Ojibwa

Shooting the Rapids with the Ojibwa

/ mikelbclassen / Leave a comment

Sault Ste. Marie’s Whitewater Adventure

Shooting the rapids with the Ojibwa was very popular around 1900.

Riding the rapids with the Ojibwa was a popular pastime around 1900.

Sault Ste. Marie and the rapids of the St. Mary’s River provided an obstacle to Lake Superior. The cataracts of the river cascaded for a mile and no large ships could make it over them. For the local Native Americans, this was no object. Using their canoes, they would fish the rapids. They were able to navigate up and down the river with relative ease. Sault Ste Marie was their home and had been for untold generations and were one with the river. For entertainment they would shoot the whitewater.

Pictured here is John Bouchet one of the Ojibwa Rapids guides.

One of the rapids guides, John Bouchet, a well known and respected Native American was one of several river guides.

When Sault Ste. Marie began to grow and passenger ships began bringing passengers and tourists to the area, The local Ojibway began taking those with stout hearts on a local adventure they would never forget, shooting the rapids of the St. Mary’s River.

The dock where the whitewater adventure starts.

The rapids pilot dock. The canoe Kingfisher is also featured in the top picture front canoe. In the horizon another canoe can be seen racing the rapids.

By all accounts, this was a wild ride. It was a mile of rocks and water, racing and tumbling, the birch bark canoes sliding over and between the rocks that could destroy the vessels in an unpredictable moment.

A view of the canoe ride from the inside.

Shooting the Rapids with a Native American guide poling the canoe through the rapids.

Eventually Soo Locks expansions and a dam built across the river to regulate water levels, riding down the rapids came to an end.

Shooting the rapids.

Shooting the rapids.

To go to the homepage click here.

Native American Ostracized for Revealing Sacred Rock

/ mikelbclassen / Leave a comment
Wabishkee Penas and the Ontonagon Boulder
Thomas McKenney portrait of Native that was ostracized over revealing the sacred rock.

Wabishkee Penas, the guide that led Lewis Cass and Henry Schoolcraft to the Ontonagon Boulder.

In 1820, Territorial Governor Lewis Cass went on an expedition through Lake Superior to the Mississippi River. The Michigan Territory at the time extended to the great river. Accompanied by Henry Schoolcraft and Douglass Houghton, the expedition had determined to discover the validity of the existence of the legendary Ontonagon Boulder, an object sacred to the Ojibwa.

When the Cass expedition arrived at the mouth of the Ontonagon River, they asked the local natives for a guide. The Cass expedition consisted of native guides and interpreters. One agreed to take them to the boulder. His name was Wabishkee Penas (White Pigeon) and he expertly navigated the rugged Ontonagon River for Cass and his men. Arriving at the boulder, Schoolcraft and Houghton were underwhelmed with the two-ton copper mass. They thought it would be bigger.

When they returned, Governor Cass gave Wabishkee Penas a silver medal for guiding them to the boulder. They then packed up and proceeded further with their explorations. When Wabishkee Penas returned to the tribe he was met with derision. He had done something unforgivable. He gave away the location of the great sacred boulder to outsiders. In a final insult, he was sent away, exiled, ostracized from his tribe, shunned by all.

Col. Thomas McKenney
Thomas L. McKenney wrote a 3 volume set on Native Americans of North America.

Col. Thomas L. McKenny, Indian Agent in 1826.

Six years later he reappears at the door of Col. Thomas McKenney insisting on seeing Governor Cass. Cass and McKenney was attending a treaty signing in Fond du Lac, (at that time, Fond du Lac referred to the western part of Lake Superior) Minnesota and Mc Kenney was the current Indian agent. McKenny had set up offices in an old hut. Wabishkee Penas was emaciated and appeared to have spent most of his years hungry. Completely friendless, Wabishkee Penas sought the one person that might still greet him with a smile, Governor Cass. Around his neck still hung the silver medal.

Cass met with him. McKenney had his portrait painted. The resulting portrait is the first illustration above where his starvation and silver medal can be seen. McKenny would release a three-volume book called the “History of the Indian Tribes of North America.” Wabishkee Penas portrait as seen above was published within its pages. For better or for worse forever enshrined in history.

For more information on Thomas McKenney, Click here.

To go back to the homepage.

 

 

Santiago, Last Chief of the Chippewas Has Died

/ mikelbclassen / Leave a comment

Last Sachem of the Chippewas Has Gone

Obituary picture of Chippewa Chief Satago from St. Ignace.

Chief Santiago and his wife. He is said to have been 108 years old.

