Burt Lake burn-out facts for kids
The Burt Lake Burn-Out was a sad event where the Burt Lake Band of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians were forced to leave their homes. This happened in northern Michigan on October 15, 1900. On that day, a sheriff and his helpers burned down the band's village. A local land developer, who said he bought the land for unpaid taxes, told them to do it.
People have called this event "A Bitter Memory" or "Legalized Arson." Experts from universities have studied it. They found that it happened because state and federal government officials either misunderstood or ignored old treaties. These treaties were agreements made in the 1830s and 1850s between the US government and the Burt Lake Band.
Contents
A Look Back: The Land and People
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The northern part of Michigan, often called the "Tip of the Mitt," has been a busy travel route for a very long time. Charles Cleland from Michigan State University called it a "prehistoric crossroads." Waterways like the Straits of Mackinac and Lake Michigan were used by Native Americans for thousands of years.
The Ottawa (Odawa) and Chippewa (Ojibwa) people lived in this area. They were known for their "canoe culture" starting in the 1600s. They used canoes to travel and trade goods with other Native groups around the Great Lakes.
Life in the Village
The Ottawa people were farmers, fishermen, hunters, and gatherers. During warm months, they lived along the shores of Lake Michigan and other inland lakes. Here, they collected goods for trading. Unlike some other Native American groups, the Ottawa and Chippewa in northern Michigan lived in small, separate groups called "bands." Some bands moved with the seasons, while others lived in small villages of 100-200 people.
The small village on the western shore of what is now Burt Lake started in the mid-1600s. By 1850, this village was known as Indian Village. It was home to the Cheboigan Band of Ottawa and Chippewa.
Promises and Treaties
The US government signed treaties with the Burt Lake Band in 1836 and 1855. Both treaties said that the Indian Village area (about 375 acres) on Burt Lake should be an "Indian Preserve" or reservation. The Native elders passed this promise down through their "Oral Tradition." When the treaties were signed, the Native leaders couldn't read or write, but they trusted what was said. They believed the land would be theirs forever. But this did not happen.
Archaeologists have found old pottery pieces at Indian Point on Burt Lake, showing people lived there over 500 years ago. They also found charcoal, meaning people used to set fires to clear land for farming. These people were the "Chaboiganing Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians," now known as the Burt Lake Band.
This land was about 20 miles inland from the Straits of Mackinac. Indian Point was on a piece of land sticking into Burt Lake. It was part of the "Inland Waterway Route," used by Native people for centuries. Later, tourists used it to travel through the rivers and lakes.
The Burn-Out: What Happened
On Monday, October 15, 1900, white men from Cheboygan, Michigan came to Indian Village. They came to force the Native families from their homes. All the villagers were Ottawa or Chippewa people from the Burt Lake Band.
The Day of Destruction
The group was led by John Walter McGinn, a lumberman, banker, and land buyer from Cheboygan. He had a legal paper called a "writ of assistance" from 1898. McGinn brought the county sheriff, Fred Ming, and his helpers. McGinn claimed he owned the land because of unpaid "tax titles."
Sheriff Ming and his helpers moved the belongings of nineteen families out of their cabins. Then, one by one, McGinn set fire to the houses. Only the St. Mary's Catholic Mission Church, built in 1838, was saved. Later, Sheriff Ming turned the church into a pig barn when he built his own farm on the land where the Native families used to live.
Life After the Fire
After the "Burn-Out," many families moved in with other Burt Lake Band members nearby. Others moved further west to Middle or Cross Village. Over time, the families who lost their homes built new ones on land owned by the Massey and Nongueskwa families. This new area became known as Indianville. In 1908, a second St. Mary's Catholic Church was built there, and it is still used today.
In 1911, the US Attorney General started a lawsuit against John W. McGinn. They wanted the land taken by McGinn in 1900 to be returned to its nineteen owners. The government argued that McGinn's land purchases were not valid. They said the Burt Lake Band had been given the Indian Village land by treaty. Therefore, they should not have been evicted for not paying property taxes. The government believed that Burt Township, Cheboygan County, and the State of Michigan were wrong to tax the land.
Treaties and Their Meaning
The United States government first dealt with Native American groups as separate, independent nations. The US Constitution, adopted in 1789, said that Congress could "regulate commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."
Treaties as Supreme Law
The Constitution also stated that "ALL TREATIES made... under the Authority of the United States, shall be the SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND." This meant that judges in every state had to follow treaties, even if state laws were different.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1789, signed by President George Washington, also protected Native Americans. It said: "The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent." It also promised that laws would be made to prevent wrongs against them and keep peace.
The Treaty of Greenville in 1795 further stated that Native tribes could "quietly enjoy" their lands for hunting, planting, and living. It said the US would protect them from anyone who tried to take their land.
The 1836 Treaty of Washington
For many years, the Ottawa and Chippewa people lived in small villages in Michigan. These groups were organized as "bands," not one large "tribe." They moved for hunting or fishing as needed.
