Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

 

“No person among us desires any other reward

for performing a brave and worthy action, but

the consciousness of having served his nation.”

-Joseph Brant (Thuyendanegea)

Mohawk

  

A storm brewed between the Odawa, Chippewa (formally referred to as Ojibwe until renamed by governmental officials) and U.S. government authorities. The ever-increasing number of white settlers and future entrepreneurs, had their eyes on the land that was currently in the hands of the Indian people. To top things off, the Indian’s way of life was viewed as being of a heathen nature so it would had been in their best interest for them to pick up a hoe and become farmers. Schoolcraft was a part of this campaign.

The United States government has had mechanisms in place empowering those in authority to have control over the actions and resources of the general population for centuries. Public laws become enforced legislation through the actions of opposing parties of a two-party system, divergent priorities, and confrontational approaches. Oftentimes, laws were not based on what was in the best interest of the people. “All for the public good” were the politicians’ claims in their effort to hide their and their supporters’ self-serving agendas.

            When Andrew Jackson was elected president of the United States, he was supported by the wealthiest men in the south. The land in which the Cherokee, Choctaw, and other tribes resided was targeted by wealthy entrepreneurs who wanted to expand their cotton plantations.  Jackson despised the Indian people. He openly rejected federal treaty obligations. Jackson pushed for the passing of the Indian Removal Act and served an Indian fighter.

            The Indian Removal Act gave the President the privilege of selecting the tribes to be relocated west of the Mississippi River from the states located in southeast portion of the country and provided the financing for their removal. Seeds of greed and hatred fueled these acts of genocide and discrimination and the joint collaboration of the wealthy business men falsely justified the takeover of the Indian people’s land (Oswalt, 1978).  

The act authorized the President to negotiate treaties in order to take over tribal lands in exchange for lands further west, west of the Mississippi River. Treaties were mechanisms put into place as a formalized way of securing land holdings for Euro-Americans which was taken from the Indian people. Treaties delineated the relationship between the United States government and Indian tribes. The treaties included provisions for the implementation of reservations, procurement of supplies, and payment for the homelands of the Indian people. The first treaty was established in 1778 and the last was enacted in 1871, 371 treaties were established between Indian tribes and the United States government (Utter, 1993).

Treaties with the Indian people were negotiated by the President of the United States and were binding when approved by the Indian leaders and two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. “A treaty is a contract, a binding and legal agreement, between two or more sovereign nations. By signing treaties with Indian tribes, the United States acknowledged tribal sovereign status. When the architects of the American government created the Constitution, they explicitly recognized that treaties are the supreme law of the land, along with the Constitution itself,” (Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commision, N.D., para. 5,)

Many tribal people felt they had no choice but to give in to the U. S. government. The subjects dealt with in the treaties covered a variety of topics, mostly giving up a vast majority of their land. The greatest number of treaties were arranged between 1815 and 1860s, during the prominent westward expansion, 260 treaties to be exact. Almost 100 treaties specifically addressed boundaries between a tribe and the United States government. Two tribes, the Potawatomi and Chippewa, negotiated 42 treaties, which was more than any other tribes (Oswalt, 1978). Not all of the 550 federally recognized tribes established treaties with the federal government (Ellis, 2007).

Congress assigned commissioners to assure these treaty documents were secured with the tribes. They were considered to be the conquered ones. These meetings were not based on equality; the meetings exemplified expansionism. For example, the Treaty of Paris in 1783 took possession of Indian Territory from the Atlantic to the Mississippi.

           

Michigan history has also been influenced greatly by the political actions of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, from the naming of communities to his involvement with the Native Americans. Schoolcraft named many of Michigan’s counties and locations when he was residing in the Michigan territory. He named Leelanau County after his wife’s pen name “Leelinau” and went on to name  Algoma, Allegan, Alpena, Arenac, Iosco, Kalkaska, Oscoda and Tuscola. He used faux Indian names and combined words and syllables from Native American languages with words and syllables from Latin and Arabic languages. Many locations were named after him such as Schoolcraft County in Michigan, Schoolcraft River and Schoolcraft Lake in Minnesota, and Schoolcraft Township in Houghton County, Michigan (Bremer, 1987).

