  Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 5580 Registered: 10-2003 |
I have heard about this incident from an older relative but I never new there was a plaque to commemorate the last “Indian” massacre that took place in Detroit. I drive by this building in Capitol Park nearly every other day and never noticed anything special. The building is known as the Capitol Park Building (1145 Griswold) designed by Leonard Willeke in 1912. However, the plaque is long gone from what I noticed. The last open act of hostility by the Indians in Detroit was the killing and scalping on this spot of Ananias McMillan on September 10, 1814. His son, Archie, eleven years old, was taken captive and held for ransom until the spring of 1815. Presented to the City of Detroit in the month of September, 1926.   You can read more about the incident and its consequences here: Historical account Historical account 1145 Griswold listing | ||
Dan Member Username: Dan Post Number: 1573 Registered: 10-2003 |
Too bad there aren't markers for the last "white man" massacre of natives. | ||
Original63 Member Username: Original63 Post Number: 27 Registered: 08-2008 |
They would still be erecting them if Natives anywhere on earth were respected. | ||
Retroit Member Username: Retroit Post Number: 394 Registered: 04-2008 |
Wow, Indians, oh excuse me "Natives", actually did something bad? I've always been taught that they were a race of perfect humans unacquainted with evil till they were corrupted by the "white man". I wouldn't be surprised if the sign was taken down because it might offend some "Native Americans". | ||
Hockey_guy Member Username: Hockey_guy Post Number: 54 Registered: 11-2007 |
I'm "European American", should I be offended if someone of another race calls me white? | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 3044 Registered: 10-2003 |
Great information, Patrick. I didn't know that was a Willeke building. Thanks!•• | ||
Kennyd Member Username: Kennyd Post Number: 48 Registered: 04-2008 |
In all fairness, can the death of one qualify as a "massacre"? Where's the MASS quantities? | ||
Lowell Moderator Username: Lowell Post Number: 5026 Registered: 07-2008 |
Nice find Patrick. I'm always amazed at what I can walk by over the years and not notice. | ||
Dan Member Username: Dan Post Number: 1574 Registered: 10-2003 |
Retroit, If you are reacting to my post, there is no need. I was not making any statements about the wickedness of any particular groups of people. My comment strictly had to do with the fact that Natives were massacred all over our country, and there are few markers. It seems reading your post you reacted to my use of “white man” which is no different than “Indian” in the title of the thread, I was simply using the same archaic language that was used in the tablet. Native Americans were and are mistreated like many minorities, so I hope the marker was taken down because it offends anyone with sense. Keep trolling…. | ||
Flyingj Member Username: Flyingj Post Number: 318 Registered: 08-2006 |
Poor Ananias McMillan, didn't listen to a few members of this board & stayed above 8 Mile... | ||
Kennyd Member Username: Kennyd Post Number: 49 Registered: 04-2008 |
quote: quote: You seemed to profess your innocence at first, but then returned to the holier\smarter-than-thou airs. We have a lot of balls judging the actions and reactions of people 200 or 300 years ago. (IMO) If there were a group of people who repeatedly snuck around and killed your neighbor, or the bully who beat you up in third grade, or your idiot Brother-In-Law, you might feel differently about how they should be treated. One big reason Native Americans were driven away or brutally fought was a REACTION to thier own collective actions. Is EVERYONE afraid to say it? That is not to say they weren't wronged along the way. I don't think the Europeans in this area suffered at the hands of Native peoples nearly as much as did those in the South. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 1881 Registered: 08-2007 |
Patrick, The historical accounts you provided were outstanding. I especially liked the names of the men on the posse that went after the evil doers. Maybe it's just me but it sounded more like a robbery/mugging than a massacre. Kind of like a car-jacking today and finding out there is a kid in the backseat. As far as a real massacre goes, I do know there was real battle out in Oakland County where hundreds of Chippewa and Odawa were killed. I'll have to did through my stuff to find the exact date. IIRC, some white folk stumbled on the hundreds of the bodies, freshly killed, but no one heard anything about a major battle. | ||
Pam Member Username: Pam Post Number: 4677 Registered: 11-2005 |
quote: From the Native point of view, their lands were taken over by foreign invaders. Their actions could be seen as self defense. Read "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee". | ||
Original63 Member Username: Original63 Post Number: 28 Registered: 08-2008 |
Wow I am so amazed at the attitude of invaders that the welcome mat was not out for them. Invading spaces and taking peoples land is theft no matter who did it.. If I came into anyone home and 'discovered their computer ' I would still be a thief. no matter where I came from. The lack of understanding that Natives all around this world were rounded up and slaughtered still does not sink in to most people. Just ask the simple question 'how many native Americans do I know' then ask why you don't know more and then the answer might dawn on you. Most were murdered and the rest rounded up. By the was I never noticed that plaque either. I'll check it out. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 1882 Registered: 08-2007 |
http://books.google.com/books? id=4n8fC5f3eccC&pg=PA354&dq=%2 2Archie+McMillan%22+michigan&l r= A little story about Archie McMillan... seems Archie was quite a handful for his captors. He died in Jackson in 1860 and according to another source his son, Archibald McMillan, was a Jackson newspaper man in the 1880s. | ||
Townonenorth Member Username: Townonenorth Post Number: 165 Registered: 10-2007 |
