The Murder of Joe White: Ojibwe Leadership and Colonialism in Wisconsin A Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Erik M. Redix IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Co-advisors: Brenda Child, American Studies Jean O’Brien, History November 2012 © Erik M. Redix, 2012 Acknowledgements This dissertation is the direct result of the generous support of many individuals who have shared their expertise with me over the years. This project has its roots from when I first picked up William Warren’s History of the Ojibwe People as a teenager. A love of Ojibwe history was a part of family: my great-aunt, Caroline Martin Benson, did exhaustive genealogical research for our family; my cousin, Larry Martin, former Chair of American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, showed me the possibilities of engaging in academia and has always been very warm and gracious in his support of my career. Entering college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I was anxious to learn more about Native people in North America and Latin America. I would like to give thanks to Florencia Mallon for her generous support and mentorship of my Senior Thesis and throughout my time at Madison; she was always there to answer the many questions of a curious undergrad. I am also indebted to Ned Blackhawk, Patty Loew, and Rand Valentine for taking the time to support my intellectual growth and making a big university seem much smaller. After graduation, I returned home to work at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College (LCOOCC), and eventually served as Chair of the Division of Native American Studies. My five years at LCOOCC shaped my professional and personal life immeasurably. I learned so much from my colleagues in Native American Studies: Tom Antell, Lisa La Ronge, Keller Paap, and Karissa White. I am forever grateful for the late Sky Houser and his support during my time at LCOOCC. I am appreciative of the patience and support of LCOOCC librarian Carol Pfaff; the extensive i microfilm collections of the LCOOCC were crucial as I developed my courses and this project. Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (TIPO) and Lac Courte Oreilles spiritual leader, Jerry Smith, added so much to my teaching skills and abilities, and to this project throughout the years. I also learned much from my students at LCOOCC. In particular, Austin Bartold, Richard Denomie, Jr., Nicole Matrious, Nicole Nalewaja and Michael Sullivan, Sr. were among the engaged students who have remained life long friends. I need to extend a special thanks to my mentor at LCOOCC, David Scott Bisonette. Without David this dissertation would not exist. I knew very little about the history of Lac Courte Oreilles prior to meeting David. David has always been there to share his vast expertise about Ojibwe culture and history, much of it based on his own exhaustive research. David has been a continued mentor to me beginning when I was developing courses at LCOOCC and continuing as I developed this project. The University of Minnesota is a great place for graduate work in American Indian Studies. Thanks to the many fellow graduate students in American Indian Studies at Minnesota who provided so much support and fellowship through the years. Special thanks to Mark Lindberg and Michael Foster at Minnesota’s Cartography Lab for their work on the maps for this dissertation and their patience with me as I sought to include many remote locations on the maps. Thanks to my incredible committee, whose continued support has been essential for this project. John Borrows has supplied insightful criticism, and was always positive and encouraging. The expertise of John Nichols has been invaluable to my project. From the time I began coursework through ii this projects completion, David Chang consistently provided helpful critiques and creative ideas. My co-advisor, Jean O’Brien, brought so much into this project by supplying challenging, yet prompt, critiques and ideas. I am truly indebted to Jeani’s positive support of both this project and my overall success in graduate school. My co-advisor, Brenda Child, took a special interest in my work, even prior to my entrance into graduate studies, when we were both participants in the Lannan Summer Institute at the Newberry Library. I feel privileged that Brenda found potential in me, and nurtured it into a passion and skill for scholarship. Brenda has been unwavering in her enthusiasm for this project and its completion is a direct result of her continued support. The D’Arcy McNickle Center at the Newberry Library has been extremely generous in their support of my work over the years. The earliest research for this project occurred when I participated in the Lannan Summer Institute for the summers of 2003 and 2004. I returned to the Newberry in 2008 for the Committee on Institutional Cooperation Fellowship, and again