Exploring Historical Literacy in Manitoulin Island Ojibwe ALAN CORBIERE Kinoomaadoog Cultural and Historical Research M'Chigeeng First Nation This paper will outline uses of Ojibwe1 literacy by the Manitoulin Island Nishnaabeg2 in the period from 1823 to 1910. Most academic articles on the historical use of written Ojibwe indicate that Ojibwe literacy was usu­ ally restricted to missionaries and was used largely in the production of religious materials for Christianizing Native people. However, the exam­ ples provided in this paper will demonstrate that the Nishnaabeg of Mani­ toulin Island3 had incorporated Ojibwe literacy not only in their religious correspondence but also in their personal and political correspondence. Indeed, Ojibwe literacy served multiple uses and had a varied audience and authorship. The majority of materials written in Ojibwe over the course of the 19th century was undoubtedly produced by non-Native people, usually missionaries and linguists (Nichols 1988, Pentland 1996). However, there are enough Nishnaabe-authored Ojibwe documents housed in various archives to demonstrate that there was a burgeoning Nishnaabe literacy movement from 1823 to 1910. Ojibwe documents written by Nishnaabe chiefs, their secretaries, and by educated Nishnaabeg are kept at the fol­ lowing archives: the United Chief and Councils of Manitoulin's Archives, the National Archives of Canada, the Jesuit Archives of Upper Canada and the Archives of Ontario. 1. In this paper I will use the term Ojibwe when referring to the language spoken by the Nishnaabeg of Manitoulin. Manitoulin Nishnaabeg include the Ojibwe, Potawatomi and Odawa nations. The samples of "Ojibwe writing" could justifiably be called "Odawa writ- ing. 2. The noun nishnaabe (anishinaabe in adjacent Ojibwe dialects) means 'human being' in the Ojibwe language. The Ojibwe, Odawa (Ottawa) and Potawatomi languages all use this word for self-designation. The plural is nishnaabeg. It is commonly translated as 'Indians' or 'Native people' or 'the People'. 3. Historically the home of the Odawa nation, Manitoulin Island (located in Lake Huron) was to be one grand reserve after the 1836 treaty, where Native people from Upper and Lower Canada could settle. Papers of the 34th Algonquian Conference, ed. H.C. Wolfart (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba, 2003), pp. 57-80. 58 ALAN CORBIERE These exceptional documents, which appear to be authored by the Nishnaabeg themselves, provide invaluable samples of the Manitoulin Island Ojibwe dialect of 140 years ago; most importantly, the documents present a Nishnaabe perspective and understanding of some very impor­ tant historical events in the Manitoulin Island area. The documents have a range of topics including a recounting of the 1764 Treaty of Niagara and the 'talk' contained on the wampum belts that were given to the Odawa by Sir William Johnson. Included in these collections are letters and peti­ tions that were written during the critical time between the signing of the 1836 Bond Head Treaty and the signing of the 1862 Manitoulin Treaty (also known as McDougall Treaty). Also among the documents are peti­ tions that detailed the capricious manner in which the business of the Nishnaabeg was administered; as well as testimonials of events, such as the Manitoulin Incident (also called the Gibbard Affair). The archives fur­ ther contain more mundane, but equally important, material such as requests for annuities, census reports and the equivalent of contemporary Band Council Resolutions - all written in Ojibwe. The various documents reveal different writing conventions that cor­ relate with religious affiliation. The Roman Catholic Nishnaabeg fol­ lowed French writing conventions whereas the Methodists and Anglicans used the writing conventions of English. Indeed, Pentland notes of a letter written in 1845 by someone in Wikwemikong that "The writer was obvi­ ously a Catholic, educated by French missionaries. The handwriting is a fine example of French - not English - copy-book style" (Pentland 1996: 267). Pentland further states that the orthography employed followed the system that was adopted by