quote: I believe this is the passage below, from "History of Oakland County Michigan, Thaddeus Seely. A GOOD MANY DEAD INDIANS As elsewhere in the county, the country in the vicinity of the fish- producing lakes of Bloomfield township was a favorite resort of theIndians. When they made their semi-annual journeyings to Detroit to receive their government annuities, they made their camps on their shores or on the banks of the Rouge river. There are traditions, too,that this region was once the theater of great battles between the rival tribes. In particular, it was related by a centenarian French voyager named Michaud, whom Edwin Baldwin and other old residents of thetownship remember well, that on one occasion, long before the coming of the government surveyors, as he passed through these woods on afur-trading expedition, he came to a fresh battlefield on which still lay unburied fifteen hundred dead Indians; and that this bloody spot was none other than what has since been known as "Swan's plains," a short distance north of Birmingham. Doubtless battles were fought within the limits of Bloomfield township between warring savages — but fifteen hundred dead Indians are a good many! I wonder who's house is on this land now? (Message edited by townonenorth on September 19, 2008) | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 1407 Registered: 10-2003 |
as well as the fox creek massacre that was alluded to in an earlier thread. Remember, that was only the last Indian massacre to date...look to Walpole Island and be vigilant!  | ||
Lefty2 Member Username: Lefty2 Post Number: 2241 Registered: 07-2007 |
I was wondering, does the city have a plaque for the '67 riots? | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 1884 Registered: 08-2007 |
Townonenorth, at the Birmingham library they have a history room with a set of books that contain letters from the early days of Michigan history. These letters are first person contemporary accounts of historic events. One set of letters is from a Captain at Fort Detroit to a General at Fort Pitt detailing Pontiac's Siege and and the events surrounding that time. Pretty interesting stuff. The letter I was refered to above about the Indian battle is kind of creepy. It recounts a group of pioneers who came upon the remnants of the carnage. Just bodies. Hundreds of bodies. And no one around to tell what happened. I'm tiring to remember the details, but I'm stuck with the impression that the battle ground was in the West Bloomfield or Farmington areas. I know I photocopied the letters, but finding them will be difficult as my filing system consists of piles of paper. It might be faster to just head to b-ham. | ||
Goat Member Username: Goat Post Number: 10363 Registered: 10-2003 |
The ignorance in this thread is astounding! All Patrick was trying to show was a plaque that is/was probably never really even noticed by most people. Yet we are all seeing some serious displays of ignorance by some people here. If you don't know who or what is so ignorant read this sad thread again. Thanks to Gnome and Townonenorth for bringing some real insight about the area. | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 3822 Registered: 04-2005 |
For some reason, people can't seem to talk about history without turning it into some sort of argument. What is wrong with history for history's sake. I love finding out about what came before my meager lifetime. It's fascinating to find out what people from other times lived like. Yes, there are object lessons, and we should learn from the past, but there are times when it's just fun and interesting. | ||
Gene Member Username: Gene Post Number: 112 Registered: 10-2006 |
The historical account states that "they were jumped by a gang of Chippewa's" History seems to be repeating itself, only the gangs are different. We didnt learn from the past. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 1885 Registered: 08-2007 |
Great find TownoneNorth, yes, that is the event, but there are letters that give it a fresh feeling instead of just facts. This is a link of a Diary of the Seige of Detroit, a first person account of the events. It is a little difficult to read because it uses old typesetting techniques and carries over old spellings and sentence construction. Letter 's' sometimes are 'f's, etc. http://books.google.com/books? id=UYUez9gwUVwC&printsec=front cover&dq=diary+of+the+seige+of +detroit&lr= On page 41 it recounts the death of one Capitan Campbelle, a Pontiac hostage, who had his heart cut out and eaten by the Indians. Poor Capt Campbelle also had his head removed and his limbs cut into tiny pieces. As a side point, in trying to get a grasp on the physical geography of the area... it seems that Fort Detroit was surrounded on three sides with Pontiac main camp on the east. So, now we know why the East side has always been the home of hoodlums. Jjaba now has historical fact to back up his assertion that he should never trod those blood soaked by-ways. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 3666 Registered: 01-2005 |
I've got to sigh and echo JCole and Goat above. History is fascinating. What happened decades and centuries ago cannot be overturned. We can only learn from the past. And to use Jjaba's third-person technique, Ray1936 is chortling over Gnome's observation of the east side....... | ||
Original63 Member Username: Original63 Post Number: 29 Registered: 08-2008 |
Lefty.. Yes that Plaque for the Rebellion (riot) is called the Suburbs | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 1408 Registered: 10-2003 |
Goat, Are you suggesting that we ignore the pending threat from the gathering storm in the flats? | ||
Townonenorth Member Username: Townonenorth Post Number: 167 Registered: 10-2007 |
Gmome, I find it hard to believe that someone would print that, knowing full well that the "s" was not being written as an "f" in 1860. Truly makes it hard to read. Otherwise, an interesting account. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 1886 Registered: 08-2007 |
TON: I agree, the typography makes the reading difficult, I can't account for their decision to use the antiquainted typeface except to suppose they were trying to be faithful to 1760 zeitgeist. At the end of the book is a listing of the folks that subscribed to the book. Back in the day, publishers didn't print books without having their costs covered. They would ask men if they would buy the book if it was printed. Usually the publisher would write an introduction and shop it around looking for backers. In Detroit one of the subscribers is CJ Walker, esq. He was kind of a amature indian expert and would speak to various groups about Michigan's first people. | ||
Lefty2 Member Username: Lefty2 Post Number: 2246 Registered: 07-2007 |
I actually was being 100% sincere. I don't know if there is any physical thing for it. Good or bad it is history and I am a big history buff. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 1889 Registered: 08-2007 |
there is a memorial at 12th and claremont, the epicenter of the Riot. To be truthful it is a trash strewn bumhaven. They tore down the blindpig and built a park of sorts. Picture Capital Park without the busses, the buildings or the people. (Message edited by gnome on September 20, 2008) | ||
Ahartz Member Username: Ahartz Post Number: 29 Registered: 04-2007 |
The gathering storm in the Flats....seriously?? I have heard talk of them talking about claiming the US side of LSC as thiers. ..andy |