the following year when I was awarded the Susan Kelly Power and Helen Hornback Tanner Fellowship. As dozens of scholars of Native people know, the Newberry is an amazing environment to work. I give a special thanks to Brian Hosmer, Fred Hoxie, and Scott Stevens for their support during my time at the Newberry. While at the Newberry, I made numerous trips to the National Archives Great Lakes Branch. I extend a special thanks to Scott Forsythe at the National Archives for helping me navigate their vast collections. iii My research for this project was also supported by a Summer Fellowship in North American History by the Indian Treaty Signers Project, a Phillips Fund for Native American Research Grant from the American Philosophical Society, and the A. Beebe White Fellowship from the University of Minnesota. While writing this dissertation, I was extremely fortunate to receive a Consortium for Faculty Diversity Fellowship at Macalester College in American Studies. My two years at Macalester were incredibly productive, and the students, faculty, and staff of the Macalester community provided an extremely supportive intellectual environment. In particular, my colleagues in American Studies were extremely generous with their time and always expressed interest in this project. My thanks go to Karin Aguilar San-Juan, Duchess Harris, Jane Rhodes, and Kathie Scott. Lastly, without the financial and moral support of my parents, Joan and Mike Redix, this project would not exist. My parents have always been supportive of my goals, both academic and personal. I come from a background where college degrees were uncommon, and advanced degrees nearly unheard of. My parents were not afforded the luxury of higher education, and I understand the privilege I have been afforded by being able to pursue a career in something I am passionate about. Accordingly, this dissertation is dedicated to them. iv This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Joan and Mike Redix, for their continued love and support through the years. v Abstract The Murder of Joe White: Ojibwe Leadership and Colonialism in Wisconsin is centered around the 1894 murder of Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe ogimaa (chief) Giishkitawag, also known as Joe White. White was the ogimaa of a community at Rice Lake, Wisconsin, 50 miles southwest of the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation. In 1894, Wisconsin game wardens Horace Martin and Josiah Hicks were dispatched to arrest White for hunting deer out of season and off reservation land. Martin and Hicks found White working in an off-reservation logging camp and made an effort to arrest him. When White took a single step back, the game officers proceeded to beat him with handcuffs and a shotgun. Then White attempted to flee, and the wardens shot him in the back, fatally wounding the leader. Both Martin and Hicks were charged with manslaughter, but later acquitted by an all-white jury. This dissertation contextualizes this event within decades of struggle of the community at Rice Lake to resist removal to the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, created in 1854 at the Treaty of La Pointe. The community at Rice Lake was first led by White’s father, Nenaa’angabi, who after being killed in battle with the Dakota in 1855 was succeeded by Joe White’s brother Waabizheshi. Joe White became ogimaa when Waabizheshi was murdered in 1877 for unknown reasons by another Ojibwe. While many studies portray American colonialism as defined by federal policy, this dissertation seeks a much broader understanding of colonialism, including the complex role of state and local governments as well as corporations. All of these facets of American colonialism shaped the events that led to the death of Joe White and the struggle of the Ojibwe to resist removal to the reservation. vi Table of Contents INTRODUCTION Why Is There No Rice in Rice Lake? 1 CHAPTER ONE The “favorite orator and chief” of the Lake Superior Ojibwe: The Rise of Nenaa’angabi and American Expansion in the Western Great Lakes, 1825-1837 40 CHAPTER TWO “I swallowed the words of the treaty down my throat, and they have not yet had time to blister my breast:” The Language of Treaties, 1837-1855 89 CHAPTER THREE Manoominikaan to Rice Lake: Waabizheshi’s Vision of an Intercultural Community at Rice Lake, 1855-1877 140 CHAPTER FOUR “It is cowardly to be kept on the reserve by the government:” Giishkitawag Confronts Removal, 1879-1894 189 CHAPTER FIVE “An Imperative Necessity:” The Murder of Joe White and the Culmination of Removal 227 CONCLUSION Ziigwang: From Lac Courte Oreilles to Barron County 272 BIBLIOGRAPHY 282 vii Introduction Why Is There No Rice in Rice Lake? On December 13, 1894 Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe ogimaa (or chief) Giishkitawag, was shot to death by game warden Josiah Hicks on the orders of his superior, Horace Martin.