Native American Treaties:
Their Ongoing Importance
to Michigan Residents
When Indians and Europeans first met on the North American continent they brought distinct and very different world views to the encounter. Over several centuries the Indian communities of North America and the European immigrants who settled on this continent shared very mixed experiences that ranged from war to negotiation. This web page focuses on the negotiations that have occurred between Euro-Americans and three Native American communities, the Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi.
This web site explores the treaties that effect the people, Indian and Euro-American, who live in Michigan, and offers six case studies to explain how treaties signed between 1795 and 1864 had relevance in the past and continue to have importance today. We welcome you to read the treaties and consider the case studies. Click on any of the buttons below to view this material. To see a map of Indian reservations in Michigan today please click here.
Introductory Matter
Text of Michigan-Related Treaties
- Fort Greenville, Ohio 1795
- Detroit 1807
- Foot of the Rapids (Fort Meigs), 1817
- Saginaw 1820
- Sault Ste. Marie 1820
- Chicago 1821
- Carey Mission 1828
- Chicago 1833
- Washington 1836
- Cedar Point 1836
- Detroit 1837
- La Pointe 1842
- Detroit,1855 (three separate treaties)
- Map of Treaty Cessions
- Isabella Reservation 1864