The Ottawa Nation of Oklahoma

The Ottawa lived along the shore of Georgia Bay in Canada when the French explorer Samuel de
Champlain located them in 1615. A quarter-century later, pressured by the Iroquois (see Iroquois
Confederation), the Ottawa moved to Green Bay in present-day Wisconsin from where they spread
into northwestern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Culturally, the Ottawa are Algonquian, the
Chippewa and Potawatomi being their closest tribal relatives. Although they lived in villages and
planted crops, the Ottawa were best known as traders, traversing the rivers of northeastern
America as well as the Great Lakes in their canoes and following the "Moccasin Trail" well into
Florida. Their name, in fact, derives from the Algonquin "Adawa," meaning to trade or barter
(Ref 1).

Having supported the French in the French and Indian War of 1754-1763 (see Glossary), the
Ottawa -- under the commanding leadership of Chief Pontiac (see Glossary) -- organized strong
resistance to the British power in the Great Lakes area. During the American Revolutionary War,
the Ottawa sided with the British, but were able to control most of Ohio after the War. Increasing
incursion by white settlers, however, forced the tribe to move steadily westward, first into Kansas
and, by 1867, into a 12,000-acre (4,856 hectares) tract of land purchased from the United States
in the northeastern corner of Indian Territory [Ted: glossary item] (present Oklahoma), where
they remain to this day (Ref 1).

The flag of the Ottawa reflects their history: The evergreen tree and grass knoll recall their origins
in the Northeast Woodlands while the prominently displayed canoe alludes to their first-rank
trading skills and Algonquian name. These images are contained in the colorful seal centered on
the white background of their flag. Two black rings surround the central seal. Between them are
the words "OTTAWA TRIBE" curving oboe it and "OF OKLAHOMA" curving beneath, both
in black letters on a white background. The central disk has the motto "UNITED WE STAND
DIVIDED WE FALL" curving to either side of a dark-green evergreen tree, symbolic of the
Tree of Life. The tree stands on a lighter-green grass knoll. To the right of the evergreen, is a
light-brown war club with dark-brown lines and crisscrossing, a typical weapon the woodland
Indians used in hand-to-hand combat and hunting. Toward the lower end of the war club a black-
and-white eagle's feather projects to the left, fastened to the club by a dark-brown strap.

Since many of the Ottawa Indians of Oklahoma belong to the Otter (Negig) Clan, the animal is
featured to the right of the Tree of Life, in dark brown with light-brown accents, looking toward
the hoist (left). The basic religion of the Ottawa is the otter skin or medicine-dance religion, as
described in a pamphlet supplied by tribesmember Claudean Epperson. This entire upper portion
of the seal -- war club, evergreen, otter, grass knoll and motto -- appears against a light-blue sky.

Beneath the knoll is a light-brown canoe with dark-brown trimmings and slats. It floats on
medium-blue water highlighted with a dark-blue wave and light-green lily pads. The water
represents the source of all life and is an important sacrament in all Indian religions. At the right
end of the canoe, on the grass knoll, stand a few cattails shown in dark brown with light-brown
stems.

Ref 1 -- Information provided by Margie Ross, Program Director at the Ottawa's Miami,
Oklahoma, headquarters from materials in The Ottawa People, Joseph H. Cash and Gerald W.
Wolff, Vol. 34, Indian Tribes Series.

Historical note for Glossary Entry (Ted: relying on you to correct any dumb stuff)

French and Indian War (1754-1763) -- This nine years' war, fought between France and Great
Britain for control over the vast colonial territory of North America, was the American phase of
the Great War of the Empire -- a pivotal struggle between the two colonial powers, the European
phase of which (1756-1763) is known as the Seven Year's War. Sparked by the issue of control
over the upper Ohio River valley, the struggle ended with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which had
dramatic consequences for the history of the future United States: it established the hegemony of
English culture over the heartland of North America. The Treaty forced France to cede all its
territory on mainland North America east of the Mississippi River, including Canada, to Great
Britain. It also had permanent, and mostly nefarious, consequences for the Native tribes who had
fought alongside the losing French forces. (see Tunica-Biloxi, Ottawa, + ???)

Ted While I'm at it, here's a couple more definitions for the glossary:

Woodland (also Northeast Woodland) Indians -- Native Americans who lived or live on lands
marked by mountains, lakes, and forests that "reaches up to the southern portion of Canada and
extends as far south as Kentucky in the Unites States. East to west, Woodland region stretches
from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. The forest continues a short distance
on the western side of the Mississippi, where it gradually gives way to the Tall Grass Plains."
Indians of the Northeast, Lisa Sita, Michael Friedman Publishing Group, Inc, 1997, p. 9. Quoted
by permission.

Algonquian Languages -- One of two main North American Indian language families (the other
is the Iroquoian language family), with member languages spoken in New England, the Atlantic
coastline as far south as North Carolina, in the regions surrounding the Great Lakes, and westward
to the Rocky Mountains. Examples of Algonquian languages are: Ojibwa, Blackfoot, Cheyenne,
Micmac, Arapaho, and Fox-Sauk-Kickapoo.

Algonquin -- Any of a number of widely scattered Algonquian-speaking Native American bands
or tribes, such as the Chippewa (or Ojibwa), Lenape (or Delaware), Micamac, Mohegan, Ottawa,
and the Pequot.

Pontiac -- Ottawa Indian chief who became a great intertribal leader in an effort to stem the
encroachment of British settlers on Native hunting grounds and ancestral lands. During Pontiac's
War (1763-64), also known as the Great War of Indian Confederations, he organized a loose
confederacy with the Potawatomi and Ojibwa, besieging Detroit and capturing a series of fortified
posts. Three years after concluding a peace treaty with the British in 1766, he was assassinated
by a Peoria Indian. The ensuing bitter war between the Ottawa and the Peoria almost led to the
annihilation of the latter tribe. He remains the most famous and revered personality of the Ottawa
Indians.

Indian Territory -- Originally defined as all territory of the United States west of the Mississippi
River but not within the states of Missouri, Louisiana, and Arkansas -- it soon became restricted
to the present state of Oklahoma. The Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Cherokee, and Chickasaw
tribes were forcibly moved to this area between 1830 and 1843.

Go on to the Passamaquoddy flag