Ottawa (people)

Ottawa (people), North American tribe of the Algonquian language family and of the Northeast culture area. They formerly lived in the region of the upper Ottawa River, Canada. The Ottawa carried on an extensive intertribal trade along the area's water routes. The tribe's rules of moral conduct, embodied in 21 precepts, resembled the Ten Commandments.

About 1650 the Ottawa were driven out of their territory by the Iroquois and took refuge on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, Canada. They later moved to the southern shore of Lake Superior, but were obliged to return to Manitoulin Island when they were attacked by the Sioux. Subsequently they extended their territory until they controlled all of lower Michigan, parts of Ohio and Illinois, and an area on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. During the colonial period the Ottawa fought on the side of the French, and one of their chiefs, Pontiac, achieved wide renown as a leader in warfare against the British. During the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the tribe was allied with the British against the Americans. In 1870 several bands of Ottawa moved to the Indian Territory, in what is now Oklahoma, and soon lost their tribal identity. The majority of the Ottawa remained in Michigan, first on reservations, and then in scattered communities where many still reside. In the 2000 U.S. census about 6,400 people identified themselves as Ottawa only; an additional 4,200 people reported being part Ottawa.

See also Native Americans of North America: Northeast.