            Schoolcraft led a life filled with ambition and curiosity and he obtained additional notoriety through his writing career. He was driven to tell the country about his findings through his published works. He studied with great interest topics such as Native Americans, mineralogy, education, and the Ozark area. Through extensive travels he believed he discovered the source of the Mississippi, examined the lives of Native Americans, and 2,000 miles of Lake Huron and Lake Superior shoreline. After he was commissioned by Congress, Schoolcraft worked for years on the history of Indian tribes of the United States. His compilation of Indian studies was published in six volumes from 1851-1857 (Schoolcraft, 1978).

Schoolcraft strived to convert the Indian people into what he considered to be a more respectable people, people who farmed instead of hunted to provide sustenance for their villages. Schoolcraft portrayed himself as having the best interests of the Indian people in Michigan in mind when he pursued the 1836 Treaty of Washington. His justification behind this treaty was stated when the Agent wrote to his wife, Jane Schoolcraft:

“…All that could be worked in by the way of schools, mission, agriculture, mechanics… is granted. Much money will be annually distributed, their debts paid, their half-breed relations provided for, every man, woman & child of them, &large presents given out. Rejoice with me. The day of their prosperity has been long delayed, but has finally reached them, in their lowest state of poverty, when their game is almost gone, and the county is shorn of all its advantages for the hunter state,” (Bremer, 1987, pg. 169-170).

            Many people refer to Schoolcraft as undeserving of respect and admiration, but like many people seeking notoriety, he also had a soft side. He cared deeply about his own children, especially his son Willy who died at an early age. Schoolcraft fought stridently to stop others from providing alcoholic beverages to the Native Americans. He was against the substance and thought the Indian people could do without the evils of alcohol. Schoolcraft met with many people to accomplish his goal of changing the lives of Indian people for the better.

 

The 1836 Treaty of Washington was a part of the Indian Removal faction, a movement which wiped out the ownership of a vast amount of Indian territories in Michigan for the Native Americans. Schoolcraft was instrumental in organizing gatherings of Chippewa and Odawa leaders to discuss the impending treaty negotiations. He prepared these individuals for what he presumed was for the good of the general population as well as the Native Americans.       

            Tanner was requested to meet with Schoolcraft to plan a meeting with the Odawas concerning land acquisitions in September of 1835. Tanner led a troubled life when he was abducted from his father’s ranch in Kentucky by Shawnee Indians. He was taken to their village in Saginaw which was part of the Michigan territory in 1789 at the age of 9 years. He was traded to the Odawa tribe two years later and then finally ended up with an Ojibwe tribe in Manitoba, Canada at age 13. Abused at first by the tribal people until he had proven his superior hunting skills. He completely assimilated into the American Indian culture and became feared and respected by many. Tanner became a useful interpreter for people such as Schoolcraft (Daudert, 2011).

Tanner traveled to Mackinac Island for a meeting with Odawa leaders which included Augustin Hamelin, an educated mixed-blood Odawa chief who served as a teacher on occasion at some of the mission schools. He was appointed as head chief of the tribe and spokesperson for the Odawas, which was considered a high honor. His grandfather held the same position as head chief.

Hamelin and other leaders of the Odawa tribe were encouraged to meet with the Great Father, the president of the United States to discuss land acquisitions. Hamelin was accompanied by eight other Odawas when they traveled to Washington. They arrived at the beginning of December of 1835. The Odawas met with Cass to sell to the United States government specific islands located near Lake Michigan, along with land north of the Straits which actually belonged to the Chippewas. The Odawas wanted to remain on their lands. They also requested the government to provide them with additional funding for Indian education associated with the Catholic mission schools in the Michigan territory. Cass refused their offer and used this opportunity to negotiate the selling of Chippewa and Odawa lands in Michigan. His refusal of their offer was a turning point concerning the development of the treaty in 1836. Cass set into motion a full-scale treaty council in Washington to gain control a lot of the Indian territories in Michigan. 

            A lot of support for this venture came from the Michigan Delegate Lucius Lyon and the Detroit Acting Governor Stevens T. Mason. In part of his opening address to the legislature Mason mentioned ceasing the Indian title to lands in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Part of the land not suitable for agriculture would be ceded to the Indians for their use. If the Indian people agreed to cede the lands in question the United States might offer payment of their debts as well as future financial allowances. When Schoolcraft arrived in Washington, he learned that he was given the responsibility to gather a full-treaty council of Chippewa and Odawa chiefs in the capital as soon as possible to negotiate a finalized treaty.

