Symbolic Petition of Chippewa Chiefs, 1849

During the late 1840s, rumors circulated around Wisconsin that the Chippewa Indians who inhabited land near Lake Superior were destined to be removed from their homes and sent to inland Minnesota. In 1849 a Chippewa delegation traveled to Washington to petition Congress and President James K. Polk to guarantee the tribe a permanent home in Wisconsin. These delegates carried this symbolic petition with them on their journey. The animal figures represent the various totems, as determined by family lineage, whose representatives made the historic appeal. Other images represent some features of the tribes beloved north woods. Lines connect the hearts and eyes of the various totems to a chain of wild rice lakes, signifying the unity of the delegations purpose. This pictograph, originally rendered by the Chippewa on the inner bark from a white birch tree, was redrawn by Seth Eastman and appears in Henry Rowe Schoolcrafts Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, Vol. 1 (1851). The following legend details the pictographs numbered images and what they represent: 1. Osh-ca-ba-wisChief and leader of the delegation, representing the Crane totem. 2. Wai-mi-tig-oazhHe of the Wooden Vessel, a warrior of the Marten totem. 3. O-ge-ma-gee-zhigSky Chief, a warrior of the Marten totem. 4. Muk-o-mis-ud-ainsA warrior of the Marten totem. 5. O-mush-koseLittle Elk, of the Bear totem. 6. Penai-seeLittle Bird, of the Man Fish totem. 7. Na-wa-je-wunStrong Stream, of the Catfish totem. 8. Rice lakes in northern Wisconsin. 9. Path from Lake Superior to the rice lakes. 10. Lake Superior Shoreline. 11. Lake Superior. (Reprinted with permission from The Wisconsin Historical Society)

Introduction

Acknowledgments

For more information

Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, October 2005

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Table of Contents

Understanding treaty rights

Treaty Ceded Areas

Treaty rights in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan

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Maple sap bubbles in a kettle during the spring season in the sugarbush.

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Comparison of tribal/state walleye harvest in Wisconsin, 1990 - 2004

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Gathering birchbark, another form of exercising off-reservation, treaty rights.

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Mille Lacs Lake Tribal Harvest and Estimated Angler Harvest of Walleye 1998-2004

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Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission

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GLIFWC enforcement officers provide hunter safety courses on reservation in addition to their regular duties. Above, Central District Supervisor / Bad River Area Warden Vern Stone works with Bad River youth during a hunter safety class.

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Ron Parisien, GLIFWC wildlife technican, reseeds Crooked Lake, Gogebic County, Mich., as part of a cooperative project between GLIFWC, Lac Vieux Desert and the Ottawa National Forest. (Photo by M. J. Kewley)

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The anti-Indian movement, from STA to the KKK

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APPENDIX I

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Popular misconceptions about Ojibwe treaty rights

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APPENDIX II

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An historical review

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APPENDIX III
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Treaty with the Ottawa, etc. March 28, 1836

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Treaty with the Chippewa July 29, 1837

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Treaty with the Chippewa October 4, 1842

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Treaty with the Chippewa September 30, 1854

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Treaty with the Chippewa February 22, 1855

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APPENDIX IV
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Resource materials