Ojibwa Fisheries on St. Louis River, Minnesota: 1800-1835

Abstract

The westward migration of the Ojibwa Indians from the Sault Ste. Marie area of northern Michigan beginning about 1650, resulted in their widespread dispersal. Those who settled in the coniferous- mixed forest zone of interior Wisconsin and Minnesota adapted to the local conditions by developing an “emphatic” hunting economy, gaining a large share of sustenance from hunting large game and furred animals. On the other hand, the Ojibwa who settled along the southern littoral of Lake Superior are said to have engaged in fishing for their primary subsistence. The latter proposition is reinforced in the narratives written by Euro-American visitors to Lake Superior in the early 19th century. This study evaluates this alleged reliance on fish, and points to contradictions and inconsistencies in the narratives in the context of the Fond du Lac band located at the southwestern extremity of Lake Superior.