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Even before the settlers came and built their mills, there were people here and you don't have to go far in Ann Arbor to find evidence of their lives here—just head for the nearest highway (but don’t walk on the highway...take it from a squirrel, walking in the streets is not a good idea). I’m talking, of course, about the Native American tribes who used to live in Michigan. Most belonged to three different tribes: the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Pottawatomie. In fact, the name "Washtenaw" comes from the Chippewa words waushte and nong, meaning "the land beyond."
Native Americans in Washtenaw County set up trading posts along two major trails they call the Great Sauk (rhymes with "walk") Trail and St. Joseph's Trail. These trails went past Detroit and through Chicago into present day Ann Arbor and are now U.S. 12 and I-94. In fact, most modern highways follow these old footpaths that connected villages with each other and local hunting and fishing grounds. Trails were often only twelve to eighteen inches wide, permitting travel only by single file. When white settlers arrived, they had to widen them to fit their horses and wagons.
Compare the two maps below. Can you tell which one is the map of old trails and which one are the highways you and your parents drive today?
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There aren’t many descriptions of Native Americans from that long ago. Of course, there also weren’t any pictures because cameras hadn’t been invented yet. But one German minister, Rev. Frederick Schmid, wrote this description of some of the Indians he met near Detroit in 1833:
"I stood on the shore and watched then as they hurried about fearlessly in their small canoes. As soon as I could, I hunted them up and soon found them near the city—what a sight it was for me: Women and children, old people who could scarcely walk, lay in the canoes… the ornaments in their ears and about their necks attested to the might of darkness and superstition among them. They very frequently have their ears hanging full of tin and lead, and those of rank, with silver, which hangs down to their shoulders, so that when a number of them run about one hears a peculiar jingling. I went from canoe to canoe and greeted them; several of them looked wild and rough and their black hair hung down over their dark faces, their loins and the upper parts of their bodies covered, but the rest of the body nude. On the other hand, others were very friendly, pressed my hand and wore clothes that were according to their manner. I could see peculiar dress and various colors and they stood about, each according to the colors of dress thrown about them in order of rank and appearance."
As more settlers arrived, they needed more and more land and sometimes they weren’t very nice about taking it. They forced Native Americans sign land deeds to give the title of the land over to the settlers.
Some Native Americans began to dress like the white settlers and to adopt their religion, Christianity. But others believed that their traditions of dress and beliefs were important and decided not to change. Remember the description from Rev. Schmid above? Look at this photograph of a local Native American young woman from the 1880s. Does she look like you expected? What looks the same? What looks different?
Traces of original Native American trails have all but vanished from Ann Arbor. But with a little imagination on your next car trip, remember these narrow footpaths beneath concrete and asphalt.
Just to think about: