Ottawa Indians

From Ohio History Central
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File:Ottawa Tribe Towns Map.jpg

The Ottawa natives originally lived along the Ottawa River in eastern Ontario and western Quebec at the time of European arrival in the early 1600s. They moved into northern Ohio around 1740. They were part of the Algonquian natives and are thus related to the Delaware natives, the Miami natives, and the Shawnee natives. They were enemies of the Iroquois natives and never really trusted the Wyandot natives because they were related to the Iroquois.


Pontiac was a famous leader of the Ottawa natives. In 1763, he led a number of Native American tribes in an attempt to drive the British from their lands. They destroyed nine out of eleven British forts in the Great Lakes region. The Native Americans could not defeat the strong British forts at Detroit (Fort Detroit) and Pittsburgh (Fort Pitt). Pontiac’s Rebellion came to an end after Colonel Henry Bouquet led a large army from Fort Pitt into Ohio to force the Native Americans to make peace.

During the American Revolution, the Ottawas fought for the British against the Americans. When the British surrendered to the Americans, the British turned their backs on their Native American allies. The Ottawas continued to fight the Americans.

General Anthony Wayne defeated the Ottawas and other Ohio natives at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. They surrendered most of their lands in Ohio with the signing of the Treaty of Greeneville (1795).


See Also

