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Native Americans in Washtenaw County
The impact of Native Americans not only appears in words and highways, it
is active in today's court system. In 1971, a lawsuit was filed against
the University of Michigan. Petitioners argued that the University was
constructed on Native American land. Under a nineteenth-century contract,
a portion of the proceeds of the land currently occupied by the University
was pledged to support the education of children from the Chippewa, Ottawa
or Potawatamie tribes. Those initiating the court claim argue that this
education never took place and are seeking to recover damages from the
University Regents. Although the original land sale took place over one
hundred years ago, this is still an important issue for Native Americans
today. Click here to learn more about the lawsuit against University of
Michigan.
The University of Michigan lawsuit it not an exception. Since Ann Arbor
was founded in 1824, there have been a number of conflicts over property
rights and land use between the local Native American tribes and settlers.
In the spring of 1832, under the direction and leadership of Black Hawk (in
Black Hawk's native language his name is Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak), nearly
one thousand Sauk, Fox and Kickapoo Native Americans came together to
reclaim their land European settlers. The conflict, which became known as
the "Black Hawk War" began in Illinois but quickly expanded to include
Detroit and other parts of Michigan. Although the war did not directly
involve Ann Arbor, it was a cause of great concern -- and is mentioned in
newspapers and letters of the day. Click here for information on the Black
Hawk War.
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Students On Site is a community
project of the Arts of Citizenship Program at the University of Michigan,
funded in part by the Michigan Humanities
Council and the U-M Office of the Vice-President For Research.
This website is a collaboration between the Arts of Citizenship Program
theCHICO
Project of the School of Information
and the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan.
Native Americans settled in what is now called Washtenaw County long before
Michigan was even declared a state. In fact, the name Washtenaw comes
from the Chippewa words waushte and nong, which means "the land beyond."
Not only did Native Americans influence the names of streets, counties
and buildings, they can also be credited for the development of local
interstate travel. Native Americans developed a system of trails
throughout Washtenaw County to facilitate trade between what is now
Michigan and neighboring states. These trails included a network of
trading posts, principally along two major trails, The Great Sauk Trail and
St. Joseph's Trail. 