"Basswood Island and Oak Island," February 26, 2017, Aidan Dresang
Ojibwe History: The Love of the Land
Around the mid-17th century, the Ojibwe migrated from Quebec to the Lake Superior region. The French came and started fur trading outposts. In the mid-18th century, the British took over, called the Ojibwe "Chippewa," and forced them to sign treaties.
The Ojibwe respect the Earth and believe in preserving the environment for future generations. The [Ojibwe] tradition is to look seven generations ahead. We ask ourselves what we're leaving for the unborn. Will there be clean water and air? Will there be any pristine wilderness left?" - Joe Rose, Bad River Ojibwe Elder, 2014, Seventh Generation Earth Ethics. |
"We never felt that we owned the land. We never had that concept." - The Buffalo, 2016, Red Cliff Ojibwe History - PBS "Red Cliff Ojibwe History," 2016, PBS
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"So, that is kind of our purpose in a sense, to help teach the rest of humanity how to live, how to get a long in some respects, warn you about the environment, and take care of the water and things of this sort" - The Buffalo, 2016, Red Cliff Ojibwe History - PBS
Chief Buffalo's Trip to D.C.
In Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 1825, the Ojibwe were persuaded to sign a treaty, intending to give the British wood for building houses, but it actually gave up land rights. In 1852, Chief Buffalo, and other Ojibwe leaders traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Millard Fillmore.
"If we're going to die, we're going to die here. So we kinda took a stand and let it be known that we are going to fight to stay here." - The Buffalo, 2016, Red Cliff Ojibwe History - PBS President Fillmore was so impressed that he agreed to a treaty (1854) that allowed them to keep their land rights.
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American Indian Hardship
American Indians have been through the hardship of the U.S. government pushing them off land they have lived on for thousands of years. Some officials did this without trying to understand the effect of their actions. Even though the intent was good, Nelson's first plan to make a National Lakeshore is an example of our government not respecting American Indian land rights.
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"…as a tribe of Indians in the past have ceded large areas of land to the United States government, and what we reserve for ourselves under treaty, we aim to keep." - Albert Whitebird, 1965, Bad River |