In 1836, the Indigenous Anishinaabe people — Chippewa and Ottawa peoples — signed the Treaty of Washington and ceded nearly 14 million acres of territory to the settlers, or 40% of Michigan state. This land included the northwest area of the Lower Peninsula and the eastern portion of the Upper Peninsula. In return for signing, the treaty guaranteed the Anishinaabe peoples reservation lands and forever access to all natural resources, including fishing and hunting rights.
After signing, congress changed the terms of the agreement, only guaranteeing these rights for five years before the Chippewa and Ottawa peoples were to be forced out of Michigan. The communities fought these terms and reaffirmed their claims to the land in the 1855 Treaty of Detroit.
Here are the borders of the Treaty of Washington, along with the CORA tribes, or the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority. These tribes are all within the 1836 treaty and work to protect the rights guaranteed to them nearly 200 years ago. Today, these rights are threatened by Line 5. © Cayla Anderson / Circle of Blue