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“Both the Honor and the Profit”: Anishinaabe Warriors, Soldiers, and Veterans from Pontiac’s War through the Civil War by Michelle K. Cassidy A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in the University of Michigan 2016 Doctoral Committee: Professor Gregory Evans Dowd, Co-Chair Associate Professor Michael Witgen, Co-Chair Professor Susan Juster Associate Professor Scott Richard Lyons Professor Tiya Miles © Michelle K. Cassidy 2016 Acknowledgements During my last year in graduate school, I went on a “final” research trip to Anishinaabe places in western Michigan. I started in Hart and worked my way up to Petoskey, stopping at various county seats to look at government records and land deeds. On my first day, while I was doing research at the County Clerk’s office in Hart, a man wearing a veteran’s ball cap walked in and requested information about several individuals whose last names—associated with Euro- Odawa fur trading families—caught my attention. As he waited for the vital records, he asked why I was sitting in a corner with giant books and we began talking. He knew about the Odawaag in Company K that I was researching and he said he was a descendent of a Company K soldier. We talked about the Odawa soldiers but our conversation quickly turned to contemporary Odawa politics. This dissertation is comprised of many such conversations—both fortuitous and planned—and the encouragement and generosity of many. I would not have written a dissertation on indigenous peoples if I had not taken Michael Witgen’s American Indian history class as an undergraduate. His lectures unraveled many of my preconceptions of American history and he told engaging stories. He encouraged my interest in graduate school and supported my applications. As an advisor he has been continually supportive of my work and has helped me through all the stages of graduate school. He has the knack for looking at a rough draft and pointing out what I am saying before I fully understand it myself. His scholarship is an inspiration and has influenced how I view the past. I am fortunate to have had the support of two excellent advisors. Greg Dowd always seems to know just the right thing to say and he has been a calming influence throughout the ii milestones of graduate school with his ability to put things in perspective and untangle my moments of confusion. Greg generously shared his time, research, and knowledge about Great Lakes indigenous history. His feedback on chapter drafts pushed me to clarify my arguments and refine my writing style. I also want to thank my other committee members whose support has extended beyond this dissertation. Sue Juster has been supportive throughout graduate school. Conversations with her regarding early America, religion, and gender have greatly influenced how I approach texts and what texts I went searching for in the first place. Scott Lyons’ enthusiasm for my project has bolstered my confidence on multiple occasions. Scott has supported a community of scholars interested in indigenous peoples. I am thankful for the opportunities he has helped provide to meet Native American and Indigenous Studies scholars from other institutions. Tiya Miles is a wonderful mentor. By sharing her own work process, she has shown me how to overcome fragmented archives and how to be a more open and collaborative scholar. I am grateful for the support of my committee and their suggestions regarding my work. I owe a special thanks to each of them as individuals, but as a team they have been unbeatable. I always had someone to go to with various questions, concerns, and anxieties. I would like to thank the numerous faculty at the University of Michigan who have provided intellectual inspiration and support, especially Howard Brick, Gerald Carr, Matthew Countryman, Janet Hart, Clement Hawes, Valerie Kivelson, and Maris Vinovskis. This dissertation got its start in Matt Lassiter’s research seminar. Matt asked new questions of my research and helped me think about the Anishinaabeg from multiple angles. Mary Kelley’s course on the history of the book completely changed how I look at the circulation and creation of texts. Her class also had me hunting down texts in Anishinaabemowin, looking for marginalia iii and signs of ownership. I also want to thank the staff members who have helped me along the way, including Lorna Altstetter, Diana Denney, Kathleen King, Wayne High, Tabitha Rohn, and Tammy Zill. I want to thank my graduate student colleagues at Michigan for creating a supportive intellectual environment. It would be impossible to list all of the people who have influenced my work, offered helpful advice, led by example, provided lively conversation and debate, or made a bad day bearable with their commiseration or a smile. Elspeth Martini welcomed me to Michigan and thoughtfully answered my questions about matters large and small. I am grateful for the support of