Coexisting with Indigenous Culture in Southwestern Michigan
How the right people, a unique place, and the Panic of 1837 proved we could get along
Historians tend to smooth out the ebb and flow of circumstances. Lessons to be learned sometimes hide in the eddies of a distant time and place. One such eddy current bubbled up along the Kalamazoo River in the 1840s.
The most concise history of the area involves Native Americans allying with the British against the United States in the War of 1812, which ultimately defined the border with Canada. Treaties were signed, tribes were forcibly moved west of the Mississippi River, and the territories became states. In 1837, Michigan became a state and pioneering settlers poured in to tame the wilderness. Or so the narrative goes. But a caveat appears in the Wikipedia entry for the Potawatomi, “Many Potawatomi found ways to remain, primarily those in Michigan.”
How did the cultures coexist and why at this particular place?
A story is passed down of a Native American village that once existed, coincidentally, about a half-mile from where I grew up 150 years later. It is said that a Potawatomi warrior named Fleet Foot, to win his bride, was required to run from this village to the river and back before a pot of water boiled away. The Potawatomi word kikalamezo translates as “boiling pot” or “place where the water boils.” Hence, the early settlers called the river Kalamazoo.
The early settlers of the Kalamazoo River area were mostly from Vermont and New York. Buried within those early settlers’ stories are but brief mentions of the Potawatomis. Those mentions depict friendly relations. They were welcomed as suppliers of goods (furs, berries, maple sugar) and as customers.
As Mrs. L. W. Lovell recalled, the Indians “were friends and very kind neighbors to the early settlers. They treated us so much like kith and kin that we called them our ‘country cousins.’ … The Indians were often a great help at raisings; a log house or barn could not at times have been raised without their aid.”
Mrs. Lovell’s uncle-in-law, Cyrus Lovell, was one of several pioneers in the area who bought land in the late 1820s and early 1830s on speculation, hoping to sell portions to folks back east. Cyrus Lovell succeeded financially but many failed, contributing to the Panic of 1837.
Economic depression stalled the flow of white settlers into the region, isolating the early settlers. Governmental distraction likewise stalled the federal program of removing the Native Americans, thereby allowing them to remain. Due to the timing and geography of white settlement, this period of coexistence lasted for decades — an ebb in the flow of Manifest Destiny.
Unlike genocidal relocation policies elsewhere (e.g., Trail of Tears in the southeastern US, Wounded Knee in South Dakota, or even the Potawatomi Trail of Death in Indiana), indigenous people and white settlers shared a common circumstance albeit with different cultures.
Along with the evaporation of currency due to the Panic of 1837, trade with eastern markets nearly ceased. The foundation of settler culture embodied the capitalistic idea that cheap land and hard work could be exploited for ever more profit — as measured in cash. The foundation of indigenous culture embodied connectedness with nature and sustainability — as measured in millennia. Disconnected from eastern markets, goods of equivalent value were swapped as the Potawatomi had done for ages.
Had they considered the situation, the settlers would have viewed this as an ebb — a temporary reversal — while the Potawatomi would have viewed this as the flow — the way it should be. Yet both were on the same river.
The Potawatomi were part of the Three Fires alliance (the Ojibwas, Ottawas, and Potawatomis, descended from an ancient, common Algonquin tribe) established at Michilimackinac in 796 AD. For over 1,000 years they lived sustainably according to the resources of the environment and seasonal weather.
With the arrival of French traders in the 1600s, they extended their alliances in the same manner including intermarrying to strengthen relationships. Trade was more than economic transactions; it cemented relationships and structured tribal society. The French understood this, the British perhaps to a lesser degree, but the Americans missed this point.
Quotes from nineteenth-century historians suggest missed opportunities for insight.
“I never knew an Indian to sell white people any part of the carcass of a deer except the ham. The price … was always two shillings…” — from merchant, A.H. Scott
The ham, considered the best cut, should command market pricing but the implication here is of a flat price which also implies an undervalued price. It appears to be a symbolic gesture of deep friendship for which there might also be an unspoken reciprocal expectation. Perhaps the ham, to the exclusion of all other cuts or inedible items, was a commentary on sustainability since the settlers were known at the time to sell the valuable pieces and waste the rest.
“We could not have done without the Indians. They were our market men and women. They brought us venison, huckleberries, maple sugar, and many other things that we in a new settlement needed.” — from the aforementioned Mrs. Lovell
This second quote also represents sustainability. In part, the gifts showed what nature can provide if we learn to live a certain way. The Indians also kept the settlers alive, believing that they were forming an alliance that, with the ebb and flow of life, would be mutually beneficial.
The Potawatomi shared an extraordinary cultural philosophy of balance. Learning from nature by observing life around them, they viewed themselves as a part of the environment. Life and death were constants in their universe, as were youth and age, light and dark, and right and wrong. This persistence to achieve a balance between constants accounted for the longevity and prosperity of the people.
During this unique time and place, with the total absence of cash and a temporary redefinition of prosperity as sustained survival, the settlers shared this philosophy.
There’s no record of philosophical conversations between the cultures; no recognition of the contrasting foundational concepts: sustainability vs accumulated wealth, stewardship vs dominion, or the making of long-term alliances vs superficial transactions. Although isolated in the wilderness, the settlers were nonetheless connected. Mrs. Lovell’s uncle, Cyrus Lovell, would become Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives. Her second cousin, William Taft, would become president of the United States. Imagine the potential impact of a tiny change in her mindset.
For a generation, there was common ground in Southwestern Michigan. Today, we seek environmental sustainability in a way that is somehow congruent with capitalism. Perhaps we overlooked a hidden lesson.
References:
- “The Alliance of the Three Fires in Trade and War, 1630–1812”, Donald L. Fixico, 1994
- “Limits and Possibilities: White-Indian Relations in Western Michigan in the Era of Removal”, Susan E. Gray, 1994
- “History of Kalamazoo County, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers”, Samuel W. Durant, 1880