 

Many traders decided to attend the treaty council in Washington including John Drew of the Mackinac trading firm of Biddle and Drew along with Samuel Abbott from the American Fur Trading Company. These companies wanted to ensure the debts owed to them by the Indians would be paid and they wanted to encourage the Indian people to sell their land. 

            Before the treaty negotiations began, Schoolcraft was busy setting the groundwork for such discussions. He wanted to reinforce his claims as an Indian expert and their spokesperson by sending two lengthy letters to the president. He informed the president about the policy associated with the Indian people residing in the Columbia River Basin. Schoolcraft warned the president that the Hudson Bay Company existed under strong British influence and the purpose of this company was to suppress American interests. He recommended a special agent be assigned to that region to explain the ill-intended goals of the British-run company.

            This communication with the president did not secure the title of governor of Wisconsin for Schoolcraft. His interests in rising in rank were thwarted by familial connections with others in higher places of authority. For example, the newly elected territorial delegate George W. Jones was a close friend of Henry Dodge, hero of the Black Hawk War. Dodge was also a half-brother of Missouri Senator Henry Linn. Dodge received the appointment as Governor late in April, 1836. 

Schoolcraft also had his eyes on Michigan’s statehood and the formation of the Wisconsin Territory. He was concerned about the organization of the Indian Department. Schoolcraft sent a letter to Delegate Lyon and Delegate Jones in which he suggested the creation of a new Superintendent position for the Great Lakes region which would combine the Green Bay Agency with the agencies included in the Michigan territory. Comprised in the proposal was the assignment to William Clark over the remaining agencies in Wisconsin. Under this proposal Clark, the new governor, would be relieved of any responsibility for the administration of Indian affairs. The areas included in this proposal were the sub-agencies at Detroit, Green Bay, and  Sault Ste. Marie as well as an office clerk at Detroit. This reorganization would enable Schoolcraft to retain the Mackinac Agency as Superintendent while he spent his winters in Detroit. The Secretary of War had to approve these changes.

            He continued to work with the Catholic Odawas of L’Arbre Croche who were adamant about not selling their lands. Schoolcraft was not successful with obtaining the signatures authorizing the sale of the Odawa lands from the non-Catholic leaders. William Johnston, Schoolcraft’s brother-in-law, informed him that if the tribal leaders were approached alone in Washington they would probably sign the treaty.  Some of the Odawa leaders finally agreed to travel to Washington.

            William Johnston used the opportunity of the treaty negotiations to persuade his uncle Waiskey, a chief at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to sign a document acknowledging a debt of $20,000 to Mrs. Johnston. He went further to thank his brother-in-law, Schoolcraft, for not letting any opportunity pass unnoticed concerning the family’s interests.

           

            On March 3, 1836, three of the Odawa chiefs from Grand River in Michigan arrived in Washington and other designates from other Michigan Chippewa and Odawa tribes followed suit. Cass appointed Schoolcraft the sole treaty commissioner. Schoolcraft’s duties were described in an outline about the burden resting upon those chosen to negotiate with the Indians:

               

“An Indian negotiator is placed by the execution of his duty in a peculiar situation. He is required by his instructions to procure a cession upon the best terms for the United States. On the other hand, neither the feelings of the age, the opinions of the Country, nor the principles of the government permit, that he should extort from the wanderers of the forest the inheritance of their forefathers for the merest pittance, which they may be induced to take. There are more considerations, connected with this subject, which no honorable man will disregard. The execution of the duty is a best irksome and unpleasant. A part of the community see in every land of the Indians is acquired with the merest shadow of a compensation. Another can discern nothing but an useless and lavish expenditure of the public money.  Between these discordant opinions, it is difficult to pursue any course, which shall render general satisfaction” (Bremer, 1987,pg. 165).

           

                By March 14, the representatives of Chippewa and Odawa chiefs requested the presence of the Secretary of War, Cass, and President Jackson. Schoolcraft made the following proposal: “I am recommending that all the wonderful Indian people sitting before me cede their lands north of Grand River of the Lower Peninsula to as far west as the Chocolay River of the Upper Peninsula.” (The Chocolay River is located near Marquette, Michigan and the Grand River stretches from Grand Rapids, to Ionia, Grand Haven, Eaton Rapids, and Jackson (near Detroit). Grand River is the longest river in Michigan, 252 miles long.)

