Lowell, thank you for posting this. I missed it completely. I like the direction this article takes, and my relative Sue Franklin is a great source. I do have some info to add, you might know it, right?
The pie chart showing the grouping today completely misses the huge Iroquois contingent. One reason we have such a good size Iroquois community is that so many came here to work high steel, building those tall skyscrapers downtown and the Ambassador Bridge.
Then there is this rather careless statement:
"Once settlers began moving to Michigan, some natives relocated out West, some stuck to areas designated for Indians like Walpole Island in Canada, and some integrated, often after being forced to."
The truth is, Andrew Jackson's Indian Relocation Act kicked as many Potawatomis as possible out of Southern Michigan. Many were forced to move to Kansas. We now have the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in Kansas. They did not want to go. When they got there, skilled farmers though they were, here in the rich fertile lands of southern Michigan, they were alienated by the topography and the weather out in their new home. It needs to be emphatically stated, the farmlands of southern Michigan were freed up by forced marches, just like the Trail of Tears. Some were able to relocate within Michigan as there were still lands "not required for settlement." Northport, Hannahville, some other areas. Some did flee to Canada, Walpole Island. Flee, not voluntarily move. As for forced integration, that went on and may still go on. It is hard to be Native in areas where Natives are regarded as inferior. If you can pass, so much the better for your livelihood.
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