Michigan


 * Michigan Tribes**
 * Menominee** This tribe ceded its claim to a portion of the upper peninsula of Michigan in 1836.


 * Ottawa** From a native word signifying "to trade," because they were noted as middlemen.
 * Potawatomi** Meaning "people of the place of the fire," and hence sometimes known as the Fire Nation



One of the most important local chiefs in Michigan was Chief Okemos (right), chief of the Chippewa tribe from about 1789 to 1858 when he died. Like many other Native American chiefs, often under threat from American authorities Okemos signed several treaties with Michigan and the U. S. government that allowed whites to settle what had once been Chippewa land

Native Americans grew increasingly distant from native culture under the influence of white schools, missions, and churches. Indian schools like this one, for example, were intended to teach Native American children the ways of whites, including speaking only English. Thousands of Native Americans converted to Christianity and abandoned native practices. Over time their languages, religions, and traditions faded as native peoples became increasingly impoverished.

Deborah Lambrix

[|Christianity]