The Council of Three Fires (in , also known as the People of the Three Fires; the Three Fires Confederacy; or the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians) is a long-standing

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

alliance of the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

(or Chippewa),

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...

(or Ottawa), and

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

North American Native tribes.

History

Originally one people, or a collection of closely related bands, the ethnic identities of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi developed after the Anishinaabe reached

Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region ...

on their journey westward from the Atlantic coast. Using the

Midewiwin The Midewiwin (in Ojibwe syllabics, syllabics: , also spelled ''Midewin'' and ''Medewiwin'') or the Grand Medicine Society is a religious society of some of the Indigenous peoples of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North A ...

scrolls A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyru ...

, Potawatomi elder Shup-Shewana dated the formation of the Council of Three Fires to 796 AD at Michilimackinac. In this council, the Ojibwe were addressed as the "Older Brother," the Odawa as the "Middle Brother," and the Potawatomi as the "Younger Brother." Consequently, whenever the three Anishinaabe nations are mentioned in this specific ''and'' consecutive order of

, and

, it is an indicator implying Council of Three Fires as well. In addition, the Ojibwe are the "keepers of the faith," the Odawa are the "keepers of trade," and the Potawatomi are the designated "keepers/maintainers of/for the fire" (''boodawaadam''), which became the basis for their name ''Boodewaadamii'' (

spelling) or ''Bodéwadmi'' (

spelling). Though the Three Fires had several meeting places,

became the preferred meeting place due to its central location. From this place, the Council met for military and political purposes. From this site, the Council maintained relations with fellow

g nations, the Shawanoe/Shawnoo (

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

), the ''Ozaagii'' ( Sauk), ''Odagaamii'' (

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...

), ''Omanoominii'' (

Menominee The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...

), ''Wiinibiigoo'' (

Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...

), ''Naadawe'' (

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

), ''Nii'inaawi-Naadawe'' (

Wyandot Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, who have been called Wyandotte, Huron, Wendat and Quendat * Wyandot language, an Iroquoian language * Wyandot Nation of Kansas, an unrecognized tribe and nonprofit organization ...

), and ''Naadawensiw'' (

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

). Here, they also maintained relations with the ''Wemitigoozhi'' (

Frenchmen French people () are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from nor ...

), ''Zhaaganaashi'' (

Englishmen The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common ancestry, history, and culture. The English identity began with the Anglo-Saxons, when they we ...

) and the ''Gichi-mookomaanag'' (the

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

). Through the

totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

-system and promotion of trade, the Council generally had a peaceful existence with its neighbours. However, occasional unresolved disputes erupted into wars. Under these conditions, the Council notably fought against the

and the

. During the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

and

Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a confederation of Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754– ...

, the Council fought against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

; and during the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1785–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native Americans in the United States, Native American na ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, they fought against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. After the formation of the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

in 1776, the Council became the core member of the

Western Lakes Confederacy The Northwestern Confederacy, or Northwestern Indian Confederacy, was a loose confederacy of Native Americans in the Great Lakes region of the United States created after the American Revolutionary War. Formally, the confederacy referred to it ...

(also known as "Great Lakes Confederacy"), joined with the Wyandots,

Algonquins The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada and parts of the United States. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely ...

, Nipissing, Sacs, Meskwaki and others.

Treaties

With Great Britain

Treaty of Fort Niagara The 1764 Treaty of Fort Niagara is one of the first treaty agreements made between First Nations and The Crown. It is a notable example of The Crown's recognition of Indigenous sovereignty in the years preceding the American Revolution. Howeve ...

(1764) – as part of the Western Lakes Confederacy.

With the United States

Treaty of Fort Harmar The Treaty of Fort Harmar (1789) was a treaty made between the United States and the Haudenosaunee, Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, Sauk, Wyandot, and Lenape, all Indigenous nations with territorial claims within the European land claim acquired ...

(1789) – implied *

Treaty of Greenville The Treaty of Greenville, also known to Americans as the Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., but formally titled ''A treaty of peace between the United States of America, and the tribes of Indians called the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanees, Ottawas ...

(1795) – implied *

Treaty of Fort Industry The Treaty of Fort Industry was a successor treaty to the Treaty of Greenville, which moved the eastern boundary of Native Americans in the United States, Indian lands in northern Ohio from the Tuscarawas River and Cuyahoga River westward to a li ...

(1805) – not implied, though all 3 nations present *

Treaty of Detroit The Treaty of Detroit was a treaty between the United States and the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot and Potawatomi Native American nations. The treaty was signed in Detroit, Michigan on November 17, 1807, with William Hull, governor of the Mi ...

(1807) – not implied, though all 3 nations present *

Treaty of Brownstown The Treaty of Brownstown was between the United States and the Council of Three Fires ( Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi), Wyandott, and Shawanoese Indian Nations. It was concluded November 25, 1808, at Brownstown in Michigan Territory, and prov ...

(1808) – implied *

Treaty of Springwells The Treaty of Spring Wells was an agreement between the United States and the Wyandot people, Wyandot, Lenape, Delaware, Seneca people, Seneca, Shawnee, Miami tribe, Miami, Ojibwe, Chippewa, Odawa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Native Americans in the U ...

(1815) – implied *

Treaty of St. Louis (1816) The Treaty of St. Louis of 1816 was treaty signed by Ninian Edwards, William Clark, and Auguste Chouteau for the United States and representatives of the Council of Three Fires (united tribes of Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi) residing on the ...

Treaty of Fort Meigs The Treaty of Fort Meigs, also called the Treaty of the Maumee Rapids, formally titled, "Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., 1817", was the most significant Indian treaty by the United States in Ohio since the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. It result ...

(1817) – not implied, though all 3 nations present *

Treaty of Chicago The Treaty of Chicago may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in the settlement that became Chicago, Illinois between the United States and the Odawa (anglicized Ottawa), Ojibwe (anglicized Chippewa), and Bodéwadmi (anglicized Pot ...

(1821) – not implied, though all 3 nations present *

First Treaty of Prairie du Chien The Treaty of Prairie du Chien may refer to any of several treaties made and signed in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin between the United States, representatives from the Sioux, Sac and Fox, Menominee, Iowa, Ho-Chunk and the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe, Oda ...

(1825) – implied, as well as individually with the

and

. *

Second Treaty of Prairie du Chien The Treaty of Prairie du Chien may refer to any of several treaties made and signed in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin between the United States, representatives from the Sioux, Sac and Fox, Menominee, Ioway, Winnebago and the Anishinaabeg ( Chippe ...

(1829) *

Treaty of Washington (1836) {{short description, 1836 treaty between the United States, the Ottawa, and the Chippewa The Treaty of Washington is a treaty between the United States and representatives of the Ottawa and Chippewa nations of Native Americans. With this treaty, ...

with the

and

(1833) – all 3 nations party to treaty

Notes

External links