Timber, Minerals, and TreatiesRecognizing indigenous bands as sovereign nations in

Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Upper Michigan, theUnited States made treaties with the Ojibwe (Chippewa)of the Lake Superior region to gain access to the landand the natural resources.

Dominated by massive pine forests, wetlands, andrugged terrain, there was little interest from whiteAmericans in settling this region. United States lead-ers, however, sought raw materials like timber, copper,and iron ore to fuel western expansion and engagedIndian leaders to push for land acquisitions.

In 1837, Ojibwe chiefs and government officials metnear present-day St. Paul, resulting in the sale, or ces-sion, of 13 million acres in east-central Minnesota andnorthern Wisconsin. The transaction was contingenton the Ojibwe retaining rights to hunt, fish, and gatheron the newly ceded territory. These reserved rights arecommonly called "treat y rights." An additional provi-sion to the treat y required the United States to makeannual payments called annuities to band members for25 years. Annuit y payments generally included cash,food, and everyday utilit y items.

Five years later, Ojibwe headmen and government rep-resentatives agreed upon a 10-million-acre land cessionthat included portions of northern Wisconsin and UpperMichigan. The treaty opened the south shore of LakeSuperior to lumberjacks, along with iron and copper min-ers. Similar to the previous 1837 arrangement, the 1842Treaty guaranteed the Ojibwe's hunting, fishing andgathering rights and promised annuity distributions.

Attempted Removal to Minnesota

Most Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Ojibwe bandswhich negotiated the 1837 and 1842 Treaties receivedtheir annuities by early autumn at La Pointe on Made-line Island–a cultural and spiritual center for Ojibwepeople. Some government officials in the MinnesotaTerritory, however, wanted the distribution site movedout of Wisconsin in order to reap the economic benefitsof a large, concentrated Indian population.

Territorial Governor and Superintendent of IndianAffairs in Minnesota, Alexander Ramsey, worked withother officials to remove the Ojibwe from their homesin Wisconsin and Upper Michigan to Sandy Lake,known to the Ojibwe as Gaamiitawangagaamag. Thef low of annuit y money and government aid to buildIndian schools, agencies, and farms would create wealthfor Ramsey and his supporters in Minnesota.

Pressured by Ramsey and others, United States Pres-ident Zachary Taylor issued an executive order in Febru-ary 1850 that sought to move Ojibwe Indians living eastof the Mississippi River to their unceded lands. Initiallystunned by the breach of the 1837 and 1842 Treatyterms, Ojibwe leaders recognized that the removal orderclearly violated their agreement with the United States.Soon, a broad coalition of supporters–missionarygroups, newspapers, businessmen, and Wisconsin statelegislators–rallied to oppose the removal effort, andband members refused to abandon their homes.

Mikwendaagoziwag Memorial at Sandy Lake

One hundred and fifty years after the Sandy Laketragedy, the descendants of the 1850 annuity bands gath-ered to dedicate a memorial to those who suffered anddied. Perched on a glacial mound overlooking Sandy Lake,the Mikwendaagoziwag Memorial is situated near the rest-ing places of the Ojibwe of 1850. The memorial stands asa tribute and invites visitors to ref lect on the past.

The following 12 tribes, as modern–day successors tothe 1850 annuity bands, helped to design and fund thememorial:

MinnesotaFond du Lac BandGrand Portage BandLeech Lake BandMille Lacs Band

MichiganKeweenaw Bay Indian Communit y

Lac Vieux Desert Band

WisconsinBad River BandLac Courte Oreilles Band

Lac du Flambeau BandRed Cliff BandSt. Croix BandSokaogon Band

Annuity payment at Sandy Lake Indian Sub-Agency, 1850.

Mikwendaagoziwag in Ojibwe means: We remember them.

Ojibwe land ceded to the United States through the treatiesof 1837, 1842 and 1854.

For more information contact GLIFWC:P.O. Box 9Odanah, WI 54861Phone: 715-682-6619E-mail: pio@glifwc.orgWeb site: www.glifwc.org

The Tragedy of 1850-51President Taylor's removal order had failed. Never-

theless, Ramsey and Indian Sub-agent John Watroushad a scheme to lure these Ojibwe into Minnesota andtrap them there over the winter. They informed bandmembers that the treat y annuit y distribution site hadchanged from La Pointe to Sandy Lake, some 285canoe miles to the west. If the Ojibwe hoped to receiveanything that year, they were instructed to be at SandyLake by October 25, 1850.

