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The Battle of the Brule was an October 1842 battle between the La Pointe Band of Ojibwe and a war party of Lakota. The battle took place along the Brule River (Bois Brule) in what is today northern Wisconsin and resulted in a decisive victory for the Ojibwe.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, control of northern Wisconsin and northeastern Minnesota was hotly contested by the Santee Sioux and the Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe). By the close of the 18th century, the Lakota were largely pushed out of Wisconsin and much of northern Minnesota to areas west of the Mississippi River. In fact, the 1825 First Treaty of Prairie du Chien only recognized a small portion of present-day Wisconsin as Lakota land. However, throughout the 18th and well into the 19th centuries, the Dakota and Ojibwe continued to launch military expeditions into each other's territories.
Much of what we know about the Battle of the Brule comes from the reminiscences of Benjamin Armstrong, an eyewitness to the event. Armstrong, the adopted son of Chief Buffalo of the La Pointe Band, was an American who had decided to live with the Ojibwas on Madeline Island.
Although the Ojibwas living along Lake Superior's south shore were collectively referred to as the La Pointe Band by 19th-century sources, in actuality, they maintained seasonal camps all along the shoreline. One such camp was located at the Bois Brule River. The Dakota, under the leadership of Old Crow, hoped to take advantage of the scattered Ojibwa by leading his party against small groups by surprise while avoiding the large body of Ojibwa at La Pointe or farther to the south on the St. Croix River under Hole in the Day. Chief Buffalo of La Pointe, however, received an advance warning but not with enough time to gather his full military strength. When the groups met at the Brule, the Lakota had the advantage of numbers, but Buffalo positioned the main body of his force behind a high river bank. The Dakota, still thinking they were dealing with a very small unsuspecting group of Ojibwe fell for Buffalo's maneuver of sending out a few warriors to engage in a decoy retreat. The warriors, retreating across the Brule drew the Dakota from their bank into the river toward Buffalo on the other side. As they drew close and started climbing the bank the Ojibwa were perched behind, Buffalo had his left and right flanks pour into the river on either side to surround the Lakota. The battle soon turned into a rout as the Lakota climbing the bank were cut down as they reached the top, while those who tried to climb back down to the river met the Ojibwa below. The few surviving Dakota fled toward the direction of the Mississippi River, while Ojibwa in pursuit caught up with many and killed them. In total, the Dakota lost 101 men while the Ojibwa lost 13. [1] Armstrong, meanwhile, recorded this all from his secure vantage point.
Although it had more casualties than typical Lakota-Ojibwe warfare, the Battle of the Brule was an example of the type of ongoing conflict the two nations were engaged in during the 18th and early 19th centuries.
This continued warfare between the Dakota and Ojibwe figured heavily in U.S. government policy in the Wisconsin Territory. The Treaty of Prairie du Chien (1825) had been arranged with the pretext of creating peace between the two nations, and in later treaties and negotiations the government repeatedly demanded the two groups end hostilities so white settlers would see Wisconsin as a peaceful region.
Already a respected leader, the Battle of the Brule increased Chief Buffalo's prestige among all bands of Ojibwe. He was an important leader in treaty negotiations during the Treaties of La Pointe, and was the primary voice of complaint against the removal of the Lake Superior Chippewa in 1850, which resulted in the Sandy Lake Tragedy.
The Ojibwe are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and throughout the northeastern woodlands. The Ojibwe, being Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands and of the subarctic, are known by several names, including Ojibway or Chippewa. As a large ethnic group, several distinct nations also consider themselves Ojibwe, including the Saulteaux, Nipissings, and Oji-Cree.
The St. Croix River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about 169 mi (272 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The lower 125 mi (201 km) of the river form the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The river is a National Scenic Riverway under the protection of the National Park Service. A hydroelectric plant at the Saint Croix Falls Dam supplies power to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is a federally recognized Ojibwa Native American tribe. It had 3,415 enrolled members as of 2010. The Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation lies mostly in the Town of Lac du Flambeau in south-western Vilas County, and in the Town of Sherman in south-eastern Iron County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It has a land area of 107.1 square miles (277.4 km2) and a 2020 census resident population of 3,518. Its major settlement is the unincorporated Lac du Flambeau, which had a population of 1,845.
Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa are a historical Ojibwa tribe located in the upper Mississippi River basin, on and around Big Sandy Lake in what today is in Aitkin County, Minnesota. Though politically folded into the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, thus no longer independently federally recognized, for decades, Sandy Lake Band members have been leading efforts to restore their independent Federal recognition.
The Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe is one of six federally recognized bands of Ojibwe people located in present-day Wisconsin. It had 7,275 enrolled members as of 2010. The band is based at the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation in northwestern Wisconsin, which surrounds Lac Courte Oreilles. The main reservation's land is in west-central Sawyer County, but two small plots of off-reservation trust land are located in Rusk, Burnett, and Washburn counties. The reservation was established in 1854 by the second Treaty of La Pointe.
The Mille Lacs Indians, also known as the Mille Lacs and Snake River Band of Chippewa, are a Band of Indians formed from the unification of the Mille Lacs Band of Mississippi Chippewa (Ojibwe) with the Mille Lacs Band of Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota). Today, their successor apparent Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe consider themselves as being Ojibwe, but many on their main reservation have the ma'iingan (wolf) as their chief doodem (clan), which is an indicator of Dakota origins.
