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The Ottawa Indians originally lived in the Lake Huron region of Canada and later moved to Ohio to participate in the fur trade. They allied with the French during the American Revolution and fought against the Americans until their defeat at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. They signed the Treaty of Greeneville and were later forced onto a reservation in Kansas.
Ottawa Indians are Native Americans who originally lived in the Lake Huron region of the modern Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Europeans began settling the area in the 1600s. Around 1740, the Ottawa Indians became Ohio Indians moving to the northern part of that state. Ottawa Indians or Ohio Indians share ancestry with many other American Indians, including Ojibwe, Algonquian, Delaware, and Shawnee Indians. They considered the Iroquois Indians their enemies, and historical accounts indicate that they were also rivals of the Wyandot Indians due to the latter’s kinship with the Iroquois.
The spiritual beliefs of the tribe included a supreme being, called the “Master of Life”. Other spirits revered by the tribe included the Underwater Panther, a water spirit, and the Great Hare, creator of the world.
The word Ottawa means “to trade” or “to buy and sell.” It goes without saying, then, that the Ottawa Indians were well known as consummate traders and barters. The main commodity of the tribe consisted of cornmeal, furs and skins, and tobacco. One of the reasons they moved from Canada to Ohio was a desire to participate in the fur trade with the British colonists. Although trading with the British became a successful venture for the Ohio Indians, the British sought to increase their presence in the region by erecting forts and cities.
During this volatile period in American history, the Ottawa Indians allied with the French. This alliance prompted the chief of the tribe, Pontiac, to rebel against British forces in 1763 after gaining control of some French colonies. Although Pontiac and the Ohio Indians destroyed nine of the 11 British forts in the region, the rebellion was unsuccessful.
Throughout the American Revolutionary War, Ottawa Indians fought against the Americans. After England’s surrender to America, the British essentially turned away from their Native American tribal allies. The Ottawa Indians, however, continued to fight the Americans until the tribe and other Ohio Indians were defeated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. As a result, the Ottawa Indians signed the Treaty of Greeneville in 1795, ceding a significant portion of them lands in Ohio. Their remaining lands in the area were taken by the United States government in 1833 and most of the tribe’s members were sent to a reservation in Kansas.
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