 

            Treaty negotiations started going awry. Many traders had their hands in the pot trying to stir things up. Many of the Indian people broke away from their trader alliances. Since things were such a mess, the claims would have to go before the commissioner which was not what they wanted to happen. The sum set aside to pay off the Indian debts, in which some of the debts were real or imagined, would even things out Schoolcraft believed. 

At the conclusion of the treaty council, the Odawas decided to sell their lands located in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan with the exception of specific reservations. This condition was readily accepted by the government. The Chippewas decided to sell their lands with the agreement that they could settle on certain reservation locations. During these council meetings it was suggested by the Chippewas that their mixed-blood relatives receive land grants and they recommended that specific traders be permitted to examine their accounts. On Schoolcraft’s 43^rd birthday, March 28, 1836, the U.S. treaty commissioner and the Indian delegates signed the final treaty document.

Government officials established a subsidy system through which the Indian people were given supplies during the transition period for farming. The United States Senate decided these provisions were too lofty and revised these sanctions. The Native Americans were given only five years to reside on the land holdings, and the Senate decided the debts owed to the business owners were the responsibility of the Indian people (Bremer, 1987).

Under the terms of the treaty, the Chippewa and Odawa tribal leaders ceded approximately 16 million acres, or about three eighths of the entire state of Michigan. Schoolcraft agreed to a payment to members of Indian affiliations. Payments were distributed to full-blooded Indian people and half-blood people, with the half-blood people given a much higher amount. Some of the key players involved in the implementation of the 1836 Treaty of Washington were Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, and previous governor of Michigan, Henry Schoolcraft, and President Jackson with a number of Chippewa and Odawa leaders.

 

Schoolcraft sought monetary awards for half-breeds and full-blooded Indian people and the payment of debts to business owners owed by the Indian people. Monetary settlements were provided to the Indian people and mixed-bloods were entitled to more compensation. Schoolcraft’s mixed blood relatives were awarded compensation. Some of the traders were given part or most of their claims. These claims were the unpaid debts of the Native Americans. The treaty proved to be a lucrative exchange for many of the people involved in its implementation except for the full-blooded Native American people. 

Although Schoolcraft married a woman of Ojibwe (Chippewa) descent, he had a hand in taking away a lot of their land holdings as a result of the treaty he established. The treaty was completed and signed on March 28, 1836 in Washington D.C. by Henry Schoolcraft, Indian Commissioner for the United States and several Native American representatives. Approximately 16 million acres, or around three-eighths of the entire state of Michigan was ceded to the U.S. government by the Chippewa and Odawa tribes (Bremer, 1987). Land meant life for the Native Americans, it meant they could provide for their communities by hunting and gathering. Stranded on much smaller portions of land prevented them from living a self-sufficient life and made them reliant on the government to provide for their needs at a later date while enduring reservation life.

 

Washington, District of Columbia
Treaty with the Ottawa, etc., 1836

Articles of a treaty made and concluded at the city of Washington in the District of Columbia, between Henry R. Schoolcraft, commissioner on the part of the United States, and the Ottawa and Chippewa nations of Indians, by their chiefs and delegates.

ARTICLE FIRST. The Ottawa and Chippewa nations of Indians cede to the United States all the tract of country within the following boundaries: Beginning at the mouth of Grand river of Lake Michigan on the north bank thereof, and following up the same to the line called for, in the first article of the treaty of Chicago of the 29th of August 1821, thence, in a direct line, to the head of Thunder-bay river, thence with the line established by the treaty of Saginaw of the 24th of September 1819, to the mouth of said river, thence northeast to the boundary line in Lake Huron between the United States and the British province of Upper Canada, thence northwestwardly, following the same line, as established by the commissioners acting under the treaty of Ghent, through the straits, and river St. Mary's, to a point in Lake Superior north of the mouth of Gitchy Seebing, or Chocolate river, thence south to the mouth of said river and up its channel to the source thereof, thence, in a direct line to the head of the Skonawba river of Green bay, thence down the south bank of said river to its mouth, thence, in direct line, through the ship channel into Green bay, to the outer part thereof, thence south to a point in Lake Michigan west of the north cape, or entrance of Grand river, andthence east to the place of beginning, at the cape aforesaid, comprehending all the lands and islands, within these limits, not hereinafter reserved.