The Treaty of La Pointe may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in La Pointe, Wisconsin between the United States and the Ojibwe (Chippewa) Native American peoples. In addition, the Isle Royale Agreement, an adhesion to the first Treaty of La Pointe, was made at La Pointe.
Mississippi River Band of Chippewa Indians or simply the Mississippi Chippewa, are a historical Ojibwa Band inhabiting the headwaters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries in present-day Minnesota.
Hanging Cloud was an Ojibwe woman who was a full warrior among her people, and claimed by the Wisconsin Historical Society as the only woman to ever become one. She was the daughter of Chief Nenaa'angebi and his wife Niigi'o. Aazhawigiizhigokwe was of the Makwa-doodem, and was born and lived most of her life at Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Her community became part of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians after the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe.
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is a band of Ojibwe Native Americans. The Red Cliff Band is located on the Red Cliff Indian Reservation, on Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Red Cliff, Wisconsin, is the administrative center. Red Cliff is notable for being the band closest to the spiritual center of the Ojibwe nation, Madeline Island. As of November 2010, there were 5,312 enrolled members, with about half living on the reservation and the rest living in the city of Bayfield or the Belanger Settlement.
Madeline Island is an island in Lake Superior. Located in Ashland County, Wisconsin, it has long been a spiritual center of the Lake Superior Chippewa. Although the largest of the Apostle Islands, it is not included in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is the only island in the Apostle Island chain open to commercial development and private ownership.
Chief Buffalo was a major Ojibwa leader, born at La Pointe in Lake Superior's Apostle Islands, in what is now northern Wisconsin, USA.
The Sandy Lake Tragedy was the culmination in 1850 of a series of events centered in Big Sandy Lake, Minnesota that resulted in the deaths of several hundred Lake Superior Chippewa. Officials of the Zachary Taylor Administration and Minnesota Territory sought to relocate several bands of the tribe to areas west of the Mississippi River. By changing the location for fall annuity payments, the officials intended the Chippewa to stay at the new site for the winter, hoping to lower their resistance to relocation. Due to delayed and inadequate payments of annuities and lack of promised supplies, about 400 Ojibwe, mostly men and 12% of the tribe, died of disease, starvation and cold. The outrage increased Ojibwe resistance to removal. The bands effectively gained widespread public support to achieve permanent reservations in their traditional territories.
The Lake Superior Chippewa are a large number of Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) bands living around Lake Superior; this territory is considered part of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in the United States. They migrated into the area by the seventeenth century, encroaching on the Eastern Dakota people who had historically occupied the area. The Ojibwe defeated the Eastern Dakota, who migrated west into the Great Plains after the final battle in 1745. While they share a common culture including the Anishinaabe language, this highly decentralized group of Ojibwe includes at least twelve independent bands in the region.
Lake Lena is an unincorporated community and Native American village in Ogema Township, Pine County, Minnesota, United States, located along the Lower Tamarack River. It currently is the administrative center for the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, District III.
Chief Beautifying Bird or Dressing Bird, was a principal chief of the Prairie Rice Lake Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa, originally located near Rice Lake, Wisconsin. He served as the principal chief about the middle of the 19th century.
Treaty of St. Peters may be one of two treaties conducted between the United States and Native American peoples, conducted at the confluence of the Minnesota River with the Mississippi River, in what today is Mendota, Minnesota.
Benjamin G. Armstrong was the son-in-law of Kechewaishke also known as Chief Buffalo, the principal chief of the Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwa) and a literate white interpreter. He wrote a petition that Buffalo delivered to the President of the United States not to have the Ojibwa removed from their homes. He served as an interpreter and advocate for Native American visitors to the White House and sat before President Fillmore and President Lincoln in this role. To reward him, when he signed the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe a year before he died, Kechewaishke added this provision:
I hereby select a tract of land one mile square, the exact boundary of which may be defined when the surveys are made, lying on the west shore of St. Louis Bay, Minnesota Territory, immediately above and adjoining Minnesota Point, and I direct that patents be issued for the same, according to the above-recited provision, to Shaw-bwaw-skung, or Benjamin Armstrong.
Zhaagobe (c.1794), also known as Jack-O-Pa or Shagobai, was a St. Croix Ojibwe chief of the Snake River band. He signed several Chippewa treaties with the United States, including the 1825 Treaty of Prairie du Chien, the 1826 Treaty of Fond du Lac, the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters, and the 1842 Treaty of La Pointe. In 1836, geographer Joseph Nicollet had an Ojibwe guide he called Chagobay, but historians are uncertain as to whether they were the same person.
Aamoons, or Little Bee, also rendered Ah-moose, Ah-mous, Aw-Mouse, Aw-monse, Bradford Ah-Moose, Ahmoons, or Wasp, was a 19th century leader of the Ojibwe people of North America. He was the head chief of the Lac du Flambeau band (Waaswaaganiwininiwag) "whose hunting grounds are on the Wisconsin River". Aamoons traveled to the national capital of Washington, D.C. at least three times in the 1860s for meetings with the federal government about the status and treaty rights of the Ojibwe, who were at that time called the Chippewa.