty. 2001. Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal." Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press William Warren, on the other hand, gives the history as told by his elders in the 1800s. Born in 1825, he was educated and wrote a detailed History of the Ojibwe People which was recently republished. He was only 28 when he died. He tells how the People made their way from the Atlantic, a journey that took 500 years, arriving at the head of the lakes in about the 1400s. Michilimackinac was where they landed, and there they formed the Council of the Three Fires, which met there or at LaPointe for the next several hundred years. | ||
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa Post Number: 1626 Registered: 11-2003 |
There's also the Saginaw Trail (followed Woodward/Crooks) that took the Native Americans from Detroit to Pontiac to Flint to Saginaw. And there's the Aanishnaabek tribe Indian Reservation across the St. Clair River south of Sarnia. Interesting article about their struggles. http://www.theecologist.org/ar chive_detail.asp?content_id=71 9 | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 111 Registered: 08-2007 |
Pontiac was killed in Cahokia in 1769 by an assassin from the Peoria tribe, and is supposedly buried there or in St. Louis across the river. Apple Island is also rumored to hold his grave. | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 112 Registered: 08-2007 |
Part of the Saginaw Trail is supposedly still visible in yards near Crooks and 13 Mile although it was threatened a couple years ago by a sidewalk development. I'm not sure what happened there. Royal Oak Historical Society has that info. The Potawatomi trail is now followed by US 12. Another trail is followed mainly by Grand River all the way to Lake Michigan. | ||
Waz Member Username: Waz Post Number: 170 Registered: 11-2006 |
I recall a standoff between and Indian group and the government of Ontario about 10 years ago. The Indians occupied land they claimed to be theirs and the standoff lasted several weeks. I thought it was relatively nearby, though not as close as Walpole. Sorry for the sketchy memory. Does anyone have more insight? | ||
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa Post Number: 1627 Registered: 11-2003 |
There's a historical marker of some sort along Crooks where it takes that bend before you get to 13 Mile that commemorates the trail. I believe it's on a rock up on the hilly part. | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 6387 Registered: 02-2004 |
Detroit's Native American population now stands at 3,663 but growing very slowly. They are hidden mostly in Del-Ray and parts of NW Detroit. There is no Native American community in Detroit and they rather stay out of the local media spotlight or mingle with black folks. | ||
Dannaroo Member Username: Dannaroo Post Number: 138 Registered: 05-2006 |
Waz: I don't know if this is related to the standoff you mentioned or not, but last summer some friends and I were headed up to The Pinery just southwest of Grand Bend to do some camping and I remember driving past what looked like it was an old (circa 1950's), very small military camp that now looked to currently be occupied by some tribe. The most interesting thing was that somebody had painted a big sign on the side of one of the buildings that said something to the effect of "Remember 1812!" | ||
Goat Member Username: Goat Post Number: 9724 Registered: 10-2003 |
The assassin as I have heard was paid by the UK and US gov'ts. Though Pontiac was done as a leader (poor and became a drunk)the killing was a "pay back" for his "uprising". There was also a Odawa (Huron/Wyandot) reserve west of Windsor that was very large in scope. The only thing that remains is the Wyandot cemetary on Highway 18 (road takes you to Amherstburg)that sits on the Detroit river. The last remaining Chief of the Wyandots is buried there. Here is a link to a site that has pictures and a bit about the cemetary. I couldn't find post about the cemetary but I know it is there. Look through the Photo Du Jour's. http://internationalmetropolis .com/ | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 280 Registered: 02-2007 |
Waz is remembering the Iperwash (sp?)standoff at a mothballed "Canadian Forces" base on Lake Huron. I think it was because they were angry over Howard Stern going off of the air in Ontario. At WSU a couple of years ago I saw an "Ethnic Map" of Detroit: color-coded to ID areas by dominant ethnic presence (and except for the fringes the City was almost entirely purple or whatever the color represented "black"/AA). I don't recall if Natives were singled out, but but there were a lot of esoteric detail re: the metro area's various tribes of Europeans & Asians. The map was getting kind of dated, but it may still be available through the Sociology Department or library. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 11 Registered: 08-2007 |
I believe Mound Road got its name from a burial mound that was just south of 8 mile on Mound. I was told a remnant of the Mound can still be found in the median. Sorry, can't find the paperwork back up on that little factoid, but there was an older gentleman that hung out at the Oakland County Historical Society that told me about it. | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 282 Registered: 02-2007 |