ARTICLE SECOND. From the cession aforesaid the tribes reserve for their own use, to be held in common the following tracts for the term of five years from the date of the ratification of this treaty, and no longer; unless the United States shall grant them permission to remain on said lands for a longer period, namely: One tract of fifty thousand acres to be located on Little Traverse bay: one tract of twenty thousand acres to be located on the north shore of Grand Traverse bay, one tract of seventy thousand acres to be located on or, north of the Pieire Marquetta river, one tract of one thousand acres to be located by Chingassanoo,-or the Big Sail, on the Cheboigan. One tract of one thousand acres, to be located by Mujeekewis, on Thunder-bay river.

ARTICLE THIRD. There shall also be reserved for the use of the Chippewas living north of the straits of Michilimackinac, the following tracts for the term of five years from the date of the ratification of this treaty, and no longer, unless the United States shall grant them permission to remain on said lands for a longer period, that is to say: Two tracts of three miles square each, on the north shores of the said straits, between Point-au-Barbe and Mille Coquin river, including the fishing grounds in front of such reservations, to be located by a council of the chiefs. The Beaver islands of Lake Michigan for the use of the Beaver-island Indians.  Round island, opposite Michilimackinac, as a place of encampment for the Indians, to be under the charge of the Indian department. The islands of the Chenos, with a part of the adjacent north coast of Lake Huron, corresponding in lngth, and one mile in depth. Sugar island, with its islets, in the river of St. Marys. Six hundred and forty acres, at the mision of the Little Rapids. A tract commencing at the mouth of the Pississowining river, south of Point Iroquois, thence running up said stream to its forks, thence westward, in a direct line to the Red water lakes, thence across the portage to the Tacquimenon river, and down the same to its mouth, including the small islands and fishing grounds, in front of this reservation. Six hundred and forty acres, on Grand Island, and two thousand acres, on the main land south of it. Two sections, on the northern extremity of Green bay, to be located by a council of the chiefs All the locations, left indefinite by this, and the preceding articles, shall be made by the proper chiefs, under the direction of the President. It is understood that the reservation for a place of fishing and encampment, made under the treaty of St. Mary's of the 16th of June 1820, remains unaffected by this treaty.

ARTICLE FOURTH. In consideration of the foregoing cessions, the United States engage to pay to the Ottawa and Chippewa nations, the following sums, namely.

1st. An annuity of thirty thousand dollars per annum, in specie, for twenty years; eighteen thousand dollars, to be paid to the Indians between Grand River and the Cheboigun; three thousand six hundred dollars, to the Indians on the Huron shore, between the Cheboigan and Thunder-bay river; and seven thousand four hundred dollars, to the Chippewas north of the straits, as far as the cession extends; the remaining one thousand dollars, to be invested in stock by the Treasury Department and to remain incapable of being sold, without the consent of the President and the Senate, which may, however, be given, after the expiration of twenty-one years.

2nd. Five thousand dollars per annum, for the purpose of education, teachers, school-houses, and books in their own language, to be continued twenty years, and as long thereafter as Congress may appropriate for the object.

3rd. Three thousand dollars for missions, subject to the conditions mentioned in the second clause of this article.

4th. Ten thousand dollars for agricultural implements, cattle, mechanics' tools, and such other objects as the President may deem proper.

5th. Three hundred dollars per annum for vaccine matter, medicines, and the services of physicians, to be continued while the Indians remain on their reservations.

6th. Provisions to the amount of two thousand dollars; six thousand five hundred pounds of tobacco; one hundred barrels of salt, and five hundred fish barrels, annually, for twenty years.

7th. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars, in goods and provisions, on the ratification of this treaty, to be delivered at Michilimackinac, and also the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, in consideration of changing the permanent reservations in article two and three to reservations for five years only, to be paid whenever their reservations shall be surrendered, and until that time the interest on said two hundred thousand dollars shall be annually paid to the said Indians.

ARTICLE FIFTH. The sum of three hundred thousand dollars shall be paid to said Indians to enable them, with the aid and assistance of their agent, to adjust and pay such debts as they may justly owe, and the overplus, if any, to apply to such other use as they may think proper.

