The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario PDF
Preview The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario
The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario The Ojibwa have lived in Ontario longer than any other ethnic group. Until now, however, their history has never been fully recorded. Peter Schmalz offers a sweeping account of the Ojibwa in which he corrects many long-standing historical errors and fills in numerous gaps in their story. His narrative is based as much on Ojibwa oral tradition as on the usual historical sources. Beginning with life as it was before the arrival of Europeans in North America, Schmalz describes the peaceful commercial trade of the Ojibwa hunters and fishers with the Iroquois. Later, when the Five Nations Iroquois attacked various groups in southern Ontario in the mid-seven- teenth century, the Ojibwa were the only Indians to defeat them, thereby disproving the myth of Iroquois invincibility. In the eighteenth century the Ojibwa entered their golden age, enjoying the benefits of close alliance with both the French and the English. But with those close ties came an increasing dependence on European guns, tools, and liquor at the expense of the older way of life. The English defeat of the French in 1759 changed the nature of Ojibwa society, as did the Beaver War (better known as the Pontiac Uprising) they fought against the English a few years later. In his account of that war, Schmalz offers a new assessment of the role of Pontiac and the Toronto chief Wabbicommicot. The fifty years following the Beaver War brought bloodshed and suffering at the hands of the English and United Empire Loyalists. The reserve system and the establishment of special schools, intended to destroy the Indian culture and assimilate the Ojibwa into mainstream society, failed to meet those objectives. The twentieth century has seen something of an Ojibwa renaissance. Schmalz shows how Ojibwa participation in two world wars led to a desire to change conditions at home. Today the Ojibwa are gaining some control over their children's education, their reserves, and their culture. PETER s. SCHMALZ is head of the History and Social Science Department at Walkerton (Ontario) District Secondary School. His earlier books include Man in Society and The History of the Saugeen Indians. This page intentionally left blank Peter S. Schmalz THE OJIBWA OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO University of Toronto Press Toronto Buffalo London www.utppublishing.com University of Toronto Press 1991 Toronto Buffalo London Printed in Canada ISBN 0-8020-2736-9 (cloth) ISBN 0-8020-6778-6 (paper) Printed on acid-free paper Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Schmalz, Peter S. The Ojibwa of southern Ontario Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8020-2736-9 (bound). - ISBN 0-8020-6778-6 (pbk.) 1. Ojibwa Indians - History.* 2. Ojibwa Indians - Government relations.* 3. Indians of North America - Ontairo - History. 4. Indians of North America - Canada - Government relations. 5. Indians, Treatment of- Ontario - History. I. Title. E99.C6S34 1991 971.3'00497 C90-094505-2 This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Social Science Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Preface ix Map xvi 1 INTRODUCTION 'We Are Not Brutes To Be Whipped into Duty' 3 2 CONQUEST 'By the Power of the Great Serpent' 13 3 THE GOLDEN AGE 'Our Warriors Make the Earth Tremble' 35 4 THE BEAVER WAR 'You Have Not Yet Conquered Us!' 63 5 THE PEACEFUL CONQUEST 'We Have Melted Away Like Snow' 85 6 THE SURRENDERS 'You Have Swept Away All Our Pleasant Lands' 120 7 EARLY RESERVES 'We Must Go Begging' 147 8 RESERVE STAGNATION 'We Are under a Dictatorship' 180 vi Contents 9 THE RENAISSANCE 'There Is a Strong Spirit of Revival' 227 10 CONCLUSION 'Native Issues Will Come to the Forefront in the 1990s' 261 Notes 267 Select Bibliography 309 Picture Credits 320 Index 321 Illustrations following 62 and 226 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are several persons who, through their help and encour- agement, made this book possible. Over two decades, E. Palmer Patterson has fanned the flame of interest on coals that were losing their glow. My gratitude must also go to the numerous native people who shared their knowledge with me. Chiefs Vernon Roote, James Mason, Ralph Akiwenzie, and Joseph Akiwenzie stimulated my efforts to investigate the history of their people. Irene Akiwenzie often demonstrated the traditional generosity of the Ojibwa and proved that she was a great nokomis. My former students, Sue Stump and Tammy Jones, helped in gathering oral traditions. The superb editorial skill of Rosemary Shipton was essential to transform the manuscript into a book. And, because the research and writing was done at the same time that I was teaching full time, my family (Shirley, Michael, Lisa, and James) must receive my deepest grati- tude for their cooperation. To all of you, megwacb. This page intentionally left blank PREFACE Today there are approximately 20,000 Ojibwas located on about three dozen small reserves scattered throughout southern Ontario.1 Although they now represent a relatively small minority in the multicultural population, for almost the whole of the eighteenth century they were by far the most influential and numerous ethnic group in that part of the province. While their ancestors have been in contact with Europeans for over 350 years, no scholar has attempted to write a definitive work on the history of this particular group, which has commonly been placed within the Southeastern Ojibwa of North America. Indeed, there is not even a useful guide to determine the decisive turning points in their history. This is amazing considering that the Ojibwa of southern Ontario are the most numerous Indians in the province and that they played an important role not only in the history of Ontario but in the broader colonial struggle for North America as well. This history is an attempt to examine the interrelationship between the Ojibwa of southern Ontario and the Euro-Americans from their first contact in the early seventeenth century through to contemporary times. While such a comprehensive study at this time may be bold in light of the limited scholarship that has been dedicated to the southern Ontario Ojibwa, it is hoped that it will stimulate greater efforts in this field, create some intellectual fer- mentation, and form a tentative framework to aid future scholars. In a broad context, this history traces the rise, decline, and resurgence of the Ojibwa in southern Ontario. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 deal with the Ojibwa as successful warriors, fur traders, and
The list of books you might like