Author’s note: The headline above says it all. I found this obituary in a 1911 copy of the Detroit Free Press. I was fascinated by the writeup of his life. I’ve reprinted this in its entirety.

“St. Ignace, Mich., Sept. 28 – With the death of Chief Santiago, passed away the most noted and historic personage in northern Michigan. From Chief Santiago the poet Longfellow gleaned much material for “Hiawatha.” In the lodge of Chief Santiago the poet spent much of his time more than a half century ago when in this north country in search of material.

A nice color Picture from 1906 of the St. Ignace Ojibwa Chief Santigo.

The last chief of the St. Ignace Ojibwa, Santigo AKA Santiago.

“Santiago was a devout Roman Catholic, his ancestors being converted by Father Marquette. The most cherished event of his life was the fact that he was present when the remains of the great missionary and discoverer were disinterred from the ruins of the old mission church by Father Jacker. From his chieftain father he often heard of the wonderful cortege of 30 canoes that bore Marquette’s body up Lake Michigan to the mission here.”

His full name was Chief Joseph Misetiago, called Santiago. It is said he was born January 1, 1812, but back then records were highly inaccurate particularly towards Native Americans. His descendants are many as it is said his grandchildren were too numerous to count.

Author’s Note: About the last paragraph of the Quoted Paper above, It says that Santago was 108 years old in 1911. That makes his birth year 1803. Most records have his birth at 1812, Father Marquette’s bones were returned to St. Ignace in 1677. It was impossible that SaNtiago was an actual witness to this as the obituary implies.

To go back to the Homepage

Historical Photo – Ojibwa Family – Sault Ste. Marie – Michigan

/ mikelbclassen / Leave a comment
Historical Picture of indigenous family of the Great Lakes.

Photo of Ojibwa Native American family taken at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

 

I recently came across this photo of an Ojibwa Family. Like so many, there is no identification of who they were. This was taken by photographers from Sault Ste. Marie around 1888 – 1898.  I’ve placed a close-up of the family below. It might make it easier to possibly recognize one them. The traditional cedar wigwam can be seen in good detail. This is likely a one of a kind picture.

Other Historical Photos

 

Historical photo of an Ojibwa family from Sault Ste. Marie in close-up

This is a close-up of the Ojibwa family in this rare picture.

Charlotte Kawbawgam, Native American Rights Icon

/ mikelbclassen / 1 Comment

Charlotte Kawbawgam – Marquette County – Michigan

A True Tale of the U.P.

Charlotte Kawbawgam who is pictured above is a U.P. Woman in History. This Marquette area Native American changed the rights of Native Americans in a profound way and has become nearly lost in time. I expect few have heard this story. 

Marji-Gesick, a Chippewa chief, was hired in 1845 by Philo Everett to locate valuable iron ore deposits near Ishpeming, Michigan. The ore was found exposed under an uprooted tree and the Jackson Mining Company was born. He was paid with a certificate of interest entitling him to stock in the company. 

After Marji-Gesick’s death, his daughter, Charlotte Kawbawgam, who was married to Charlie Kawbawgam, the new Chippewa Chief, found the certificate. Charlie and her met in Sault Ste. Marie and were married by the Catholic church. When the Jackson Iron Company refused to recognize her ownership interest, she took the company to court.

The Michigan Supreme Court considered the company’s claim that Charlotte Kawbawgam should not be recognized as Marji-Gesick’s lawful heir because she had been born to one of the three women to whom her father had been married simultaneously. Polygamy was prohibited under Michigan law, but permitted under tribal laws and customs.

The Court decided that since the marriage was valid under Chippewa law, it must be recognized by Michigan’s courts. Charlotte Kawbawgam was declared Marji-Gesick’s lawful heir, inheriting his ownership interest in the Jackson Iron Company. This was a landmark Michigan Supreme Court decision acknowledging that tribal laws and customs govern the legal affairs of Native American families.

Charlotte, who eventually went blind, remained married to Charlie for over 50 years and they lived in a house on Presque Isle in Marquette. The pair are buried in Presque Isle Park and their gravesite is still marked there.

The story of Marji-Gesick, Charlotte Kawbawgam, and the Jackson Iron Company is immortalized in “Laughing Whitefish,” a book authored by former Michigan Supreme Court Justice John Voelker under his pen name, Robert Traver.

To learn more about Charlie and Charlotte Kawbawgam, the recently released “Kawbawgam,” by Tyler Tichler explores their life much more in depth. It is a U.P. Notable Book.

If you would like to see more pictures from my historical photograph collection, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikel_classen/sets/72157630887269582/