ARTICLE SIXTH. The said Indians being desirous of making provision for their half-breed relatives, and the President having determined, that individual reservations shall not be granted, it is agreed, that in lieu thereof, the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars shall be set apart as a fund for said half-breeds. No person shall be entitled to any part of said fund, unless he is of Indian descent and actually resident within the boundaries described in the first article of this treaty, nor shall anything be allowed to any such person, who may have received no allowance at any previous Indian treaty. The following principles, shall regulate the distribution. A census shall be taken of all the men, women, and children, coming within this article. As the Indians hold in higher consideration, some of their half-breeds than others, and as there is much difference in their capacity to use and take care of property, and, consequently, in their power to aid their Indian connections, which furnishes a strong ground for this claim, it is, therefore, agreed, that at the council to be held upon this subject, the commissioner shall call upon the Indian chiefs to designate, if they require it, three classes of these claimants, the first of which, shall receive one-half more than the second, and the second, double the third. Each man woman and child shall be enumerated, and an equal share, in the respective classes, shall be allowed to each. If the father is living with the family, he shall receive the shares of himself, his wife and children. If the father is dead, or separated from the family, and the mother is living with the family, she shall have her own share, and that of the children. If the father and mother are neither living with the family, or if the children are orphans, their share shall be retained till they are twenty-one years of age; provided, that such portions of it as may be necessary may, under the direction of the President, be from time to time applied for their support.  All other persons at the age of twenty-one years, shall receive their portions agreeably to the proper class. Out of the said fund of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the sum of five thousand dollars shall be reserved to be applied, under the direction of the President, to the support of such of the poor half breeds, as may require assistance, to be expended in annual instalments for the term of ten years, commencing with the second year. Such of the half-breeds, as may be judged incapable of making a proper use of the money, allowed them by the commissioner, shall receive the same in instalments, as the President may direct.

ARTICLE SEVENTH. In consideration of the cessions above made, and as a further earnest of the disposition felt to do full justice to the Indians, and to further their well being, the United States engage to keep two additional blacksmith-shops, one of which, shall be located on the reservation north of Grand river, and the other at Sault Ste. Marie. A permanent interpreter will be provided at each of these locations. It is stipulated to renew the present dilapidated shop at Michilimackinac, and to maintain a gunsmith, in addition to the present smith's establishment, and to build a dormitory for the Indians visiting the post, and appoint a person to keep it, and supply it with fire-wood. It is also agreed, to support two farmers and assistants, and two mechanics, as the President may designate, to teach and aid the Indians, in agriculture, and in the mechanic arts. The farmers and mechanics, and the dormitory, will be continued for ten years, and as long thereafter, as the President may deem this arrangement useful and necessary; but the benefits of the other stipulations of this article, shall be continued beyond the expiration of the annuities, and it is understood that the whole of this article shall stand in force, and insure to the benefit of the Indians, as long after the expiration of the twenty years as Congress may appropriate for the objects.

ARTICLE EIGHTH. It is agreed, that as soon as the said Indians desire it, a deputation shall be sent to the southwest of the Missouri River, there to select a suitable place for the final settlement of said Indians, which country, so selected and of reasonable extent, the United States will forever guaranty and secure to said Indians. Such improvements as add value to the land, hereby ceded, shall be appaised, and the amount paid to the proper Indian. But such payment shall, in no case, be assigned to, or paid to, a white man. If the church on the Cheboigan, shall fall within this cession, the value shall be paid to the band owning it. The net proceeds of the sale of the one hundred and sixty acres of land, upon the Grand River upon which the missionary society have erected their buildings, shall be paid to the said society, in lieu of the value of their said improvements. When the Indians wish it, the United States will remove them, at their expence, provide them a year's subsistence in the country to which they go, and furnish the same articles and equipments to each person as are stipulated to be given to the Pottowatomies in the final treaty of cession concluded at Chicago.

