The following profiles focus on Michigan’s Native Tribes (Huron/Wendat, Petun/Tobacco, Huron/Petun, Miami, Ojibwa/Chippewa, Ottawa/Odawa and Potawatomi during the 17th and early part of the 18th Centuries. Readers are reminded that although authors frequently refer to the Native-American Tribe who lived in Michigan as the Huron, Wendat, or even the Wyandot, the Tribe that lived in Michigan was primarily made up of the Petun/Tobacco Tribe and the few remnants of the Huron/Wendat Confederacy who took refuge with the Petun/Tobacco Tribe following the destruction of Huronia by the Iroquois. The Huron /Wendat Confederacy should be considered distinct from the merged Huron/Wendat and Petun/Tobacco Tribe or Nation who moved to Michigan. Although the histories of the two tribes prior to the destruction of Huronia were different, their culture was very similar and the Petun/Tobacco spoke the same language as the Bear or Attignawantan Tribe of the Huron/Wendat Confederacy.
For discussions of cultural practices through the 19th century, please see the French Canadian Culture and Heritage page on our website and download the PDFs discussing cultural métissage.
Agricultural and Gathering Practices, by Diane Wolford Sheppard
Dress and Ornamentation, by Diane Wolford Sheppard
Fishing Practices, by Diane Wolford Sheppard
Homes and Villages, by Diane Wolford Sheppard
Hunting Practices, by Diane Wolford Sheppard
Manufacturing Practices, by Diane Wolford Sheppard
Travel and Transportation Practices, by Diane Wolford Sheppard
Warfare and Weapons, by Diane Wolford Sheppard
Louis Nicolas was a Jesuit missionary who lived in New France from 1664 to 1675, traveling as far west as Lake Superior. During this period he drew several portraits of Native Americans and illustrated the flora and fauna of New France which are reproduced in Codex canadensis.
Selected images can be viewed in a PDF from the National Humanities Center.
Louis Nicolas, S.J.'s illustration of Native Americans fishing while standing
Frederick Arthur Verner’s 1887 watercolor of an Ojibwa/Chippewa camp - Available from Library and Archives Canada (LAC), See Mikan #2837800
William Armstrong 1869 Watercolor - Indian Settlement at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with Canal in Background - Available from Library and Archives Canada (LAC), See Mikan #2833411