the Sulpician missionaries at Oka in the late eighteenth century. During this time period the Sulpicians and Jesuits alike were prolific in biblical translations, dictionaries and hymnals. The Sulpician Mission was where many Jesuits were sent to learn (or get a crash course in) the "Algonquian language." In the early 19th century, the Sulpicians at Oka were also educating and baptizing some Nishnaabeg who were reportedly from the Michigan area; some of these people would eventually settle at Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island.4 4. According to Morrison, the oral tradition asserts that these people the reputed founders of Wikwemikong, moved from the Michigan area to Oka and then back to Mani­ toulin. However, he suspects that these people did not originally come from Michigan but were actually from the Oka area (Morrison, no date, p. 3). EXPLORING HISTORICAL LITERACY IN MANITOULIN ISLAND OJIBWE 59 The Odawa of L'Arbre Croche (in present-day Michigan) seem to have readily adopted Ojibwe literacy as crucial to their education. Andrew Blackbird, nephew of the great Odawa war chief and orator Assiginack, wrote that his father, Assiginack's brother Makade-Binessi, had learned to read and write in Ojibwe/Odawa (1887:31-32): My father was the only man who was friendly to education. When I was a little boy, I remember distinctly his making his own alphabet, which he called "paw-pa-pe-po". With this he learned to read and write; and afterwards he taught other Indians to read and write accord­ ing to his alphabet. He taught no children, but only the grown persons. Our wigwam ... was like a regular school-house, with my father as teacher of the school ... Many Indians came there to learn his "paw- pa-pe-po", and some of them were very easy to learn, while others found learning extremely difficult. The Odawa of L'Arbre Croche were so keen for Christianity and its concomitant education, which incorporated reading and writing in their language, that during the negotiations for the 1836 treaty with the United States the Odawa stipulated that they be provided with religious books in their own language.5 Some of the most influential L'Arbre Croche Odawa had become devout Catholics and evangelized amongst their fellow Nish­ naabeg. Andrew Blackbird states (1887:47): My uncle, Au-se-go-nock [Assiginack], had before this joined the Catholic religion ... And when he learned that his people had joined the Catholic faith, he left his home at Drummond's Island and came to Arbor Croche expressly to act as missionary in the absence of the priest. Every Sunday he preached to his people and taught them how to pray to God and to the Virgin Mary and all the saints and angels in heaven. At the time printed books containing prayers and hymns in the Stockbridge Indian language, which is a dialect of the Ottawa and Chippewa languages, were brought from Montreal, and could be quite intelligently understood by the Ottawas.. Assiginack was reportedly educated at the Sulpician Mission in Oka and it is very possible that this is where he learned to read and write in 5. It is significant that the Odawa stipulated the provisions for Christian books in their language because they were facing possible removal to the Mississippi area. There was intense pressure from non-Native settlers in present-day Michigan for Odawa lands. This thirst for land was also coupled with the political aspirations of Lewis Cass and others to have Michigan declared a state. The Odawa held firm during the negotiations and came to a reasonable settlement but the treaty was unilaterally revised by the Senate. For further discussion see Sims 1992 and McClurken 1988; for the actual text of the revised treaty, see Kappler 1972. 60 ALAN CORBIERE 30541 fc>__-j^t. .(,!*.<. c/ cfa.'firf- fii>-! 1^1 tct ***J ..... /• 53 I C^j--_^- As^L -3n,c Cot*.' 4 C6*A jfy PIM. &£.; J-lui. >x*J~ -I spix. ruL?~. puo/c-., a pt^e^ C4**Z pvec /feJipn* £/<, J4#- frcr It^i/^. y^. L^J. ,^ yu*<. c^con. Je >^tJ»-^ -«^/V"«- Mtt^na. p^ . rf«-s->~l ^ c/t- 0 C/A+, fa/.„. ^ y,,, PC0*<K, ^^//t-.^t^Z^- -A /** PK C€cc c-rt.. /-t-c Tj&J. 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