ARTICLE NINTH. Whereas the Ottawas and Chippewas, feeling a strong consideration for aid rendered by certain of their half-breeds on Grand river, and other parts of the country ceded, and wishing to testify their gratitude on the present occasion, have assigned such individuals certain locations of land, and united in a strong appeal for the allowance of the same in this treaty; and whereas no such reservations can be permitted in carrying out the special directions of the President on this subject, it is agreed, that, in addition to the general fund set apart for half-breed claims, in the sixth article, the sum of forty-eight thousand one hundred and forty-eight dollars shall be paid for the extinguishment of this class of claims, to be divided in the following manner: To Rix Robinson, in lieu of a section of land, granted to his Indian family, on the Grand river rapids, (estimated by good judges to be worth half a million) at the rate of thirty-six dollars an acre: To Leonard Slater, in trust for Chiminonoquat, for a section of land above said rapids, at the rate of ten dollars an acre: To John A. Drew, for a tract of one section and three quarters, to his Indian famiy, at Ceboigan rapids, at the rate of four dollars; to Edward Biddle, for one section to his Indian family at the fishing grounds, at the rate of three dollars: to John Holiday, for five sections of land to five persons of his Indian family, at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents; to Eliza Cook, Sophia Biddle, and Mary Holiday, one section of land each, at two dollars and fifty cents: To Augustin Hamelin junr, being of Indian descent, two sections, at one dollar and twenty-five cents; to William Lasley, Joseph Daily, Joseph Trotier, Henry A. Levake, for two sections each, for their Indian families, at one dollar and twenty-five cents:  To Luther Rice, Joseph Lafrombois, Charles Butterfield, being of Indian descent, and to George Moran, Louis Moran, G. D. Williams, for half-breed children under their care, and to Daniel Marsac, for his Indian child, one section each, at one dollar and twenty-five cents.

ARTICLE TENTH. The sum of thirty thousand dollars shall be paid to the chiefs, on the ratification of this treaty, to be divided agreeably to a schedule hereunto annexed. [Schedule deleted]

ARTICLE ELEVENTH. The Ottawas having consideration for one of their aged chiefs, who is reduced to poverty, and it being known that he was a firm friend of the American Government, in that quarter, during the late war, and suffered much in consequence of his sentiments, it is agreed, that an annuity of one hundred dollars per annum shall be paid to Ningweegon or the Wing, during his natural life, in money or goods, as he may choose. Another of the chiefs of said nation, who attended the treaty of Greenville in [1795], and is now, at a very advanced age, reduced to extreme want, together with his wife, and the Government being apprized that he has pleaded a promise of Gen. Wayne, in his behalf, it is agreed that Chusco of Michilimackinac shall receive an annuity of fifty dollars per annum during his natural life.

ARTICLE TWELFTH. All expenses attending the journey of the Indians from, and to their homes, and their visit at the seat of Government, together with the expenses of the treaty, including a proper quantity of clothing to be given them, will be paid by the United States.

ARTICLE THIRTEENTH. The Indians stipulate for the right of hunting on the lands ceded, with the other usual privileges of occupancy, until the land is required for settlement.

In testimony whereof, the said Henry R. Schoolcraft, commissioner on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and delegates of the Ottawa and Chippewa nation of Indians, have hereunto set their hands, at Washington the seat of Government this twenty-eighth day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.

SUPPLEMENTAL ARTICLE. To guard against misconstruction in some of the foregoing provisions, and to secure, by further limitations, the just rights of the Indians, it is hereby agreed: that no claims under the fifth article shall be allowed for any debts contracted previous to the late war with Great Britain, or for goods supplied by foreigners to said Indians, or by citizens, who did not withdraw from the country, during its temporary occupancy by foreign troops, for any trade carried on by such persons during the said period. And it is also agreed: that no person receiving any commutation for a reservation, or any portion of the fund provided by the sixth article of this treaty, shall be entitled to the benefit of any part of the annuities herein stipulated. Nor shall any of the half-breeds, or blood relatives of the said tribes, commuted with, under the provisions of the ninth article, have any further claim on the general commutation fund, set apart to satisfy reservation claims, in the said sixth article. It is also understood, that the personal annuities, stipulated in the eleventh article, shall be paid in specie in the same manner that other annuities are paid. Any excess of the funds set apart in the fifth and sixth articles, shall, in lieu of being paid to the Indians, be retained and vested by the Government in stock under the conditions mentioned in the fourth article of this treaty.

In testimony whereof, the parties above recited, have hereunto set their hands, at Washington the seat of Government this thirty-first day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.

Source: https://www.cmich.edu/library/clarke/ResearchResources/Native_American_Material/Treaty_Rights/Text_of_Michigan_Related_Treaties/Pages/Washington,-1836.aspx