Waz is remembering "Iperwash" (sp?): a standoff at a mothballed Canadian military base on Lake Huron. Check out WSU's ethnic map (Sociology Dept. or library). A very cool color-coded presentation of metro Detroit's ethnicities. Danny - for the first time in a while you got it right. I don't know about the growth of the population, but NW side is the other concentration known to me. My Indian friends were poor folks in Brightmoor. | ||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 1091 Registered: 12-2005 |
quote: This happened in September 1995 when Dudley George was shot and killed during a protest by First Nations representatives at Ipperwash Provincial Park. Ipperwash Provincial Park is located on the shores of Lake Huron, just north of the town of Forest, ON. We were headed to the Forest Golf resort that weekend and had no trouble getting there, however, several of our friends who were only an hour behind us ran into Ontario Provincial Police roadblocks and had to find a set of back roads to get there. [more information here] | ||
Dannaroo Member Username: Dannaroo Post Number: 139 Registered: 05-2006 |
Here is a link with a bit more recent info about the events at Ipperwash: CBC In Depth After reading that and a few other things, I think the spray-painted building I saw probably said, "Remember 1942!" and not "Remember 1812!" (unless those occupying the camp were actually U.S. sympathizers). | ||
Goat Member Username: Goat Post Number: 9729 Registered: 10-2003 |
There was also the Oka standoff in 1990 in Quebec. This is what the gov't gets when they purposely delay land claims. People will eventually rise up to show their anger. When Quebec had their referendum in 1995 I was told by many that the entire Native American population was going to rise up against the Quebec gov't and declare their land to still be a part of Canada. They were willing to take on the Quebec Provincial Police. It would have been a mini civil war. As for Ipperwash, the gov't consistently stated they were going to give back the land to the Native Americans but kept stalling. Finally they just took it back and the ensuing standoff and murder of Dudley George happened shortly thereafter. | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 113 Registered: 08-2007 |
In May 1993, a group called Aazhodena, formerly from Stony Point, occupied the undeveloped area of Camp Ipperwash, a military site. There was a land dispute centering on the military camp which was occupying the former Stony Point Reserve. There was some talk of a burial ground on the site also. This went on for a couple of years, and in July, 1995, the group took over the built-up area of the camp. Because of fears for the park, extra surveillance there was mounted. After the park closed for the season in September 1995, the Aazhodena did move in. During this time, there were also rumors that the Pinery would be taken over, and the bridge to Walpole Island blockaded. Because negotiators concluded that the Aazhodena had no intentions of leaving, the military evacuated the camp. The OPP decided to deploy an anti-terrorist unit at 11 pm against the unarmed Aazhodena. Dudley George, a young man whose parents lived in Detroit and were well known in Detroit's Indian community, was killed by the OPP on Septembe 6, 1995. Here is a review of a book on the subject: http://ammsa.com/bookreviews/O neDeadIndian.html | ||
Dave Member Username: Dave Post Number: 160 Registered: 10-2003 |
An excellent book for the traditional Anishinaabe view of history is "The Mishomis Book" by Edward Benton-Benai. Eddie is a Midewiwin teacher, Founder of the Red School House in St. Paul, a native culture based K-12 school, and one of the founders of the American Indian Movement (AIM). He is also Grand Chief of the Three Fires Society Midewiwin lodge. Most of the natives living in the cities of the US are not from local tribes but come from immigrants to the cities from the reservations between the Korean War and the 1980's. dave | ||
Goat Member Username: Goat Post Number: 9730 Registered: 10-2003 |
Gazhekwe, A little clarification. The military had already left BEFORE the Natives took it over. The arguement was that the military was taking their sweet time cleaning up the site so the Natives just took it over. | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 116 Registered: 08-2007 |
Right, sorry for the confusion. I think the referenced evacuation of the site was supposedly a policy of non-confrontation by the military in this issue. They didn't go in to reclaim the site. There was no presence, and the confrontation was strictly OPP, not military. I knew Dudley's parents, it was a very sad time. | ||
Margaret Member Username: Margaret Post Number: 70 Registered: 06-2007 |
thanks, everyone, for the great posts on this thread! | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 127 Registered: 08-2007 |
Very interesting! Detroit Center for Urban Studies, using the 2000 Census figures, found significant concentrations of Indians in Romulus, Northville Twp, Warren, and southwest Detroit. For the remainder, there is a pretty good representation throughout the city and suburbs. The study: Metropolitan Detroit’s Diverse Population: A Closer Look: What the 2000 Census Has to Tell Us Presentation to the Detroit Orientation Institute Kurt R. Metzger, Research Director Center for Urban Studies, Wayne State University April 28, 2003 www.cus.wayne.edu/content/pres entations/MetroDiversity.pdf |