By the early 1800s, the Ottawa and some Chippewa people started a permanent village on Burt Lake. They cleared land for farming corn, beans, and squash. They fished, hunted, and gathered maple syrup. This village became known as Indian Village.
In 1836, the Treaty of Washington was signed. The US government wanted Native people to move west of the Mississippi River. However, Henry Schoolcraft, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Mackinac Agency, helped the Michigan Native people stay. This treaty gave the US a huge amount of land (about one-third of Michigan). In return, it promised land and money to the Ottawa and Chippewa.
Article 2 of the treaty said that each band would receive land. For the Cheboigan band, it mentioned "one tract of one thousand acres to be located by Chingassanoo,—or the Big Sail, on the Cheboigan."
However, the US Senate later added a change to the treaty. It said the tribes could only stay on their reserved lands for five years, "unless the United States shall grant them permission to remain on said lands for a longer period." This change made the Cheboigan Lake band worried about their future in Michigan.
Buying Their Own Land
To protect their homes, the villagers decided to use their treaty money to buy the land they lived on. Between 1848 and 1850, they bought six separate pieces of land, totaling 375 acres. The first purchase was signed by President James Polk, and the last by President Zachary Taylor.
All these land documents stated that the land was given "unto the said Governor of Michigan and his successors in trust... to have and to hold in trust for the Sheboygan Indians forever." The Ottawa people never forgot this promise. They believed their land at Indian Village was theirs forever, not only by the 1836 and 1855 treaties but also because they had bought it with their own money.
The 1855 Treaty of Detroit
The Treaty of Detroit was signed on July 31, 1855. It stated that the US would set aside land for the Cheboygan band in townships 35 and 36 north, range 3 west. This was exactly where the Burt Lake Band's Indian Village and farms were located.
The Native leaders asked for a specific part in Article 5 of this treaty. They wanted the government to understand that Michigan Indians were organized as "bands," not "tribes." In 1836, the government had incorrectly called them "tribes" to make treaty talks easier. The Burt Lake Band was so firm about protecting their land that they didn't sign the 1855 Treaty until a year later, in 1856. Despite all these efforts, Indian Village was destroyed in 1900.
The Aftermath and Fight for Recognition
After the Burn-Out, the Burt Lake Band's population slowly decreased. However, in 1910, about 130 Native people still lived near Indian Point. They worked in lumbering instead of farming. By the 1940 census, 48 Native residents lived on Indian Road.
A New Fight Begins
In 1977, Margaret Martell, a descendant of the original villagers, organized a meeting in Lansing, Michigan. She wanted to find all descendants of the Burt Lake Band. In 1978, 27 descendants signed a petition asking the Native American Rights Fund to help them get their land back.
Margaret Martell was helped by Louise Reznick, who worked for the Governor's Commission on Indians. Louise had been trying to get compensation for the Burt Lake Band since the 1960s. Loretta Massey Parkey also joined the effort to bring the Burt Lake Band back together.
In 1980, the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians became a non-profit organization in Michigan. In 1986, the State of Michigan formally recognized them.
Seeking Federal Recognition
The band then asked the federal government for recognition in 1985. However, their request was denied in 2006. The Bureau of Indian Affairs said the band did not meet all the rules for federal recognition.
The band met some rules: they had existed continuously since 1917, had a constitution, and their members were not mainly from other recognized tribes. Also, Congress had not forbidden them.
However, the Bureau believed the band did not show enough proof that a large part of its members lived together as a community today. They also felt there wasn't enough evidence of continuous leaders since 1917. Finally, they said only 70 percent of members could prove they were descendants of the original Indian Village residents.
The Court's Decision
The lawsuit started in 1911 finally ended in May 1917. Federal District Court Judge Clarence W. Sessions ruled in favor of John W. McGinn's estate. McGinn had died in 1912. By then, his family had built a large farm on the land that used to be Indian Village.
Judge Sessions said that the "Cheboygan Indians were a small band and have never been treated, considered or recognized as a nation or a tribe." He also said that the 1855 treaty had "dissolved" the tribal organization of the Ottawa and Chippewa. He believed the government had given up its responsibility for these Native people. Because of this, he ruled that the land was taxable, and the lawsuit was dismissed.
Why the Ruling Was Wrong
Later research by historian Richard White showed that Judge Sessions used incorrect information. White's work, "The Ethnohistory of the Burt Lake Indians," proved that the Burt Lake Band was a political unit and a "sovereign nation entity" protected by treaties.
The judge's idea that the 1855 treaty "dissolved" the tribes was wrong. The true purpose of Article 5 in the 1855 treaty was to correct a mistake from the 1836 treaty. The 1836 treaty had wrongly called the Michigan Ottawa and Chippewa "unified tribes." In reality, they had always lived as small, separate "bands" or villages, not under one chief. Article 5 was meant to clarify this, but its true meaning was lost over time.
White's research found that the land patents for Indian Village were not for individuals. They were issued to the Governor of Michigan "in trust for the Cheboygan Indians."
Today, the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians is recognized by the State of Michigan (since 1986). They continue to work towards being recognized by the federal government.
Images for kids
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Burt Lake Indian Village, 1890