many members of my cohort, especially at the beginning of our studies. Many thanks to Ananda Burra, Chelsea Del Rio, Yanay Israeli, and Nicole Greer Golda for their friendship. Special thanks to Marie Stango who dragged me out of my hermit writing/research mode more times than I can count. She is a wonderful friend and sounding board, as well as an inspirational scholar. The students and faculty who are part of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Interdisciplinary Group are an invaluable and supportive community. I have learned so much from being part of their conversations. Special thanks to Stefan Aune, Frank Kelderman, Joseph Gaudet, William Hartmann, Becky Hill, and Christie Toth. When I needed it most, Walker Elliot, Sophie Hunt, and Emily Macgillivray read certain chapters and offered valuable feedback. Thanks to faculty members who supported our group and Native American Studies more generally, including Philip Deloria, Joseph Gone, Petra Kuppers, Barbara Meek, and Gustavo Verdesio. A big thank you to Professor Margaret Noodin who shared translations of Charles Allen’s letters and helped me think through my approach to Anishinaabe peoples. Margaret also iv introduced me to Anishinaabemowin. Thanks to Alphonse Pitawanakwat for taking on a student trying to learn a bit of a complex language in a short time. Miigwech. I am grateful for the financial support of the History Department and the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan. In addition, I want to thank the Bentley Library for both financial and research assistance. For several years, the Bentley has been my archival home and I want to thank Diana Bachman, Karen Jania, Malgosia Myc, and Karen Wright for making it such a welcoming place. In the final stages, I benefited from a month-long residence at the American Philosophical Society. Funding from the APS provided access to their rich collections, including ethnological materials related to the Odawaag of L’Arbre Croche. For their warm welcome and help with my research, I want to thank the staff at the APS Library, especially Brian Carpenter, Estelle Markel-Joyet, Timothy Powell, Earle Spamer, and Patrick Spero. In addition, I am grateful to the Institute for the Humanities for financial and intellectual support. I want to thank the Institute’s director, Sidonie Smith, for fostering collegial and rigorous scholarly discussions. Thank you to the faculty and graduate students for their feedback, especially Katie Lennard for her detailed comments and for recording others’ suggestions. Special thanks to my officemate Sarah Suhadolnik. Our office overflowed with co-venting, always followed by laughter, then problem solving. This project benefited from the help of knowledgeable librarians and archivists from many different places ranging from the National Archives to single-person staffed historical houses. I want to especially thank Brian Dunnigan at the William L. Clements Library for sharing his knowledge related to Pontiac, Detroit, and Michilimackinac. I wish to thank John Fierst and Bryan Whitledge at the Clarke Historical Library. Dennis Edelin at the National Archives made it possible for me to view all of the pension files and service records for v Company K within a short time. I am thankful for his help as the pension files turned into the spine of my dissertation. This dissertation in its current form would not have been possible without innumerable conversations with fellow researchers and community members. A big thank you to Chris Czopek who has been researching Company K for many years. He generously shared his information and has introduced me to many other researchers interested in Company K. Thanks to Quita Shier, Arthur Dembinski M.D., and Connie Larson for sharing information. I am also grateful to the late Avis Wolfe (wife of Bud Wolfe, a descendent of Company K soldier Payson Wolf) for her conversation and generosity. Special thanks to Wesley and Eleanor Andrews for conversations related to the Little Traverse Bay Odawaag and for their encouragement of a scholar just getting started. Thanks to Wesley for sharing his thorough research on the Odawaag. I also want to thank Eric Hemenway who is currently the Director for the Department of Repatriation, Archives, and Records for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. Over the past five years, he has been generous with his encouragement, time, and knowledge regarding Company K. Finally, thank you to my family for their love and support. My parents, Christine and Michael Cassidy, have been reading and commenting upon my work since I learned how to write. They went on a few research trips (that happened to include Lake Michigan), sent me information they found related to Michigan’s Anishinaabeg, and despite not quite understanding why I would quit my job and go back to school for seven years, supported me one-hundred percent, as always.

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