Chequamegon Bay Ojibwe History

European contact and adoption of their technology by the Chequamegon Bay Ojibwe tribes revolutionized the methods and time required to perform their numerous daily tasks, especially Ojibwe women, but also eventually opened them up to exploitation by the US government. The Chequamegon Bay Ojibwe history can be divided into four major time periods: pre-European contact, early European contact and trade, the period of official, regulated fur trade, and the time period as the fur trade declined and other resources on Ojibwe lands were targeted. The introduction of European iron tools decreased the time and effort required for almost every chore and did not need to be replaced as frequently. However, since the fur trade ebbed and flowed, so too
did the Ojibwe access to these French trade goods. By the time the periods of lack of trade occurred, the Ojibwe people had become less adept at many of their old practices due to their dependence on these European goods. The lack of European items impacted Ojibwe women the most, who carried out a wider variety of tasks within the village. During the times when women lacked the European utensils they had become accustomed to, the villages suffered both hunger and hardship. For many years, as the fur trade flourished so did the Ojibwe. However, when the fur trade died out the US looked to other ways to profit from the Ojibwe. The consequences of this would have impacts on Ojibwe culture and rights for many years to come. During the time period before their contact with Europeans the Ojibwe lived a subsistence lifestyle, depending completely on nature to gather and process the food and supplies they needed. It is estimated that in the year 1490 the migration of the Ojibwe people ended when they took up their permanent residence at La Pointe. The landscape provided them with wild rice in the fall, maple sugar in the spring and a wide variety of animals, trees and berries for food and other necessities. The responsibility of women was “all the work, heavy or light, always with the exception of hunting” (Kohl 4). These duties included gathering wood, berries and medical herbs, cooking, child care and weaving and making items such as mats, baskets and dishes. The tools they used to carry out these tasks were typically wood, stone and bones. Needles to sew were made of bones of small animals or thorns. Birch bark was used to construct baskets, most dishes and canoes. Axes for cutting timber were made from a stone tied to a piece of wood. The main task that occupied the days of Ojibwe women was gathering wood for the fires they would cook their dinners on as well as to heat their wigwams while the family slept (Densmore 169). With the arrival of French explorers, which was initiated by Jacques Cartier’s discovery of the St. Lawrence River in 1534, came a whole new era for the Ojibwe people (Ross 14). In exchange for beaver pelts the Europeans gave them iron tools such as scissors, axes, needles and cooking utensils. These iron tools were more efficient and lasted longer than their traditional tools. The iron needles were shaper and, in conjunction with European cloth, immensely expedited the sewing process. The axes were also sharper and made it easier and faster to fell trees. The copper pots were much more durable and took a long time to wear out. Women supplied food and provisions which were invaluable commodities in trades. Many Ojibwe women also married French fur traders which created alliances and good relations between the two groups of people, allowing them also to act as interpreters. Recognition of how fundamental Ojibwe women were in the trading process is demonstrated in the fact that they were able to participate directly in these trade transactions sometimes (Danziger 27). This new ability for Ojibwe women to step outside of their traditional gender roles reflects the shift in culture that occurred as a result of the new technology they had. These friendly relations and the success of the French fur traders led Nicolet to become the first licensed fur trader in 1634, which marked the beginning of the official fur trading industry (Ross 18). By 1693 the first trading post was set up with Le Sueur in charge. However, five years later it was abandoned due to the drastically reduced prices in Europe for furs because the markets had been flooded with them. The fort would not be reestablished on Madeline for twenty years. During this time, the tools that the Ojibwe had obtained in trades had long worn out. They couldn’t gather wood as efficiently without the metal axes or sew blankets without cloth and metal needles, so the winter and cold northern nights were especially brutal. Without the kettles to cook their food and weapons to hunt them, the Ojibwe people suffered greatly. When St. Pierre finally arrived to reestablish the fort in 1718, he found the “starving, ragged Indians who obviously had forgotten the traditional skills of making stone, bone and wood substitutes” (Danziger 31). While it was believed that the Ojibwe had forgotten their traditional ways of obtaining food and supplies, the fact that many of these practices have survived to modern day makes this unlikely. However, it is clear that without the European metal tools their daily tasks consumed more of their days than had been necessary with their aid. For this reason, it is clear that the Ojibwe people did suffer during the period when the fur trade was inactive. Upon recognizing the immense hardships these people had endured, St. Pierre gave them many trade goods on credit so that they could quickly get back to the ways of life they had become accustomed to (Ross 48). The amount of effort it took to go back to their old methods of doing things highlights just how far Ojibwe practices had come since the introduction of European tools. With the return of the traders came a new age of trade and prosperity for the Ojibwe people.
In 1727 La Ronde took over the fort, who encouraged agriculture among the Ojibwe (a task which fell to the women) as well as imported horses (Ross 50). This accelerated travel and hunting for the men, and allowed the women to save some of the food they grew for winter. With this time of plenty came more changes for the life of Ojibwe women. An increase in decorative work occurred since the women had more time to do such things. The materials they used for this were largely European beads, a shift from the traditional porcupine quillwork. Looms were also introduced and new forms of hand weaving arose. These innovative forms of artistic expression displayed by Ojibwe women demonstrate the tangible impact that European tools had on the daily lives of the Ojibwe, especially women (Densmore
183). While the effects of the fur trade can be most easily observed through its impacts on the lives of Ojibwe women, when it ended the injustices that occurred would go far beyond gender roles.
The recession of the fur trade pushed the US to look to other resources in the Chequamegon Bay area that they could profit from. In 1787, in the Northwest Ordinance the US declared that they would uphold a policy of peace and friendship towards the Ojibwe (Satz 4). However, the United States continually pushed for more and more measures to suppress Ojibwe culture and make them more “American.” In 1816 the US officially banned all foreign fur trade with Native Americans. In 1830 a school was set up on La Pointe and a mission four years later (Ross 83). Despite these attempts to Americanize the Ojibwe, they largely maintained their traditional culture and were still clearly seen by the US government as not American. In 1837, the Pine Tree Treaty was signed, marking the beginning of a long history of deceptions and exploitations of the Ojibwe people by US politicians (Satz
15). Due to the radical changes contact with Europeans via the fur trade had on the lives of Ojibwe women ( practically, socially and culturally), the impacts of the decline of the fur trade were even more tangible. The freedom and respect they had gained because of the heavy dependence placed on them in fur trade interactions faded as they went from being key figures in trades to uncivilized, uneducated savages that needed to be taken care of and coerced by the US government into ceding their lands. The skills of taking care of themselves and their families that they had mastered over many years became irrelevant in the eyes of the government, who saw only the copper and timber to be obtained with the removal of these people. This struggle between the US government and the Ojibwe people over their resources, rights and ultimately culture continues on today.

Bibliography

Danziger, Edmund Jefferson, Jr. The Chippewas of Lake Superior. Norman: U of Oklahoma, 1978. Print.

Densmore, Frances. Chippewa Customs. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1979. Print.

Kohl, Johann Georg. Kitchigami: Life among the Lake Superior Ojibway. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1985. Print.

Ross, Hamilton Nelson. La Pointe: Village Outpost on Madeline Island. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 2000. Print.

Satz, Ronald N. Chippewa Treaty Rights. Madison: Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, 1922. Print.