While band members from Michigan and someeastern reaches of Wisconsin refused to travel withwinter fast approaching, more than 5,500 Ojibwe jour-neyed to Sandy Lake that autumn. They arrivedfatigued and hungry after the arduous journey, only tofind no one there to distribute the supplies. Wild gamewas scarce, fishing was poor, and high water had wipedout the local wild rice crop for the second consecutive

year. For the wearytravelers and thoseOjibwe who resided atSandy Lake, livingconditions deterioratedrapidly.

Over a six-weekperiod as harsh winterconditions set in, bandmembers waited nearthe newly establish-ed Indian sub–agency.Without adequate foodor shelter, disease andexposure ravaged Ojib-we families. More than

150 died at Sandy Lake from complications caused bydysentery and the measles.

A partial annuit y payment was finally completed onDecember 2, providing the Ojibwe with a meagerthree-day food supply and no cash to buy desperatelyneeded provisions. The following day most of theOjibwe broke camp, while a few people stayed behindto care for those too ill to travel. With the canoe routesfrozen and over a foot of snow on the ground, familieswalked hundreds of miles to get back home. Another250 died on that bitter trail, and the Ojibwe vowednever to abandon their villages in Wisconsin andUpper Michigan for Sandy Lake.

The Sandy Lake LegacyIn the years following the Sandy Lake tragedy,

Ojibwe bands and their non-Indian supporters vigor-ously opposed further attempts at removal from Wis-consin and Upper Michigan. Newspaper editors andmissionaries rallied public support for the Ojibwe.Ramsey and Watrous tried again to bring the bands toSandy Lake in 1851, but were rebuffed by survivors whocalled the annuit y payment site a "graveyard."

A delegation of Ojibwe chiefs and headmen traveledto Washington, D.C. in the spring of 1852 to protestRamsey's removal efforts and the needless sufferingthat occurred at Sandy Lake. Led by Chief Buffalo of LaPointe, who was well into his 90s, the Ojibwe requestedan official end to removal efforts. After meeting withtribal leaders, President Millard Fillmore agreed torescind the removal order and pledged that overdueand future annuities would be made at La Pointe.

Two years later when the United States soughtOjibwe land in Minnesota's Arrowhead region, theOjibwe of the Lake Superior region agreed to cede moreterritory in exchange for permanent reservations inUpper Michigan and Wisconsin through the Treaty of1854. Driven by the events at Sandy Lake and a love forthe homeland and graves of their forefathers, theseOjibwe were resolved to stay in their traditional villages.

Ceded Lands in the 21st CenturyFew American Indian tribes successfully reserved

hunting, fishing, and gathering rights on land theyceded. Only those Ojibwe tribes who participated inthe 1837, 1842, and 1854 treaties retain those rightsto harvest natural resources in Michigan, Wisconsin,and Minnesota as recognized by federal courts. OjibweIndians continue to hunt, fish, and harvest wild plantswithin the ceded territory boundaries. With the assis-tance of intertribal agencies like the Great LakesIndian Fish & Wildlife Commission, Ojibwe tribes co-manage these natural resources with states and thefederal government.

Public lands within the ceded territories provide Ojibwe peoplewith limited harvest opportunities.

Ojibwe Country, 1850: Western Lake Superior Region

This map shows both historic and current Ojibwe communities. Ojibwe people traveled by birchbark canoes to SandyLake in the fall of 1850 and were forced to walk during the winter to get back home. (GLIFWC at LICGF)

"Frequently seven or eightdied in a day. Coffins couldnot be procured, and oftenthe body of the deceasedwas wrapped up in a pieceof bark and buried slightlyunder ground. All over thecleared land graves were tobe seen in every direction,for miles distant, fromSandy Lake."

-Rev. John H. Pitezel, Methodist Episcopal missionary

Present-day Band Reservations

Ojibwe Villages Mid-1800s

Rivers / Streams

Lakes