Ojibwe in Minnesota

The People of Minnesota Series

Author Anton Treuer

Minnesota Historical Society Press (March 1, 2010)

This compelling, highly anticipated narrative traces the history of the Ojibwe people in Minnesota, exploring cultural practices, challenges presented by more recent settlers, and modern day discussions of sovereignty and identity.

Description

With insight and candor, noted Ojibwe scholar Anton Treuer traces thousands of years of the complicated history of the Ojibwe people—their economy, culture, and clan system and how these have changed throughout time, perhaps most dramatically with the arrival of Europeans into Minnesota territory.

Ojibwe in Minnesota covers the fur trade, the Iroquois Wars, and Ojibwe-Dakota relations; the treaty process and creation of reservations; and the systematic push for assimilation as seen in missionary activity, government policy, and boarding schools.

Treuer also does not shy away from today’s controversial topics, covering them frankly and with sensitivity—issues of sovereignty as they influence the running of casinos and land management; the need for reform in modern tribal government; poverty, unemployment, and drug abuse; and constitutional and educational reform. He also tackles the complicated issue of identity and details recent efforts and successes in cultural preservation and language revitalization.

A personal account from the state’s first female Indian lawyer, Margaret Treuer, tells her firsthand experience of much change in the community and looks ahead with renewed cultural strength and hope for the first people of Minnesota.

Author information

Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, is the author of The Assassination of Hole in the Day, Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask, and several books on the Ojibwe language. He is also the editor of Oshkaabewis Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language.

More MNHS Press books by Anton Treuer

• This title is also available at your favorite e-book vendor.
• 112 pages
• 50 b&w illustrations
• 6 x 9 inches
• ISBN: 9780873517683