Les Cheneaux Islands (French: "The Channels") are an archipelago of 36 small islands, some inhabited, along 12 miles of Lake Huron shoreline on the southeastern tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The name is French for "the Channels", noting the many channels between the islands in the group.[1] They are about 30 miles northeast of Mackinac Island and about 35 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie.
The area that encompasses Les Cheneaux was traditionally occupied by the Wyandotte and the Odawa people. In 1634, French colonial explorer Jean Nicolet navigated the channels of Les Cheneaux while attempting to reach Michillimackinac via Lake Huron (then referred to as Mer Douce). He was accompanied by seven Wyandotte tribesmen.[2] Nicolet and later explorers noted that the locals referred to the chain as Onomonee or Anaminang, derived from the Odawa word for "island", minis.[3]Jacques Marquette would be the first European to draw a map of Les Cheneaux, while navigating it during the summer of 1671.[4]
By the late 17th century, the fur trade dominated the island chain.[5]
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