Ottawa (Tribe) - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

OTTAWA, a tribe of North American Indians of Algonquian stock, originally settled on the Ottawa river, Canada, and later on the north shore of the upper peninsula of Michigan. They were driven in 1650 by the Iroquois beyond the Mississippi, only to be forced back by the Dakotas. Then they settled on Manitoulin Island, Lake Huron, and joined the French against the English. During the War of Independence, however, they fought for the latter. Some were moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), but the majority live to-day in scattered communities throughout lower Michigan and Ontario.