On April 27, 1763 Ottawa leader Pontiac led a historic effort to bring disparate tribes together to drive the Redcoats from their land. A council was held on the shores of the Ecorse River, about ten miles southwest of Detroit. Using the teachings of the Indian prophet Neolin to inspire his listeners, Pontiac convinced a group of Ottawas, Chippewas, Potawatomis, and Hurons to join him in an attempt to seize Fort Detroit. On April 27, 2013, 250 years to the day, a commemorative event honoring this council was held in Council Point Park in modern day Lincoln Park.
On the anniversary, local officials dedicated a new Michigan historical marker for Pontiac’s Council in a Michigan Division of Natural Resources ceremony.
As part of the celebrations, Chief Pontiac descendant Rudy Pontiac, 72, talked about his ancestor and the current plight of American Indians.
“He did a great thing, you know, unite the tribes and tell his people that they are taking all the land away from us and we won’t have anyplace to go,” Pontiac, who retired from General Motors after working in product development and civil rights, said recently from his home in the Grand Rapids area. “It’s a bad thing that happened to my people.”
Chief Pontiac tried to organize the American Indians to capture the British forts in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions and force them out. They successfully seized nine forts, but eventually were overtaken by Europeans and colonial Americans.
Listen to audio, Michigan Radio interview (April 24, 2013) with Ben Hinmon, Cultural Instructor of the Seventh Generation Program of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe in Mount Pleasant. Hinmon is the Great-Great-Great-Great Grandson of Chief Pontiac.
Sources :
Michigan History, March/April 2013.
For another article, see Tammy Stables Battaglia , “American Indians to gather in Lincoln Park to honor Chief Pontiac“, MLive, April 22, 2013.