Land area
Land of the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in Michigan and Wisconsin, ceded 1842 (area 261)
- 1842
Ceded to the United States
By Treaty of La Pointe (1842) with the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior
In the record
Ceded by the Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior in the 1842 Treaty of La Pointe, land in Michigan and Wisconsin. The area covers about 19 million acres in what is now Michigan and Wisconsin.
The 1899 record names Chippewa (Ojibwe) as the people of this land.
How it was taken: a treaty or agreement. The OSU treaty text records a negotiated cession with annuities and a retained right to hunt until removal is required; no coercion is stated.
Today, Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin, Bay Mills Indian Community, Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and 12 more carry the history of the people named here.
Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources.
Shapes come from C. C. Royce’s 1899 maps as georeferenced by the US Forest Service. They are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land. Royce recorded land the United States treated as ceded; the shape does not show a nation’s territory.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
- Bay Mills Indian Community
- Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana
- Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan
- Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan
- Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana
- Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota
- Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan
- Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan
Working with these nations
- Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) Nation government Ojibwe treaty rights in ceded territories, natural resource stewardship, manoomin, and a Land Conservancy program… Give on their site Website
- Honor the Earth Native-led Pipeline resistance, sovereignty, energy justice Give on their site Website
- White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP) Native-led Recover the original White Earth reservation land base Give on their site Website
- Native Land Conservancy (Massachusetts) Native-led Native-led land conservation Give on their site Website
Land return and Native-led work nearby
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Nation government Restoration of about 200,000 acres to reservation status (1975)
- Stockbridge-Munsee Community (Band of Mohican Indians) Nation government 372 acres on Monument Mountain's north slope (finalized Apr 2025; $2.5M, $2.26M state grant)
Native legal and land defense, nationally
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
- NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.
Connections
Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Nations named for this land 8
- Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsinmatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
- Chippewa (Ojibwe)as named in the 1899 recordsuggested
- Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsinmatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
- Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
- Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwematched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
- Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band)matched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
- Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsinmatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
- White Earth Nationmatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Located in 2
Agreements recorded for this land 1
Sources
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1842-10-04primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1842-10-04primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Wisconsin 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Michigan 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
- USDA Forest Service, Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (digitized Royce maps)reference work
The record’s fields
- Area number in the 1899 record
- 261
- Dates in the 1899 record
- 1842-10-04
- Kind of instrument
- Treaty or agreement
- Peoples as named in the 1899 record
- Chippewa of the Mississippi and Lake Superior
- States
- MI; WI
- Counties
- Ashland; Baraga; Bayfield; Delta; Dickinson; Douglas; Florence; Forest; Gogebic; Houghton; Iron; Keweenaw; Langlade; Marinette; Marquette; Menominee; Oconto; Oneida; Ontonagon; Price; Shawano; Vilas
- Map sheets in the 1899 record
- Wisconsin 1; Michigan 1
- Geometry
- Approximate shape from Royce’s 1899 maps
Research notes
geometry_role is 'cession' for every USFS feature: no field in the source distinguishes cessions from reservations.
- Kind
- Land area
- Confidence
- Medium