Taking a Stand for Native American Rights
"It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our lands this nation which seeks only to destroy us. You see as well as I that we can no longer supply our needs, as we have done from our brothers, the French. Therefore, my brothers, we must all swear their destruction and wait no longer. Nothing prevents us; they are few in numbers, and we can accomplish it."
- Pontiac, as told through a French interpreter, 1763
Known as Obwandiyag among the Ottawa, Pontiac rose to become a very influential leader who united many tribes west of the Appalachians taking a stand against British occupation and empire.
Ben Hinmon, a direct descendant of Pontiac stated, "Like many of our people at that time there was a struggle to really protect and preserve our way of life and Pontiac saw the changes that were happening in his own communities as many Anishiaabe were beginning to adopt Western society practices."
Pontiac held council with other tribes in his region and the message was carried as far east as Fort Pitt. Confederated tribes began coordinated attacks to try to win back their lands and preserve their culture.
"It was a great loss to the Anishiaabe and the other tribes," continued Hinmon, "because Pontiac's predictions about what would happen to our culture did come true. In his lifetime, Pontiac saw these changes. Sadly, through assimilation policies, the impact of colonization and the eventual establishment of Indian boarding schools, we've experienced a tremendous loss of our cultural teachings and beliefs."
Ben Hinmon, a direct descendant of Pontiac stated, "Like many of our people at that time there was a struggle to really protect and preserve our way of life and Pontiac saw the changes that were happening in his own communities as many Anishiaabe were beginning to adopt Western society practices."
Pontiac held council with other tribes in his region and the message was carried as far east as Fort Pitt. Confederated tribes began coordinated attacks to try to win back their lands and preserve their culture.
"It was a great loss to the Anishiaabe and the other tribes," continued Hinmon, "because Pontiac's predictions about what would happen to our culture did come true. In his lifetime, Pontiac saw these changes. Sadly, through assimilation policies, the impact of colonization and the eventual establishment of Indian boarding schools, we've experienced a tremendous loss of our cultural teachings and beliefs."
The Difficulty of a Native American Confederacy
"We think of Indians as a homogeneous group, but in reality there are independent language groups, and independent customs, so the idea of a pan-Indian alliance is something that many leaders have envisioned earlier than Pontiac, and even later than Pontiac, but again, they were never fully able to pull that together due to the separate languages, religions and customs, and beyond that inner-tribal conflicts that existed even prior to the arrival of Europeans."
- Allen Gutchess
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